Our tour had 2 nights in Hoi An, Vietnam, a city famous for (among other things) having many tailor shops that custom-make clothes for great prices.

 I was the only one in our group who said yes to this opportunity. I would be able to have clothes made in one day. My mother went along to observe but not buy. My plan was to get a sun dress and maybe some baggy pajama pants.

At about 8:30 am, our tour guide led us to a colonial-style building that said Yali Couture. He said this would take about an hour and we could meet up with the rest of the group after my fitting.

 We went up to the second floor where a personable young saleswoman named Summer greeted us and took us to a reception area with low tables and chairs. We walked by racks and racks holding bolts of all types of fabrics. This was where I started to get nervous. There were so many options it was intimidating. But that wasn’t all.

Summer brought out five or six large three-ring binders filled with photos of clothes-every type of clothing imaginable.

 I looked through pages and pages of possible options..Where was the simple sun dress pattern I was imagining? I finally chose a dress with straps that zipped up the back. This was more formal than I had planned, but I knew I needed to make a decision and move on. I also chose pant design. Waistband but no belt, drawstring? Zipper and button or snap? Pockets? The options are endless.

It got more harrowing with the fabric decisions.  I wish I had paid closer attention in Home Economic Sewing classes, because I really don’t know fabrics. Solids, patterns, jersey knit, cottons of all weights and silks-just too many.  I finally settled on two types of cotton and two different designs that Summer said would work with my patterns. I thought the hard part was over!

 But then it was time for the measurements. I  was taken to a fitting room where I was photographed and measured. From head to toe and all the parts in between. Summer wrote everything down and put it into the computer. I guess if I wanted clothes again I could just contact them.

The whole process took about an hour and then she wrote up the order.

Summer said,” Come back at 3:30 pm for fittings.” I said I would. I put the location of the shop into my Google Maps so I could find my way back there again.

 I came back at 3:30 and Summer took me to the fitting room. The dress was about done and fit pretty well, the pants needed a lot of work. Summer adjusted and measured. This fitting took about 20 minutes.

Could I come back at 6:30 to check everything?

Yes, I could.

When I got there for the second fitting, the dressing rooms were busy. Many women were trying on clothes and getting their designs finished.

My dress was pretty much ready, the pockets just needed cutting. The pants still needed adjustment and I didn’t think they were going to be right. Summer said they would be ready by 9:00 pm that night and they would be delivered to my hotel.

I paid and went back to my hotel. True to her word,  by 9:00 pm a beautifully wrapped package was delivered to my hotel room.  Both the dress and the pants fit perfectly. While I got something completely different from what I had planned, I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

Cost of both pieces-about $85 USD.

Mission Accomplished.

Good to Know:

I was taken to a particular store/workshop by our tour guide-it was upscale and very nice. Most of the women spoke very good English, were efficient and knew what they were doing. It was a pleasant experience all around. There were many Westerners-men and women-buying their clothing there.

Buyer Beware: Random shops you see on the streets may or may not be what you want. You can do some research ahead of time.

Do some research ahead of time on the kind of fabrics and patterns you might want. This will save you a lot of time making those decisions at the shop.

This is something I highly recommend you doing if you ever go to Hoi An. And I have nice fitting souvenirs that I wear often.