robbkat

I am going to Vietnam with a mate in about a month. We will be there in March 2008. We are landing in HCM city and are travelling up to Hanoi area. We are both hoping to be able to pick up some good quality clothing at good prices while over there.

We have been told that although the prices are quite good, the quality is not very high.

Does anyone know of any areas in Vietnam that have good quality clothing / shopping at good prices. Or... even better... does anyone know of specific shops or shopping malls?

I am also shopping for other things like leather wallet, DVDs, CDs, suits, business attire and other miscellaneous items.

If the shopping is goood, we are both planning to just pack an overnight bag for the way over and purchase a suitcase over there and fill it up!

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Robb

Kathie

In general, you get what you pay for. If it's very cheap, it's likely to shrink or fall apart at the first washing. VN is known for copying designs, and there will be lots of poor quality fakes on the streets.

Your best bet for really good quality clothing will be to have them custom-made for you. Hoi An is the place generally recommended for tailoring. But that will work only if you

1. are willing to spend enough time there to get at least three fittings
2. know exactly the style you want, down to the tinest details
3. can choose high-quality fabrics
4. go over the garments for fit and finish with the tailor and have them correct any errors.

ekscrunchy

I agree with Kathie. And it is difficult to know another person's idea of quality.. I would not plan to buy fabulous high-quality clothing in Vietnam, although you can do well in Hoi An if you pay attention to what Kathie wrote above. Just do not think you are going to get tailoring on a level with Italy or Japan's finest! I did not see any high quality leather, apart from imported stuff in a couple of high end Saigon shops and there are no bargains on that kind of thing.

I had some silk clothes made in Hoi An and I am happy with them but the selection of top-quality fabrics is not vast. And what one person calls "silk" may open to debate..make sure to inquire if it is silk with polyester! There are a lot of caveats here so do your homework before you go. MAke sure that "linen" is really linen, for example, and not a blend of linen and cotton, or cotton and some kind of synthetic.

Mitch04

I had clothing made in Hoi An, and provided you accept that you get what you pay for, it's pretty good actually.

A word of warning...if you get anything that has lining, be very specific about the lining color also. Otherwise they will simply use whatever is handy! And remember to also be specific about button styles also.

Bisbee

Cao Minh is known as being the best tailor in HCMC in terms of quality/materials. They aren't cheap, but they are the best. They have a shop on Pastuer, between Le Loi and Le Thanh Ton and another shop in D7 and D3.

robbkat

Thanks for the tips to date. Yes... I too think it is a good idea to choose maybe 3 areas and spend 5 days in each of them. Sapa really sounds good and like it would be an interesting place to visit, but maybe next time... we will see

robbkat

Sorry... I sent the reply for my post about possible itineraries to the other post about shopping. Sorry for the confusion.

Also... my friend James suggested today that he may fly to Thailand for a 1 day shopping spree. Does anyone suggest that this may be a good idea. He was talking Bangkok

Bisbee

Shopping for what? Regular consumer goods you'll find back home generally won't be less expensive in Vietnam or Thailand. Flights from SGN-BKK are around $$250-300 r/t. Flights from HAN-BKK are much, much less.

There are no good shopping malls in HCMC. There are many in BKK.

Kathie

Flying to Thailand for a one day shopping spree sounds crazy to me. Like Bisbee says, what does your friend want to buy? You'd have to save a LOT of money on what you are buying in order to make up the price of the plane ticket!

jodo

In Hanoi there is a clothing shop called Khai Silk...There is also one in HCMC and a shop that's in the lobby of a hotel...Anyway, lovely clothing well made....but expensive. We bought jackets there both times we visited Vietnam and love them. Good luck.

Bisbee

Khai Silk is everywhere in HCMC (He's got 2 shops on Dong Khoi alone). He's also building a luxury shopping mall in District 7 and owns several of the high end VN restaurants in HCMC (Nam Kha, Nam Phan). Very nice products, but not bargain by any means.

angelnot1

I bought quite a few clothes at various outlets in Hanoi. A word of caution - it is very easy to be seduced by "quick-silk-made-just-for-me" mindset and end up with a quickly made inferior quality garment. Mind you if it is just for fun...who cares.??!!

Of the various pieces I had made the one that I still love and it it keeps attracting comments is a silk jacket and pants in a sort of pintucked material(all silk) with a nehru collar (to cover various neck sins), with set in pockets in both the jacket and the pants.

I just looked at the lable -it was made at Hadong Silk at 102 Hangai St (most fabric/fashion shops are in that street). It was not cheap but was less expensive than mede-to-measure inn Sydney. I was a bit put off by the promotional photos of Hillary Clinton and Jeanette Howard (the wife of our recently voted out Prime Minister, a pleasing event that was but overall I thought it was a good value and good quality place.

I had some linen pants and matching sleeveless tops made at some place in the same street- the fabric wasn't the greatest but it still is an ok casual gear made to measure and unlikely to be worn by others in the neighbourhood and cheap.

I wish I could remember the name of the shop where my 20 year old daughter had great party clothes made- I vaguely remember it was diagonally across from Hadong Silk...

angelnot1

ooops-- I just noticed the "mate' reference - sorry I guess the woman/girlie things are not your thing - resolution to self " next time read the post more carefully"