Hoi An is known for its skilled tailors and vibrant tailor shops so getting tailor-made clothes is an experience you can’t miss out on during your stay. The process involves choosing an outfit, getting fitted and choosing your fabrics. The experience itself is fun, unique and produces personalised and affordable garments, from suits to dresses.
Top tips for your tailoring experience
- Go to the tailors as soon as you arrive in Hoi An. If you do want an outfit tailored you should visit the tailors on your first day in Hoi An as sometimes it can take a day or two to make. If you’re not happy after the first fitting, it will take even more time to make adjustments so don’t leave it until your last day!
- Have an idea of what you want. Many tailors have books full of pictures for inspiration so you can choose an outfit when you arrive. However, I think it’s best to already have an idea of what you want and then do your research to find a tailor which you know can make that outfit well.
- Determine a budget. It can be easy to get carried away so determine a budget before you visit the tailors and work around that.
- Do your research. I absolutely do not recommend simply walking into one of the tailors and getting an outfit made. There are a lot of people who have received a result which has left them extremely disappointed. Make sure you do your research online or get a recommendation from someone before committing to a tailor.
- Make sure you’re happy before leaving! If you’re not happy with what you receive, especially during the first fitting, then make sure you tell them. You definitely don’t want to leave disappointed after paying a good price.
My own tailoring experience
Since I have quite short legs, every maxi dress I’ve ever bought is simply too long and trails on the floor collecting as much dirt as possible. So, I was super excited to go to Hoi An and finally get a tailored dress which would fit perfectly! I made sure I did my research beforehand as I really didn’t want to be disappointed with the outcome. I managed to find a video on social media of a tailored dress which was very similar to what I wanted and, fortunately, I was able to find out which tailors it was.
I visited ‘Old Town Tailors’ and showed them the video of the dress I wanted. Within 20 minutes, they had drawn up a sketch of my two dresses, taken my measurements and I’d chosen my fabrics. I was told to come back tomorrow for my first fitting.
So, 24 hours later we went back to tailors. I’ll be honest, I was so nervous to see what they had produced as I know so many people have been disappointed. However, when I tried the dresses on, I was blown away. The dresses fitted like a glove, the material was perfect and they were exactly how I had imagined. Luckily, I didn’t need to come back for a final fitting so they took the dresses back to do the final stitching and told me to collect them tomorrow morning. Here are the final results…
