Finding the Best Tailor made suits in Hoi An

Getting a tailor made suit in Hoi An is one of the best things to do in Hoi An. Not only is it usually a memorable experience, prices are generally affordable and the quality can be of good value.

Hoi An, the tailoring capital of the Vietnam, has abundance of good tailor shops. This guide is an insider’s perspective on how to find the best Hoi An tailors.

The tailoring trade was prominent since the Chinese ruling of central Vietnam and since Hoi An was part of the Silk Road, fabric trade was prominent then. However, only in the late 1990s did the tailor trade started to boom. As tourists demand for tailoring increase exponentially, many youths entered the tailoring trade to escape poverty.

In Vietnam, labour is cheap but good fabrics are not cheap everywhere. That is where a good tailor shop comes in, to manage the costs and quality of fabrics well. A good tailor in Hoi An will usually have a storeroom that’s decently stocked with fabrics.

Many cheaper tailor shops in Hoi An hold very little inventory. Then, they buy from nearby fabric shops at high markup. These shops are ok with earning very low margins as competition is stiff. So for certain items that you won’t wear a lot or require high quality and price is of a concern, these stores can still be considered.

Fabrics sold within Hoi An usually originates from China. Mainly because China is the only country with trade routes that can skip the high excessive import taxes. Because shop owners are generally price conscious and import taxes in Vietnam are relatively high, fabric suppliers in Hoi An generally sell low end or low quality fabrics, to earn a higher margin.

Reputable shops will usually buy fabrics direct from wholesalers. For smaller bulks of fabrics, they are usually purchased from wholesalers or importers in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City where the major ports are at. For larger bulks, they will buy good quality fabrics direct from factories in China. For many small tailor shops (for example: stores in the market), usually they will not even be entertained by even the local wholesalers.

In contrary to popular belief, poor quality fabrics actually last long. However, they are very uncomfortable to wear (just imagine wearing a plastic bag). The fabric is also stiff and do not fall well on your body.

Truth is most shops in Hoi An are solely store fronts, with no seamstresses or tailors  as part of their staff count. This means that most stores usually handles purchase of the fabrics and the sales, measurement and fitting but everything else is outsourced.

This does not sound like a big deal but with such a business model, quality is usually compromised. Firstly, shops in Hoi An are usually cost conscious. So sweatshop owners have to cut costs to eke out a profit and eventually, costs are usually scrimped on construction materials and staff.

In addition, staff are usually paid per item without your usual benefits like leave, social security etc. Hence, during low tourist seasons, they are very free with little orders and usually struggle to make ends meet. During high season, they are usually overloaded and produce rush work to compensate for the low seasons, which in turn affected quality of output.

Today, many stores including big ones pretend to have in-house tailors but in fact pay unstable wages and provide poor working conditions. Sewing machines are in the stores when in reality, tourism has taken a hit and is unable to provide stable jobs to seamstresses till today. Hence, you will see many empty machines and many workers idling around.

For the workers to have a comfortable salary and benefits, they need to have consistent work. This is extremely difficult for normal tailor store fronts that serve tourist clientele to manage.

You should spend enough time on fittings and the tailors also want to have enough time to make your best clothes. The time for tailoring depends on the piece of clothing and the order backlog.

• For a suit, it usually takes 1 man day of maneffort.
• For shirts, it usually takes 0.5 man day of maneffort

During peak seasons like December, I will recommend allocating at least 3 full days while for off-peak seasons, 1.5 days is sufficient.

The price depends mainly on the fabrics. Style and details usually do not affect the price much. For additional requests like pick stitching, shirt trims or complex details, there usually will be extra costs attached due to the additional work involved.

You can expect to pay USD 70 to USD 300 for a tailored-made suit. So for more than US$300 unless it is for a reputable brand, most likely are you ripped off.

There are so many styles for suits and dresses in Hoi An that you may be confused to choose one for yourself. For most cases, a Navy Single breasted, two button slim fit suit will do suit. If you are adventurous, then it’ll be better to research before going Hoi an.

There are many reasons why tailor shops in Hoi An do not wish to list prices. The top reason is that many only stock really low end fabrics. When a customer choose a fabric, they will then say its medium or best quality and mark up the price a little more. If they were to list the prices, customers will compare between fabrics and notice the quality is similar but end up choosing the cheapest ones.

Another reason is many shop owners are opportunistic. When they spot an unsuspecting customer, they will then charge them.

Seeing clothes in images and receiving the actual clothes is very different. Some customers said that they are disappointed with the result they’ve got after showing the pictures to tailors. So don’t believe 100% on images. That said, given the language barrier, I will recommend against choosing complex designs especially if it is expensive.

If you genuinely like the fabric, most likely will you feel good in it. Choosing from the swatch sample is one thing but I will recommend spending time to see the fabric in both day light and indoors. You don’t have to overdo it but at least see the actually fabric before you select it. An actual fabric can look very different from the sample.

For 100% wool, since you are paying a premium, do feel free to ask the owner do a burn test. Just burn a single thread and you should see powder and not smell plastic. Do note that in Hoi An, no tailors will hold inventory of wool fabrics with high thread count (e.g. 180s and above), as high thread count fabrics get damaged very easily with average storage conditions.

You will get exactly what you want if the tailor understands your desires for your clothes. So even though it takes a bit more time to explain everything more clearly, if you have time and a clear idea about your tailored piece of clothing, you had better draw it to the last details.

However, good tailors in Hoi An should already have proper guidebooks and samples and not require you to plan so much in advance.

If it ain’t broke, why fix it. If you have an item that fits you perfectly, just provide it as a reference for the tailor to copy. Unless you are choosing a different fabric (e.g. stretch fabric), most likely your copied item will fix perfectly.

Especially for travellers on long trips, it is important to note if you will be gaining weight or losing weight when you return home. There is no point spending time for countless fittings to have a perfect fit when you will be gaining weight when you are back home.

With hundreds of tailor shops in Hoi An, it would be tough to pick one. On top of that, Tripadvisor for Tailors in Hoi an is rigged with many fake reviews. So first, you can start with Google reviews, Trip Advisor or Lonely Planet where you can find the information of the majority of Hoi An tailor shops. I will recommend reading only the detailed long reviews. Usually if the shop is flooded with reviews that are sloppy with poor English or done straight after purchase, it is usually manipulated.

Wandering through the streets of Hoi An Ancient Town, you can find out that they offer different prices for the same items. While it is tough to get the best deal, you should know that you get what you pay for. Normally, the price is different mainly due to the materials of the item.  You can haggle on the price a little if you buy more items (even just more than 1 item is OK). Be cautious if you can get a big discount as most likely you were over-quoted from the start or they will cut corners without your knowledge.

Most customers will require 2-3 fittings before collecting their items. During these fittings, you can talk to your tailor and discuss how you want to fix it, whether it is the length, tightness, or the style. Hoi An tailors are usually willing to fix to satisfy their customers. But do listen to their advice and evaluate if the alteration is necessary.