Days 79/80 - Hoi An
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tuesday 26th October
Wednesday 27th October
This post will take on a different fashion from my normal blogs, because these two days consisted of one thing: clothes fittings! Rather than account my hour by hour fittings, I thought I would write about my experience at each tailor, and the clothes I ended up with.
Yaly Couture
Advertising for Yaly Couture confronts you as soon as you enter the airport in Danang, and follows you down the road to Hoi An. Along with Ao Dong Silk, Yaly Couture is the premium tailor in Hoi An. This was my first stop, and armed with a list of clothes I wanted made, I was greeted by Fairy, my own personal assistant.
After showing her my pictures, talking through ideas and examining the look books (each tailor has a heap of magazines and lookbooks from which you can draw inspiration), I settled on four items to be made: a navy silk dress, similar to one I have in Australia; a tulip work dress; a black silk jacket with 80s style sleeves; and a replica of the flannellete dress I own, in a red and blue flannel.
At the first fitting that afternoon, I was a little alarmed. Each item was quite oversized (although, Fairy reassured me this was only because it was a first fitting - the clothes would be cut to size after the tailor had viewed the product on me, and as she said it was better for it to be too big than too small! I don't think there was any reason for me to be alarmed, it wasn't that they were poorly made, more just that I wasn't familiar with the clothes making process). The tulip dress was the one thing that was concerning me - I'd asked for it to be made with cap sleeves, which looked repulsive (I take the blame for this), and the silk dress made me look like a 10 tonne Tessa.
One of the notable differences with Yaly is that at each fitting, the tailor of your item personally comes into your dressing room to examine the fit, and talk through any problems or concerns you have. (At all of the other tailors, the shop assistant examines the fit, and then sends it back to the sewing room). Having discussed my concerns with the tailors, they scurried back to work, and I returned the next morning for another fitting.
This time, my fears were allayed - the tailors had made every change required, and had now sorted out the hem lengths so I looked like the 27 year old that I am, rather than a frumpy Grandma. The flannellete dress was near perfect (I wanted one minor change to nip in the waist) whilst the silk dress was perfect; the jacket required a slight modification in the back for more space, and the tulip dress looked way better now that the sleeves were gone and the hem was shorter.
One more fitting in the afternoon and I was happy with all of the clothes. However, Fairy wouldn't let me leave with the clothes - she said she would perform a quality assessment of the clothes, and once she was satisfied with them she would have them couriered over to my hotel (and three hours later, they arrived at my hotel, freshly pressed and individually wrapped).
Judgment: Expensive, but you get what you pay for. Quality control, large range of fabric and look books, and professional staff ensure you leave a happy customer. Quality of tailoring is supreme.
Mr Xe
Mr Xe had good feedback on TripAdvisor. Run by an eccentric, short Vietnamese man, it was my second stop after Yaly Couture. Reviews I had read said it was best to have business clothes made here, not casual clothes, so I decided to have one business shirt made (my thought being, if the shirt turned out well I could always go back for more). At $15, I thought it was a bargain, especially as the fabric felt beautiful (rich woven cotton, as opposed to thin cotton).
After my measurements were taken, I was told to come back later that afternoon for a first fitting. The shirt was a disaster - way too small in the back for me - so it was sent back to the workshop. It required three more fittings on the next day to get it to fit me properly - they actually made a brand new shirt in the end, with more material. The eccentric Mr Xe ensured he sat in on all of the fittings as well, and the shirt was only allowed home with me once he gave the final sign-off. I'm not sure if I will end up wearing it - they can't seem to do women's shirts right, but at $15 it's worth having in the cupboard, even if it's just worn a few times or under dresses.
Judgment: Give women's business shirts a miss, but possibly worth persisting for other types of work clothes.
Thu Thuy
This tailor has good reviews on TripAdvisor, and had several locations in town. I stopped in at the first, a small front only store, and decided to have a business shirt made at a cost of $27. Similar to Mr Xe though, the fit was terrible. After 4 fittings, I gave up on it, asking if I could cancel the order. This meant I lost my deposit, but it was better than paying the full amount for a shirt I knew I would never wear.
Across the road was their main shopfront. You walked through the street facing store and at the rear was a large fabric and fitting room. The only items really left on my list, now that I'd decided to skip the Burberry jacket, were some pants for Whistler. Now I NEVER wear pants, because a) they don't suit my body and b) I don't feel feminine in them. My assistant wore a slightly surly expression on her face but she was absolutely brilliant - you know when people are really brilliant so they get bored when they're not being stretched? This was her. She advised me that no one in Hoi An had the right machine to make jeans, and advised getting them off the shelf once I got to Canada, but helped me pick out a great pair of black pants, which will be my workwear in Canada. They were made of a slightly shiny material, with some excess room around the crotch - a style that's very in at the moment (very tailored, not like a pair of harem pants!)
At the first fitting, I was very excited - finally a nice pair of pants I'd actually wear! I asked for slightly more room in the legs and for the waist to be brought in, and at the second fitting it was perfect.
Judgment: Putting the business shirt fiasco aside, they were very professional (even giving me free bottles of water as I waited) and stylish, and knew exactly how to fit and flatter. Slightly expensive but worth it.
Thanh Thien
On my list of 'wanted' clothes, I had jotted down a boyfriend blazer. However, none of the look books had good examples and I didn't really want to explain what a boyfriend blazer was. Walking down LeLoi street, I noticed a boyfriend blazer hanging in the window of this tailors, made in an expensive grey sheeny material, similar to that in which expensive suits are made out of. I asked to try it on and instantly fell in love, asking the price - it was only $30!
I was quickly measured up and told to come back later that afternoon. When I returned and tried on the custom product, it was absolutely perfect - not one alteration required. Since the jacket was made so perfectly, I decided to get a skirt made in the same material for only $25 - the skirt and jacket could act as a suit, or I could wear the boyfriend blazer with jeans or pants for a night out. The skirt required several alterations to fit perfectly - mostly because I designed it 'from my head' as a tulip skirt, but when I saw the product I realised it was a little too 'tulipy' and need to be streamlined.
Judgment: Not initially on the list, but this tailor turned out to be brilliant. Whenever they have something to copy, they can replicate it perfectly, as was the case with the jacket.
Shoe Shop
I hadn't intended on having shoes made, as the reviews I had read online gave only bad feedback. The myriad of shoemakers in town seemed to make the same types of shoes, all made from a cheap type of leather but customised to a design of your choice (predominantly sandals, thongs, or men's work shoes). This wasn't the type of place where you could bring your Nine West suede pumps and have them replicated.
Late on Tuesday night, I was walking through the city when a young girl called me into her shoe store. I obliged, intending to just have a quick look, but she had me down on a chair with a catalog in my hand before I could object. "So pretty," she kept remarking, as she stroked my blonde hair (everyone loves blonde hair and blue eyes it seems - none of them can believe my eye colour is real). She told me how the store was a family business, and that she worked everyday from 8:30am to 10pm, and how slow her day had been. By the end of this, I couldn't bare to walk out of the shop, and ended up ordering a pair of lace-up sandals made in a bright blue python-skin material.
Returning on Wednesday to pick them up, they were a disaster. I couldn't fit my feet into the shoes, and the material on the side was all crinkled - not a good look at all. "No problem, we fix, you return at 8pm," my friend told me.
Returning at 8pm, the shoes were still a disaster - in fact, they were possibly even worse than they had been that morning. I couldn't bare sending them back again - I decided to accept the fact that they were a disaster and I wouldn't wear them, and accepted them with a fake smile on my face. As soon as I returned to my hotel, the shoes were put by the bin (and I told the hotel manager he could give them to the staff).
Judgment: Friendly staff but terrible shoes - give shoe-making a miss in Hoi An.
Overall:
Sandals $20 Epic fail Shoe Store
Business shirt $15 Acceptable Mr Xe
Silk dress $65 Great Yaly
Tulip dress $60 Good Yaly
Silk jacket $60 Good Yaly
Flannellete dress $60 Perfect Yaly
Boyfriend blazer $30 Perfect Thanh Thien
Tulip skirt $25 Good Thanh Thien
Shirt $27 Epic fail Thu Thuy
Black pants $55 Perfect Thu Thuy
Overall, this was an interesting experience. I had initially intended on getting more clothes made, but for me I prefer to buy off the rack, because at least then you know what you're paying for. It's best to go armed with either an article of clothing you want replicated OR pictures of the item you want made - the tailors work best when they're copying something. You get what you pay for, but at these prices you can't really go wrong - and one or two items that are not up-to-scratch isn't bad in the long run.
Wednesday 27th October
This post will take on a different fashion from my normal blogs, because these two days consisted of one thing: clothes fittings! Rather than account my hour by hour fittings, I thought I would write about my experience at each tailor, and the clothes I ended up with.
Yaly Couture
Advertising for Yaly Couture confronts you as soon as you enter the airport in Danang, and follows you down the road to Hoi An. Along with Ao Dong Silk, Yaly Couture is the premium tailor in Hoi An. This was my first stop, and armed with a list of clothes I wanted made, I was greeted by Fairy, my own personal assistant.
After showing her my pictures, talking through ideas and examining the look books (each tailor has a heap of magazines and lookbooks from which you can draw inspiration), I settled on four items to be made: a navy silk dress, similar to one I have in Australia; a tulip work dress; a black silk jacket with 80s style sleeves; and a replica of the flannellete dress I own, in a red and blue flannel.
At the first fitting that afternoon, I was a little alarmed. Each item was quite oversized (although, Fairy reassured me this was only because it was a first fitting - the clothes would be cut to size after the tailor had viewed the product on me, and as she said it was better for it to be too big than too small! I don't think there was any reason for me to be alarmed, it wasn't that they were poorly made, more just that I wasn't familiar with the clothes making process). The tulip dress was the one thing that was concerning me - I'd asked for it to be made with cap sleeves, which looked repulsive (I take the blame for this), and the silk dress made me look like a 10 tonne Tessa.
One of the notable differences with Yaly is that at each fitting, the tailor of your item personally comes into your dressing room to examine the fit, and talk through any problems or concerns you have. (At all of the other tailors, the shop assistant examines the fit, and then sends it back to the sewing room). Having discussed my concerns with the tailors, they scurried back to work, and I returned the next morning for another fitting.
This time, my fears were allayed - the tailors had made every change required, and had now sorted out the hem lengths so I looked like the 27 year old that I am, rather than a frumpy Grandma. The flannellete dress was near perfect (I wanted one minor change to nip in the waist) whilst the silk dress was perfect; the jacket required a slight modification in the back for more space, and the tulip dress looked way better now that the sleeves were gone and the hem was shorter.
One more fitting in the afternoon and I was happy with all of the clothes. However, Fairy wouldn't let me leave with the clothes - she said she would perform a quality assessment of the clothes, and once she was satisfied with them she would have them couriered over to my hotel (and three hours later, they arrived at my hotel, freshly pressed and individually wrapped).
Judgment: Expensive, but you get what you pay for. Quality control, large range of fabric and look books, and professional staff ensure you leave a happy customer. Quality of tailoring is supreme.
Mr Xe
Mr Xe had good feedback on TripAdvisor. Run by an eccentric, short Vietnamese man, it was my second stop after Yaly Couture. Reviews I had read said it was best to have business clothes made here, not casual clothes, so I decided to have one business shirt made (my thought being, if the shirt turned out well I could always go back for more). At $15, I thought it was a bargain, especially as the fabric felt beautiful (rich woven cotton, as opposed to thin cotton).
After my measurements were taken, I was told to come back later that afternoon for a first fitting. The shirt was a disaster - way too small in the back for me - so it was sent back to the workshop. It required three more fittings on the next day to get it to fit me properly - they actually made a brand new shirt in the end, with more material. The eccentric Mr Xe ensured he sat in on all of the fittings as well, and the shirt was only allowed home with me once he gave the final sign-off. I'm not sure if I will end up wearing it - they can't seem to do women's shirts right, but at $15 it's worth having in the cupboard, even if it's just worn a few times or under dresses.
Judgment: Give women's business shirts a miss, but possibly worth persisting for other types of work clothes.
Thu Thuy
This tailor has good reviews on TripAdvisor, and had several locations in town. I stopped in at the first, a small front only store, and decided to have a business shirt made at a cost of $27. Similar to Mr Xe though, the fit was terrible. After 4 fittings, I gave up on it, asking if I could cancel the order. This meant I lost my deposit, but it was better than paying the full amount for a shirt I knew I would never wear.
Across the road was their main shopfront. You walked through the street facing store and at the rear was a large fabric and fitting room. The only items really left on my list, now that I'd decided to skip the Burberry jacket, were some pants for Whistler. Now I NEVER wear pants, because a) they don't suit my body and b) I don't feel feminine in them. My assistant wore a slightly surly expression on her face but she was absolutely brilliant - you know when people are really brilliant so they get bored when they're not being stretched? This was her. She advised me that no one in Hoi An had the right machine to make jeans, and advised getting them off the shelf once I got to Canada, but helped me pick out a great pair of black pants, which will be my workwear in Canada. They were made of a slightly shiny material, with some excess room around the crotch - a style that's very in at the moment (very tailored, not like a pair of harem pants!)
At the first fitting, I was very excited - finally a nice pair of pants I'd actually wear! I asked for slightly more room in the legs and for the waist to be brought in, and at the second fitting it was perfect.
Judgment: Putting the business shirt fiasco aside, they were very professional (even giving me free bottles of water as I waited) and stylish, and knew exactly how to fit and flatter. Slightly expensive but worth it.
Thanh Thien
On my list of 'wanted' clothes, I had jotted down a boyfriend blazer. However, none of the look books had good examples and I didn't really want to explain what a boyfriend blazer was. Walking down LeLoi street, I noticed a boyfriend blazer hanging in the window of this tailors, made in an expensive grey sheeny material, similar to that in which expensive suits are made out of. I asked to try it on and instantly fell in love, asking the price - it was only $30!
I was quickly measured up and told to come back later that afternoon. When I returned and tried on the custom product, it was absolutely perfect - not one alteration required. Since the jacket was made so perfectly, I decided to get a skirt made in the same material for only $25 - the skirt and jacket could act as a suit, or I could wear the boyfriend blazer with jeans or pants for a night out. The skirt required several alterations to fit perfectly - mostly because I designed it 'from my head' as a tulip skirt, but when I saw the product I realised it was a little too 'tulipy' and need to be streamlined.
Judgment: Not initially on the list, but this tailor turned out to be brilliant. Whenever they have something to copy, they can replicate it perfectly, as was the case with the jacket.
Shoe Shop
I hadn't intended on having shoes made, as the reviews I had read online gave only bad feedback. The myriad of shoemakers in town seemed to make the same types of shoes, all made from a cheap type of leather but customised to a design of your choice (predominantly sandals, thongs, or men's work shoes). This wasn't the type of place where you could bring your Nine West suede pumps and have them replicated.
Late on Tuesday night, I was walking through the city when a young girl called me into her shoe store. I obliged, intending to just have a quick look, but she had me down on a chair with a catalog in my hand before I could object. "So pretty," she kept remarking, as she stroked my blonde hair (everyone loves blonde hair and blue eyes it seems - none of them can believe my eye colour is real). She told me how the store was a family business, and that she worked everyday from 8:30am to 10pm, and how slow her day had been. By the end of this, I couldn't bare to walk out of the shop, and ended up ordering a pair of lace-up sandals made in a bright blue python-skin material.
Returning on Wednesday to pick them up, they were a disaster. I couldn't fit my feet into the shoes, and the material on the side was all crinkled - not a good look at all. "No problem, we fix, you return at 8pm," my friend told me.
Returning at 8pm, the shoes were still a disaster - in fact, they were possibly even worse than they had been that morning. I couldn't bare sending them back again - I decided to accept the fact that they were a disaster and I wouldn't wear them, and accepted them with a fake smile on my face. As soon as I returned to my hotel, the shoes were put by the bin (and I told the hotel manager he could give them to the staff).
Judgment: Friendly staff but terrible shoes - give shoe-making a miss in Hoi An.
Overall:
Sandals $20 Epic fail Shoe Store
Business shirt $15 Acceptable Mr Xe
Silk dress $65 Great Yaly
Tulip dress $60 Good Yaly
Silk jacket $60 Good Yaly
Flannellete dress $60 Perfect Yaly
Boyfriend blazer $30 Perfect Thanh Thien
Tulip skirt $25 Good Thanh Thien
Shirt $27 Epic fail Thu Thuy
Black pants $55 Perfect Thu Thuy
Overall, this was an interesting experience. I had initially intended on getting more clothes made, but for me I prefer to buy off the rack, because at least then you know what you're paying for. It's best to go armed with either an article of clothing you want replicated OR pictures of the item you want made - the tailors work best when they're copying something. You get what you pay for, but at these prices you can't really go wrong - and one or two items that are not up-to-scratch isn't bad in the long run.
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