A number of people have recommended getting tailored clothes while in Vietnam. Does anyone have a recommendation for a specific tailor in Hanoi?
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31 Oct 2007 02:00 pm
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Hanoi tailors are not very good at handling Caucasian women who don't happen to conform to Vietnamese proportions. You should budget about 2 hours for a fitting, and expect to come back 2 days later to try the clothes out, make corrections, and pick up the clothes the following day. One round of corrections may not be sufficient. Sorry if I'm saying things that are blindingly obvious. But I really would not expect very good results on the first pass.
Now that I think about it, Mai Linh on Hang Trong is pretty nice. But they're higher quality design than most and you should allow them longer to make something in your proportions.
I took from the tone of her post that she was traveling to Vietnam herself.
My good friend and famous fashionista had 6-8 dresses made at Kenly Silk, 108 Hang Gai Street, tel 84-4-8267236. Friends of hers visited subsequently. They were all extremely pleased - very professional, wonderful quality, not the cheapest shop around. If you want more info, contact LSchaberg@usaid.gov - she okayed this posting.
I'd recommend either the Sweat 'n' Stitch on 16th or the Slave Shoppe in Duktho Gardens
megan-
Hoa Fashion 1 Xuan Dieu/Tay Ho/823-8498
I'd also second Kenly Silk as a suggestion. This isn't about a tailor but you must eat at Cha Ca La Vong. It is delicious and inexpensive Vietnamese fish in the pan on the fire at the table. 14 Cha Ca street.
You will probably have to go through Hong Kong. I think you'd be better off buying your clothes there.
You should definitely get one of those drab fatigue-outfits with the matching caps. Then when you get back, walk into Yglesias office and tell him you spent the whole time in a wonderful re-education center and now agree with him about everything.
You have to go to Hoi An. They've specialized in serving tourists there, it's inexpensive, they're used to servicing westerners, in sizing, fit, and style. You won't find much in Hanoi. Go to Hoi An, and you'll get to see DaNang, and much more importantly, Hue, as well. Also some stupendous ruins about 30k south of Hoi An.
Or you could go to the second largest VietNamese city on the planet - Houston Texas. I have yet to find a bad VietNamese tailor here, and many specialize in the (ahem) "hard-to-fit". At 6', my guy uses a stepladder, and has customers on teh pro basketball teams (M & W)
With the Dong seemingly trading @~16,000 to the U$D, take a calculator(!), and always remember the difference between cheap and inexpensive.
Also, besides some meta-benefits of letting the Embassy know that you're in-country, they tend to have a good hand on the local(worthwhile) tradesmen(if in need of further recs).
I read this post in the same way that I read Megan's earlier post about forgetting the name of the cable channel for old people: a meta-joke, this time about globalization. Keep 'em coming, Megan!
The place to have clothes made in Vietnam is Hoi An, which is central and on the coast. Usually takes about 8 hours from measurements to the finished product unless you rush them (there's a beautiful beach nearby to kill some time). A tailored suit can be had for under $30, and if you buy a lot they can ship your garments back to the US. But beware, despite claims that they sell clothes to Jermyn Street, you're far from Mayfair. Most of the tailors have distorted mirrors, and your clothes might not look right when you get home. I had to have everything re-tailored when I returned and my Korean tailor in the US scoffed at the chop-shop stitching and fabric from Vietnam.
Given your recent difficulties with accommodations, I feel I must offer this advice: don't stay at the Hilton. I hear it's not very nice.
I just asked my Vietnamese-American friend, but he is much more familiar with Saigon than Hanoi. That said, he did tell me that you'll get much better service if you show up at the tailor with a picture of something like the clothes you want made or a similar piece of clothing from your own collection. He also said to focus on the fabric...it is worth it to pay extra for decent fabric that will withstand washing and/or dry-cleaning. Finally, he said don't expect to find heavier fabrics...the Vietnamese over there don't need very warm clothes. In fact, sometimes they don't need any clothes at all:
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/lifestyle/2007/10/752202/
Do you care about tax fraud?
Most people don't but then most people don't post an entry on a blog asking where is the best place to be a criminal on a blog.
Read the rules for importing clothes and see how expensive it would be if you actually followed the law.
Then decide for yourself. The odds of getting caught are quite small but maybe someone wants to make an example out of you.
A bit of advice-in-reverse: avoid any place that is specifically mentioned and/or recommended in a travel guide (e.g. Lonely Planet, etc). The combination of incentives for customer service that may have led to their original endorsement immediately changes upon publication. In effect, they are now guarunteed a very large stream of transient customers who will likely never be back, and whose negative experiences will not change their free publicity.
I don't know of any tailors in Vietnam but have dealt with them in Hong Kong. I second Jeff Singer's advice - you're most likely to be pleased if you take a piece of clothing with you and have it copied (in different colors or fabrics, presumably - this works better for men's suits than for women's clothes, but you can stock up on basics in many colors).
Getting clothes made by a tailor can be difficult, time-consuming and often a waste of money. It's not as easy as you'd think, but given your unusual height, it might be worth trying.
Ask them to keep the patterns or measurements so that you can write to have more made later and sent to you by mail. Even if you don't think you'll do it, you might change your mind later, and it might make them more anxious to do a good job.
I don't know Vietnam, but I second the recommendation to focus on fabric. Try to buy from bolts, not swatches, and pay attention to the weight, feel, and elasticity. If you can, buy all your fabric at one place, and try for a bulk discount.
Do a little research into the cost of material in the US, so you'll have a clue when bargaining. Bargain hard; Westerners are perceived to be mega-rich, and they may open with an obscenely high price, just to see if you'll pay it.
A guide or interpreter can be very helpful, particularly one that's recommended by someone else. They'll know good places to go and be able to cut through the initial attempts to fleece you.
re: tailor. sorry, no recommendations in Hanoi. However in Seoul, there's.... :-)
I was in Vietnam (HCM City and Hanoi) 6 or so years ago setting up an office. I was surprised by how much "old soviet" construction was still in use in the north but poorly maintained (elevators that didn't work, etc.) and how ravaged the south still looked (things like air-conditioners and power systems that had been removed and hauled up north after the invasion - with the removal scars still very evident.. including things like no power lines between power poles in HCMC).
I was time-shifted / jet lagged while I was there, and in walking around at 3-4 am, I was also amazed at the amount of human transport of foodstuffs into Hanoi underway at those hours - i.e. Roads full (little / no room for cars) of human powered carts coming into the city.
I'd be very interested in hearing your impressions about the appearance of pillaged south, and decaying north. As well as the state of mechanization of transport of food and goods into the big cities.
Two words: WO FAT.
Megan in 40 some years...
"I'm heading to Iraq today. Anyone know a good tailor in Baghdad? How about a good place to see a show in Tikrit?"
Hey...one can hope.
Oh where oh where can our Jane Galt be, oh where, oh where can she be?
Perhaps McArdle has had another bout with asthma and autoimmune disorder, and she's canceling her health insurance before seeking treatment just to spite her cruel critics.
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No, but I have the warning that the postal system is very slow, so it will take a while for your clothes to reach you, or for you to realise that you've been swindled.
Posted by Marcin Tustin | October 31, 2007 2:11 PM