I'm leaving for Hoi An in a week and am thinking about getting some silk items made by the famous tailors there. I'm considering a man's sport coat and a woman's jacket, maybe blouses. I'd like to know if anyone has had clothes made (or bought off the rack) there. For budgeting purposes, how much should I expect to pay for such items? Quality?<BR><BR>Thanks...

I had several silk items made at different shops in Hoi An. In general (like in many places), the cheaper the price, the cheaper the quality of the fabric and the workmanship. One silk blouse for $7 starting falling apart after the first cleaning. Another silk blouse for $15 is great. I had lined silk "work" pants made for $30, very nice quality. I think that some of the best workmanship can be found at Thu Thuy at 60 Le Loi Street. The store also has an extensive collection of wool for suits.

Steve: Definitely plan on getting some clothes made in Hoi An _ you will be approached a million times anyway and it's fun to be fussed over in the tailor shops; we found the workers very charming and very enthusiastic! As previous poster said, quality will vary and it doesn't hurt to pay a little more, but be prepared to bargain a little (as you'll find everywhere in Vietnam) and the more you buy, the better deal you'll probably get.<BR><BR>My husband had several casual shirts made for $5 each; dress pants for something like $8 or $10; a jacket for maybe $25. He wishes he'd had a dozen shirts made; they have held up very well and fit nicely. I had some clothes also, including a nice silk dress for about $20 and a suit for about $40 or $50 _ can't remember _ but can't tell you how they held up because when we got home I found out I was pregnant and was only able to wear them once or twice before I'd outgrown them! Luckily they were pretty classic and I can wear them after the baby gets here...

Thanks for the tips - I'll try the place at Le Loi St.<BR><BR>Sadly our travel writers' group is only in town for 2 days - hope they work quickly.

Steve: the tailors all seem to work very quickly _ in 24 hours if necessary. We went to a shop one morning, most everything was done the next day, and a couple pieces that needed more alterations were delivered to our hotel later that evening.<BR><BR>i think two days is just about right for hoi an; i enjoyed it, but didn't long for more time there like i did in Hue and, especially, in SaPa.

Hi, this posting may be a little too late to be useful to you but I just wanted to share my experiences with you, and anyone else reading, anyway.

I just returned home from a trip to Vietnam (June 2005). I spent a total of 5 days in Hoi An. Prior to leaving for Hoi An, I had trawled through the many recommendations and comments left by helpful travelers who wrote from their experiences. Out of these, the name that appeared fairly frequently was YALY, and so naturally I paid a visit to the establishment while I was there. While I do not doubt that the quality of workmanship for their garments should probably be of an acceptable standard, given that so many people had their clothes made there, I won't be able to give any personal assessment of that because I did not have a single piece of clothing made there at all. The reason why that was so was solely because of the extremely poor level of service proffered by the staff of YALY. I went there with the intention of getting a fair number of suits and shirts made, but I encountered great difficulty of even getting one of their numerous staff (who were standing around chatting and looking listless) to attend to me. Further, they were reluctant to answer more than 1 question, and quickly disappeared (4 to 5 of them) further into the shop. Thus leaving me stranded among the bales of fabric on the right of the entrance of the shop.

I had gone to YALY because they were backed by numerous recommendations online, and I had a good impression of the place. I'm sorry to report that whatever good impression I had of them no longer holds. Perhaps their fame is what caused them to serve their customers with the attitude as they do now (as people just flock in rather blindly, determined that they must get most, if not all, of their clothing in Hoi An made there). As such, I suppose they feel that they can afford to treat their customers with such indifference and rudeness.

Another tailor shop that came highly recommended was THU THUY, located on 60 Le Loi Street. All I can say is that the salesgirls there, all decked out in silk Ao Dais, are an even more sorry sight than the people at YALY. The 6 or so of them were all sitting slouched at this table in the shop. Some looked half asleep while the others were happily eating melon seeds. Again, I had trouble trying to make even the simplest inquiry to get things started. Turns out that THU THUY has tied up with a number of tour agencies and has bus loads of tourists being dropped at their doorsteps. The prices charged by them to these misguided tourists are quite exorbitant, as it has to cover the commission paid to the agencies that bring them there. So basically, those tourists who purchase there are like sheep being sent to the slaughter. So much for a place being visited by the Queen of Denmark or something.

For someone who's thinking of getting clothes done in Hoi An, what I can say is that you should look around and not be led squarely by the nose by positive online posts praising YALY, THU THUY or anywhere else to the high heavens. At best, these serve as rough guides to tailors that did not churn out disasters for the authors of those posts.

I spent my $400 or so at this lovely place called DAO NGUYEN KY KY. It's located at 5 Nhi Trung Street. Look for the sign hung perpendicular to the main road. I went there because someone online recommended it. I decided to check it out and judge for myself. Whatever was written about them being able to create excellent and well-made suits and shirts was true to the last word. The service was exceptional, there was no sales pressure at all, and I felt very comfortable throughout the entire process. Those who make clothes there usually come as a result of word of mouth, so the staff there won't be shouting to you to come in when you walk by (or even when you're taking a closer look at the clothings on the mannequins). You can be assured that should you signal to any of one the staff for any assistance or inquiries, you won't be met with the absurd indifference like I experienced at YALY and THU THUY. More likely than not, you will be served by HA, the main staff of the shop. This lovely lady speaks very good English and makes great recommendations for fabric or modification to the styles that may suit you better than the designs you pick out from the catalogs. At this shop, the price is pegged to the quality of material chosen by you. If you opt for the top grade cashmere-wool blends from UK or the silk-blends from Italy, then expect to pay more than if you chose polyester or something else. For the most expensive cashmere-wool blend suit, I was charged in the region of $50, depending on whether I wanted a skirt or pant suit. A jacket, skirt and pants will cost $60. The shirts are an incredible value at $6 per piece (for the normal cotton cloths). If you choose fine cotton, like Egyptian cotton, then it's around $2 more. It's up to you to choose the kind of cuffs you want, as it does not affect the price. Fantastic stuff I tell you. I'll head straight for them next time I am in Hoi An again for a renewal of my work wardrobe. Their suits and shirts are really top-notch.

We would definitely suggested Nguyet Thu clothes at 156 Tran Phu.

My wife and I had come back from Hoi An and we had lot of our clothes made there. We are really satisfied with what they had done for us. The quality is good and the style is copied from the pics we showed them and in their catalogues. They are as nice as we can think of with just a very cheap price than any other place in the world. And also, the sale staff and tailor staff there made a good care to customers. We had 2 suits, 1 dress, 2 skirts and 2 tops and a gown made just for 1 day and a half. Then they needed just a couples of hours fixing after we tried on. We had all of them made just for 2 days including fixing time with our full satisfaction.

Personally, found the tailoring in Hoi An VASTLY inferior to what can be obtained at roughly the same price in Bangkok. Hoi An, while charming 10 years ago or so, has turned into a really a big tourist trap. The tailoring industry which now drives the local economy cater to hoards of tourists who are there for 48 hours or so and they will never see again. So, they really don't care if you ever come back. As you might expect, quality, etc. is mostly rock bottom. I guess if you're not all that picky about your clothes fit and material it might be alright. But, its definitely buyer beware. They will always tell you its 100% silk or 100% cotton when it isn't. If you really don't know fabrics you have a great chance of being ripped-off big time. Also, if you are not very specific about what you want in the tailoring process such as french seams, etc. you won't get it.

Hoi An tailoring unfortunately is all about churn and burn. Sad but true.

This person who wrote a story for the LA Times apparently had the same experience:

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-...&amp;cset=true