Hoi An is known for its romantic, lantern-lit streets, riverside restaurants, and tailor shops that will design made-to-measure clothing at rates and with a turnaround time impossible for a North American to imagine. We were looking forward to this stop on our Islandhopping tour of Vietnam.
Yaly Couture
Yaly is one of the better-known tailors and our tour guide entrusted us to the shop’s manager Lauren. Even though we arrived quite late in the day, the place was buzzing with customers.
Choose your design
The shop displays a number of sample items including suits, dresses, shirts and pants in addition to stacks of catalogues for you to choose from. But here’s what we didn’t know going in: You can bring a photo from a magazine or website with you and Yaly will replicate it! Wow, right?
Pick your fabrics
Once you know what you want to have made, you need to decide on fabric. This was the hardest part for me. Yaly staff helped me out though, letting me know what would work best in terms of material.
Measure up
Next it’s time to get measured and photographed. Seemed to me that every possible measurement that could be was taken. I have to say I felt like a bit of giant next to the petite staff member with the measuring tape.
Get fitted
Less than 24 hours later, we had our first fitting. Given that we were leaving early the next morning, I was a bit nervous that our clothing would not be ready, but we were assured it would be. After our first fitting, we came back about an hour later for a second one. A couple of items needed further tweaking. Yaly delivered our clothing to our hotel late that night so we’d have it at dawn when we left. Wow.
Cost: Steve got two dress shirts and two dress jackets. I got two dresses and two pairs of pants. Our total was less than $600 CDN. We’re happy with the quality of our purchases and the remarkable price.
How do they do it?
Obviously labour costs are much lower in Vietnam than in North America so that accounts for the price. As for the turnaround time, a Yaly staff person told us they employ 300 tailors.
Tailor Tips
We would do things a bit differently if we were to visit a tailor in Hoi An again:
- More days: We spent more time at the tailor’s than we did exploring the town, which was fine as it was an experience, but keep this in mind.
- I think 3 full days in Hoi An would be perfect if you’re going to get clothing made. Not sure what we would have done if the clothing did not fit perfectly after that second fitting.
- Choose design ahead: I would choose designs from a magazine before visiting Hoi An. This would save a heap of time and be a fun way to get excited for the trip ahead.
Other Hoi An highlights
Organic Farming and Cooking Class
A 3 kilometre bicycle ride north of the main area of Hoi An took us to Tra Que Vegetable Village. The area is known for the collection of organic herbs grown here.
Local farmers showed us how they prepare the earth for planting. They place a layer of seaweed from a local river in the bed before the plants as it is a natural fertilizer. The gardens are lovely to cycle through.
Later in the morning we stopped at Kumquat Hoi An BBQ Restaurant and Cooking Class, where we met owner Ho Xuan Thanh and his family. After donning aprons and spiffy red hand towels, we got to work preparing some Vietnamese dishes.
This is my kind of cooking. Everything is measured and in little bowls, ready for assembly.
Lunch was fairly well-crafted and delicious!
Last stop: Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City
This is the fifth post in a series on an IslandHopping tour we took through Vietnam. Visit the first post to go back to the start of it all.
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