Hoi An: The Tailor Town

My favourite part of my backpacking trip to Vietnam was visiting Hoi An. I’d like to say we had glorious sunshine the whole time we were there but alas no. It poured down. Literally. The river and streets were flooded. The pac-a-mac saleswomen were out in force. But it didn’t dampen our spirits. In fact it actually made everything that little bit funnier (we wouldn’t be saying this a few days later when we saw our laundry bill). Cycling, motorbike and walking tours of the town were all carried out with gusto and it wasn’t so much the rain that hindered things as opposed to the language barrier of some of our local guides. “Can you tell what this fruit is? No? It’s a fig. Spelled P-E-A-C-H” !!!!???

Anyway, I digress. Hoi An is particularly well known for its abundance of tailor shops, meaning that most people that grace its streets are looking to get some item of clothing made, usually dresses or suits. I hadn’t particularly gone with this in mind, but seeing as how the rain meant that some planned activities were unable to go ahead, I decided to have a look at some dresses, bearing in mind that I knew I had a formal ball to attend shortly after I got home. Referring to the guidebook, we headed off in search of a few recommended ones.

The first one we found was particularly impressive. We were immediately swooped upon by a hoard of small Vietnamese women desperate to tailor every garment we could desire and in a typical ‘divide and conquer’ style attack myself and my two travelling companions were quickly separated. However much I tried, though, I just could not bring myself to fall in love with any of the dresses they had in their catalogue. I could tell the saleswoman was getting impatient with my indecisiveness, so I let her take my measurements just to appease her, which was an experience in itself. Bearing in mind that I’m not a particularly giant Western woman at around 5”7, this woman came up to chest height on me (and who needs nipple-to-nipple measurements, I ask you?). I showed her some dresses I found on websites from shops back home and she assured me that she would be able to make them for me, but I was still reluctant to hand over a big wad of my budget for a dress that I hadn’t been able to try on. I made my excuses and promised to return later that day.

After a spot of lunch I was feeling dejected and had that need to purchase something that you always get when everyone else you’re with is buying. Plodding around the rain-soaked streets of Hoi An (in what was now the half-light) was actually really pretty, but it couldn’t cheer me up. And then I spotted a very small shop set back off the road with only a few mannequins in the front. It wasn’t flashy and it probably wasn’t the best shop in the town, but an emerald green dress caught my eye and I had a lightbulb moment. I wanted that dress, whether it suited me or not. The woman pounced on me as soon as I entered the shop and within minutes I had been measured and had handed over a deposit for the dress which she assured me would be perfect within one fitting tomorrow. I had got a bargain and I was happy. I hadn’t even haggled on price because it was so much cheaper than I was originally intending to pay in the other shop. The world was bright once again.

Tip here: Don’t ever go into a tailor’s shop with someone else who isn’t looking to purchase or who has already purchased from somewhere else, because the crazy salespeople will drive them mad.

Sure enough, the next day I returned to the shop to try on the dress. After having to undress in the middle of the shop (I thought the Vietnamese were shy and retiring?! Obviously not!) I paraded in front of the mirror in my new dress that fitted like a glove, feeling deliriously happy with my decision to buy.

And now that dress is hanging up in my wardrobe at home and serves as a reminder of my amazing time in Hoi An every time I open the door.