Tailoring

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We were told Hoi-An, Vietnam is the best place in SE Asia to get clothes tailored. Reflecting back on this experience I think you could probably get great clothes made anywhere, Hoi-An is just famous for the sheer number of tailors in the city. At least 10-20 shops on each block in the old town (over 200 total). Dana and I heard numerous horror stories about tailoring disasters so decided to shop around at several tailors. We tried the most highly recommend shop, Yali (which looked like a mansion from the outside), and they did an amazing job on a work-dress for me although they were the most expensive. I have a lot of fun with this, designing the style I wanted, picking out colours and fabrics. When we went down stairs to pick out a belt buckle we walked though the rows and rows of tailors behind sewing machines, irons, or embroidery desks. They all looked happy and healthy and smiled at us when we walked through. No slave labour here. Dana got 2 suits made at a place called Peace and they turned out well after a few fittings. I got several fun and work dresses made at Tinais. Also an amazing job. Finally we got a whole assortment of things at Future as it was the cheapest and they were so friendly. At the end of the day, everything was made really well and to our liking. I think many of the horror stories are from travelers who don’t have enough time to wait for alterations.

Getting clothes tailored is a really fun and great experience that everyone should do once in their life. They make you feel so important, measuring you up, making any changes you want. You just have to know what you want and be firm.

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