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Published: December 15th 2014
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I have ordered my jewellery, been assaulted/tortured by Tam the Torturer and my next plan is to order some clothes. I have written down feedback on lots of shops that I have found on trip adviser or blogs before we left. I decide I will try out two tailors, one a more expensive, well known one called Yaly and another recommended one from the hotel, call Tuongs.
Yaly is a really well known tailor in Hoi An and although I have had mixed feedback, Anna the lady I met in Nha Trang recommended them and as she has been to Vietnam 7 times I think she is a credible source. They are apparently much more expensive than most other tailors but have a good reputation. I decide to try Yaly for some pieces and another tailor recommended by our resort, Sunrise as well.
Everyone in Hoi An has a recommendation and everything is based on commission for recommendations so it's pretty hard to trust anyone's opinion. The resort staff tell me that they are not allowed to accept commission and so recommend a tailor and shoe shop that (surprise surprise ) also has a shop in the resort.
I cannot be
bothered looking around so decide to take their recommendation as my second choice, cheaper tailor.
At Yaly, everything is very upmarket and professional. I look at all the fabrics but cannot see much that I like. I find a cotton print that I love and decide to use that, but it's a bit too busy in design for a dress so after much deliberation choose a three quarter sleeve, tailored top. It's going to cost me $35 US which apparently is quite expensive compared to other tailors but I am happy with it. The staff are not particularly helpful, I think a better sales person could have sold me a lot more, but I was happy as I don't really need anything in particular, it's more of an experiment.
They take my measurements and tell me to come back that evening for a fitting. I price a suit for Paul at $155 which seems like a bargain in a cashmere wool and silk blend so I promise to bring him back that evening for a fitting,
I also go to the other tailor, Tuong, which is recommended by sunrise. Here I decide on a black silk dress for $50 US,
$57 if I want it lined. I ask the price for a suit here and it's about the same as Yalys, so I figure we will spend the money at Yalys which at least I know has a good reputation.
They make a time for me to return for a fitting.
I would make sure you stay at least three days in Hoi An as its a constant round of appointments for fittings etc. Back and forth, back and forth. I don't really have the patience for this. I am losing interest really quickly!
I am uninspired by the black silk dress I have ordered but could not think of anything else I might use and am not a fan of the silks on offer in this shop. I keep going back for my fittings. The first fitting, the bodice has wrinkles near the seams on the bust. They tell me they will fix it and I need to come back later that day. I come back to find the same problem, it's Thai silk and I think they are struggling with my big bust. It's pretty obviously not sitting right and they can see that so they offer to
re do the top part of the dress... You come back later, you come back later...... They are very nice ladies and they so desperately want the dress to be right. They feel bad that I have to keep dragging all the boys back for fitting after fitting. After the third go, I am getting annoyed, it just seems like such a waste of our time here for a dress I don't really care about. I have paid a $20 US deposit and I contemplate doing a runner, I can't be bothered with this! In contrast, back at Yalys my top is progressing well, they tailor it to my shape on the second fitting and it's looking good. I have ordered Paul's suit in a gorgeous French navy, silk, wool and cashmere blend and on his first fitting, less tha. 24 hours later, it looks near perfect already. On the second fitting, they scrutinise it so carefully making slight adjustments here or there, things that I could not pick up by looking at it. After his third fitting it's perfect. A really gorgeous, tailored suit for $155 US in really lovely quality fabric. Paul is happy with it, thank god
they have not stuffed him around as he would not have the patience for it. Back to Tuongs...... AGAIN!!!!! I really want to write good things about these ladies, because they were so nice, but really, the dress was a bit of a disaster. In the end they refunded my deposit as we were running g out of time to fix it. They were happy to refund it and they just wanted me to be happy with it. I offered them back $15 US for their troubles but they would not take it and insisted they would rather me be happy, so that was good of them. I couldn't really recommend them in the end, for the prices they were charging you might as well go to Yalys. They did offer to do my jacket for $70 in the end, but I still felt that was too much for what it was. My shoes next door were too tight when I went to collect them so they also asked me to come back later. On my return they fitted perfectly and I was very happy with them. Quality was great, shoes look fab and hopefully will be comfortable as they
are all leather. You cannot wear them for 3 days after you pick them up as the glue needs to set more, lol probably a ploy for you not to realise how uncomfortable they are until it's too late!! Back at Yalys, I love my top and Paul loves his suit so I would recommend them without hesitate. Plus side is that they have your measurements on file so if you wa t something else done, you can arrange it via email and have it sent home. The name of the lady who arranged Paul's suit was "Flower" and she was terrific.
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