Hoi An Shopping

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Great tailoring shop with great displays of fine clothes. All made to measure. More expensive than the rest, but the quality looked better. Shoes also made to measure.

What to buy: Tailored clothes for men/women, shoes.

What to pay: More than other tailors, but cheaper than back home.

You may find a number of shoemakers in Hoi An town. Leather used is of low quality, craftmanship is questionable. Sole used in of low quality too. Design - poorly done for female's. If you have not tried custom made shoes before, go for the experience, it costs around 30-40 usd per pair.

As I mentioned, there are streets of tailor shops in Hoi An town, you have the upscale one and the cheaper alternatives. Compare prices, workmanship, textile quality and of course the servicebefore you settle for one. Pay attention to their workmanship and confirmed on design and material before confirming on the cost.

There are boutique tailors in Hoi An which provide nicely decor fitting places and huge range of textiles to choose, and of course, the prices are higher and maybe you are allowed to pay by credit cards.

There are also tailor stalls in the old market with no fanciful textiles to choose and there's only a makeshift fitting "tent" for you to try your clothes. Only cash terms here and perferably in USD.

What to buy: Usually the tailors are able to do have your order ready in 24 hours. Of course, the quality of the workmanship will be compromised, somehow. It will be better if you are able to give yourself and tailors more than one day to finish the order. Don't forget to try on them before you make the full payment. Alteration should be made without extra charge. And It can take more than three hours for alteration to be done satisfactorily.

I had my clothes done at one of the market stall, No 7 - Mai (recommended by Let's Go). Limited textile to choose. Made two shirts, two skirts, 1 top and three tailored pants. Except for the skirts, I am pretty satisfied with the rest. Paid USD 130 for the above. Mai was friendly, speak conversational english, good service, fairly attentive.

It is not a trade secret that the stalls in the old markets are helped to churn out our order of about 30 pieces within 24 hrs...

What to pay: Depending on the textile material, a pair of tailor pants should not costs more than USD 30 if you are doing it in the market stall, USD 50 if you are doing it in a boutique shop. Choose simple and comfortable design and material as they are good at them. Do not attempt to try and choose a complicated design because it may turn out to be less satisafactory and you still have to pay for it!!!

You wouldn’t believe when I tell you that Hoi An is famous with its tailor works from suits, shirts, pants to shoes. Yes, SHOES! Check out, compare and then get yourself a suit or a pair of shoes or two. It is not expensive and you can strike a good bargain because the tailor business is very competitive around here.

Don't shop for suits and shirts in the main town of Hoi An! Just a few k's outside the town (opposite the Palm Graden Hotel) is a great little shop who will make suits and shirts (and women's clothes) at up to half the price of the shops there. Not only that but the lady who runs it is great fun to talk to and there are several restaurants in the row of shops that are worth visiting.

What to buy: Men's suits, shirts and women's clothes

I had a GREAT EXPERIENCE BUYING FROM A DONG SILK. They were very professional and friendly. They measured very well and our clothes fitted perfectly the first fitting. They have taken all our measurements so if we would like to order online that will be possible. I have faith in it that the staff of Adong Silk will do a good job when we order online.
We had a TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE AT THU THUY. They were very expensive and their measuring is way off. I had bought a silk jacked for US$95. During the first fitting the jacket was very tight. It sat tightly around my body. I could hardly move my arms and the sleeves were extremely tight cutting off my blood circulation. When I commented on it they said that I had wanted it that way. I strongly dislike tight clothes so that was a strange comment. Very reluctantly after my insistence they were going to fix it. 2nd sitting. It fitted OK around the body but they had not done anything to the sleeves. Fortunately I had seen another silk jacket hanging in the shop and tried that on. The sleeves were perfect so I measured it with my hand. Later on I measured my sleeves with my hand and they were at least 2 inches narrower. When I pointed that out to them and told them that I wanted the sleeves the same and the jacket in the shop, they had to get new fabric to fix the sleeves. So finally for the 3rd sitting I received a jacket that finally was so so but they could not be bothered to iron it.
So my suggestion is go to A Dong Silk who had been recommended to me by the resort where we were staying and they were absolutely right about them

What to buy: Silk tops, jackets and scarves. Linen pants. Man shirts. They can make you anything you want as long as you choose the fabric and the style. They even make shoes. The choice is yours but be careful who you choose to make it. Expensive does not always mean quality.
DO NOT GO TO THU THUY IN 60 LE LOI ST. Avoid problems.

What to pay: We paid around US$35 to US$40 for linnen pants at A Dong Silk and Yally. A Dong Silk was good quality, good price, good workmanship and perfectly finished for the first sitting. Yally was late with delivering my top and I had to go there at least 3 times before it was finally ready but that was partly due to the flood.
At Thu Thuy I had to pay US$60 for a pair of pants and US$95 for a silk jacket and at the airport I saw silk jackets for US$40 so Thuy Thuy was way too expensive for very poor workmanship.

We found two souvenir shops (selling T-shirts, bamboo chopsticks, carvings, lacquerware, slippers etc) to be most reasonable (they did not have ridiculous asking prices.)

For beautiful embroidered bags, pouches etc, cross the Japanese bridge (if you are entering from Tran Phu street). There are many shops selling these, plus art shops. Quaint little street.

What to pay: -- Tshirts US$1.50, Pack of 20 Bamboo chopsticks US$2, Wood-carved small mirrors US$1, flip-flop slippers with bamboo like insoles 25,000 VND. If you buy more, you can bargain for further discount.
-- medium-sized bag with embroidery US$5, boy's chinese suit US$7

Trang is the name of the lady tailor (boss) here. She is very sweet and good at her job. She did some tops and a pants for me, suit and shirt for husband and it all fitted well. If it didn't, they got it right after 1 alteration. I went there on 2 VT recommendations and have no regrets. Her team can copy 'anything' you show her. (So bring along pictures of what you want, saves you time looking through catalogues.) She has a good memory and is very organised.
I wanted to buy some buttons for my curtains at home, and she gamely took me on her motorbike to her supplier and helped me haggle for a good price.
When one of my blouses didn't fit, they even re-cut the whole panel of cloth and redid the whole thing. She doesn't try to get away with not altering, and takes pride in getting it right.
She has many customers based on recommendations, so it is testimony to her work quality.

What to pay: I paid US$9 for Thai silk blouse with chinese buttons, US$18 for dress with embroidery, US$70 for men's suit with good material (prices depend on material chosen).
Some other tailors might charge cheaper but it is the quality of work that is important too.