Tuesday 17 January 2012

Tailoring in Hoi An

Upon the advice from a couple of travellers we met in Laos we decided to have something tailor made at Kimmys. The prices were higher here but the shop was very smart both inside and out and after reading about shoddy tailors we thought we may as well pay a little more and go on the advice of the couple.

I asked for a playsuit to be made and showed the girl a photo of the model wearing it. It was a simple design on from the front and the back had a cut out detail. The girl said that she would not be able to complete the design within the two days we had left here and so called her friend and told us to go with them instead.
As this recommendation had come from Kimmys i didn't think to question this and followed the girl around the corner to a tailor called 'Bens'.

The shop wasn't as classy but that didn't bother me and the new tailors seemed confident about the design i wanted. I said i would like the playsuit to be black in colour and was then handed some stretchy cotton material. I also enquired about silk, but all the silk seemed too shiny and formal and so upon the advice of the tailor i went with the stretchy cotton.

In total the playsuit would cost $65, i was a little apprehensive on the price as it was a lot of money but i was told that due to the complex design at the back then the cost would be higher. I tried to barter but they wouldn't budge.

By now Ian had also decided to get something made and went for a shirt and a pair of shorts for $60. Even with this order they would still not bring down the price, this time claiming that the fabrics were expensive and of good quality.

The next day we returned for a fitting. I wasn't overly impressed with my playsuit as the material looked cheap. The design was a good match and the seams had been sewn perfectly, i could not fault that at all. I did have to have an alteration made as it was slightly too big but this was to be expected.

Ian's shirt and shorts had also been made well and the shorts were made of a really nice thick cotton material. The shirt was a little thin but he had been re-assured that a good quality cotton that had been used.

We met up with Jason, Luke & Josh who had used a different tailor to us and paid only $7 for a pair of shorts. The workmanship on the shorts were to the same standard as Ian's but the material was very thin and in my opinion needed to be lined. I guess they were so cheap because of the cheaper materials that had been used.

The shirts however looked and felt like the same quality as Ian's but I'm not sure if the material used had been cotton or not. Unless you work in an industry where you use fabrics it is very difficult to tell, well for us it was anyway!

We returned the following day to pick up our items but overall i was disappointed with my outfit and felt it was very over priced. My advice would be to look at as many different materials as possible before choosing. Pick up the material you like and wrap it around you, imagine how it will hang once made, all this is really important and an expensive lesson that cost me $65!

*Update

The pockets on Ians' shorts have both torn through general wear and tear. Even Primark clothing has lasted me longer than that!

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