After living like backpackers for a couple of months, Hoi An was truly a splurge for us. Besides staying in a fancy resort and eating in nice restaurants as often as possible, we also decided to get some custom-made apparel in Hoi An.
Hoi An is a city chock-full of tailors. Tailor shops line the streets, sidewalk mannequins sport custom designs and open doors in alleyways reveal little workshops full of busy seamstresses and tailors. In Hoi An, you can get quality clothing custom-made in only a few days for very little money compared to what you would pay for similar items off the rack. We knew from the start we would be getting something made in Hoi An–my bridesmaid dress for my sisters wedding. Being the super-laid back bride she is, she just chose a color and told her bridesmaids to get anything they like in that hue. That was good news for me–I knew right away I wanted to get a custom-made dress while in Vietnam!
So I saved some photos of dresses I liked, and we hit the pavement looking for a tailor that would suit our needs (pun intended). We finally found a cute place with super-friendly seamstresses who weren’t too expensive. I showed the girls my pictures, they showed me some fabrics, and pretty soon we had an idea sketched out for the bridesmaid dress. But before I knew it, we were also sketching out designs for a second dress. An unneeded dress. A little party dress. What can I say, I got a little carried away! Then, all of a sudden, Matt decided he wanted to get another custom-made suit. So before we knew it, we had ordered two cocktail dresses, a three-piece suit, and a dress shirt. Whoops! I’m not sure how much this would all cost in the US, but our total was about $300–for six custom made items of clothing. We felt pretty good about that! Plus, for buying so much, so they threw in a free tie for Matt.
I know a lot of people spend much less money on custom clothes in Hoi An–but you have to remember, we got all formal wear. If you’re in the market for something more casual (like tee shirts, sundresses, blouses, etc.), expect to pay much less. Here are some photos of the finished products–minus the bridesmaid dress! Stay tuned for a few more months and you’ll see that one on my sister’s big day!
Have you ever ordered custom-made clothing? When and where, and was it a good experience?
What un that must have been! It’ll be great to see all of them!
Hugs! Gram Anne
It was fun! It’s always nice to have something custom made, plus, the people that worked there were so nice! They even gave us a little Vietnamese language lesson one day while we were waiting
I love the dress! I am so excited to get to Hoi An and get some things made. Can’t wait to see what the bridesmaid dress looks like!
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Thank you! When are you going to Hoi An? We had SUCH a good time there, it is so worth it to go! If you feel like splurging a little (by SE Asia standards), I definitely recommend the resort we stayed at too–Hoi An Trails Resort. One of my friends stayed in a less than stellar place there, so if you want I can ask her what it was called and you can make sure to NOT stay there
Oh, thanks for the tip! I will have to check that place out. I think I will probably be there in June, but it’s toward the end of my trip so I don’t know how it will all play out!
I have been having a beast of time finding clothing that is remotely flattering and/or my style since arriving in Asia 6 months ago so I am hoping that when we hit Hoi An in a few weeks I can finally replace some worn out pieces in my backpack with things I actually like! Why is it so impossible to find skirts in this part of the world that fall just below the knee? Either they are suitable only for the Amish or prostitutes and I hate it… I need something in between!
Also, both of your fancy items look amazing! I was always a little worried that maybe the quality at these places might not be all that great, but clearly you picked a great place.
Steph (@ 20 Years Hence) recently posted…What We Ate: Shanghai
I totally understand about not finding clothes! I am 5’9….finding bottoms in Asia was not really an option! In a year I think I bought one pair of pants in Korea…at Forever 21. But you can easily get some simple pants or skirts made in Hoi An, and stuff like that should be pretty cheap too! The place we used was good, they’re called Mango, but honestly I think most of the tailors are decent. I would just pop into a few and do some price comparisions comparisons and choose which one you like the best
Wow! Love the red dress! I first I wasn’t sure about the red duck tail, but when I zoomed in on my phone I realized it was just a red stool” Ha, ha!
Haha, oh yah, that would have been a bit weird. I’m hoping that dress gets to come out and play for Jillian’s bachelorette party