Comments on How to Buy Custom-Tailored Clothes in Asia

We just returned from a three week tour of Vietnam. I must say that of three shops we went to, Yaly's was by far superior. The first, recommended by our hotel, turned out to be relatives of the hotel staff who made a shirt with buttons that fell off before I had worn it back to the hotel. But on repeated recommendations from travelers we encountered before we got to Hoi An, both my wife and I had clothes made at Yaly'. Their fabric selection is extensive and varied, and the sales girls were attentive and friendly without being overbearing. They made helpful suggestions both initially and in the fitting for our clothes the next day. They called in their (non-English speaking) tailor for both initial measuring and final fitting, and this ensured a perfect fit. I initially had a casual shirt and wool/cashmere blend business suit made, and liked the fit of the pants so well the next day that I ordered a pair of linen travel pants. Everything was finished and perfect, and as promised delivered to our hotel on the third day. While at the shop I observed other people also being helped courteously and attentively, whether they were only getting one item made or a closet full. The level of English spoken by the sales staff was more than adequate, and considering the range of English accents they encounter, certainly commendable. I brought back some fabric samples, which Yaly's also has on file, and intend to order more clothes through their web site, as they have detailed measurements and front, side and back photos now. While there are no doubt other excellent tailors in Hoi An, we didn't have the time to search them out, but we definitely found it worth while to go to Yaly's.

I just returned from Hoi An. I spent 8 days in Hoi An, so I had plenty of time to check out the myriad of tailors. I approached the task in the following way: I first set out to find the cost of quality tailoring and then the cost of cloth offered. I found both varied considerably. Once I had established the cost of good quality tailoring, I then set out to find the best cloth for a suit, three pairs of casual trousers and three shirts. I found only the higher end shop had the higher quality material. On advice, I took a good fitting pair of trousers and shirt with me and got them to make the new articles to the same. I found YALY and THU THUY could not match the price based on similar quality and the cashmere cloth I required. I used A Don Silk for the suit and trousers and Silk Road for the shits and was very happy with the outcome for my $300.

I recently spent a few days in Bangkok, Thailand for a good shopping spree before heading down to Phuket to get a nice tan. Talking about tailors, another reason why I was in Bangkok was to get a couple of suits made and a lot of shirts made. Walking down the streets of Sukhumvit showed me that I had a variety of choices of shops to enter. And enter I did, quite a couple of shops to see the price differences. But alas, the prices were pretty much the same, but the one shop that caught my attention was this shop "Crown Tailor" on Sukhumvit Road Soi 8, about 50m in the Soi. Every other shop that I went in gave me a price, but alas, this shop did not only give me a price but spoke to me in a very convincing manner. I did not have to worry about the service at all. The tailor there was willing to give me every bit of help I needed and was willing to answer any question I asked him. He even allowed me as many fittings as I wanted before I finally agreed on the suits (I am very picky on my sizes), and was willing to help without the least bit of moaning. Along with the finest tailoring in the Oriental tradition that I have seen in a while, the service was amazing. He even offered to help me speak to the tour guides to get the good packages to get me down to Phuket at a reasonable price. And therefore, because of all this, I spent quite a fair bit of money there and till now still think of Crown Tailors every time I wear my suit (which is still is tip-top shape 8 months down the line). So anyone looking for a good tailor with good experience and excellent service, head on down to Crown Tailors, on Sukhumvit road Soi 8, Bangkok. Fantastic stuff I must say, and anytime I head on down to Bangkok again, the first place I'll be visiting will be this place.

On my last trip to Vietnam I found that while the suit did in fact look good, it was not constructed the way a real suit is constructed. There was no canvas to give it shape and body, most of the fabrics were synthetic (always burn it and see), and the cut was done according to their preference, rather than to sartorial standards. This is not to say that most folks know the difference, but it does matter hugely when it comes to the comfort of wearing the thing. My recommendation would be to browse websites that focus on suits and find out what the bare minimum requirements are for it to really be a suit. Know what double-vented versus single-vented means, what a ticket pocket is, what a floating canvas is, and why you'd want it. Then you can shop smart. Sure, I have some suits that look decent to most eyes. But anytime I put on a decent thrift-store find I feel a huge difference. Caveat emptor.

On my last trip to Vietnam I found that while the suit did in fact look good, it was not constructed the way a real suit is constructed. There was no canvas to give it shape and body, most of the fabrics were synthetic (always burn it and see), and the cut was done according to their preference, rather than to sartorial standards. This is not to say that most folks know the difference, but it does matter hugely when it comes to the comfort of wearing the thing. My recommendation would be to browse websites that focus on suits and find out what the bare minimum requirements are for it to really be a suit. Know what double-vented versus single-vented means, what a ticket pocket is, what a floating canvas is, and why you'd want it. Then you can shop smart. Sure, I have some suits that look decent to most eyes. But anytime I put on a decent thrift-store find I feel a huge difference. Caveat emptor.

I just returned home from a trip to Vietnam. 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.