Hoi An is famous for shoe makers and tailors. Although I was fully aware of this before the trip, the sheer amount one sees within a couple of blocks is overwhelming. Nevertheless, I made it a point to get up early on Monday morning to get started on the task at hand.
My first stop was at B’Lan, a tailor who had been mentioned several times on Trip Advisor. Since I showed up around 8:20 a.m. and there was only a single non-English speaking employee present, it was obviously too early. Yet the employee invited me in, gave me some bottled water and motioned for me to look around while she quickly made a few phone calls. About 10 minutes later, the owner and another employee showed up. They asked what I would like made. First, I showed them 2 dresses that a tailor in Bali had made that didn’t fit correctly (due to her finishing them about an hour before I had to leave for the airport, which didn’t leave lots of time for alterations). Then I asked if they could copy a dress from Macy’s and a dress shirt from Paris, both of which I’d brought with me. Lan inspected both items, took my measurements and asked me to pick out fabric. She was very nice and helpful when suggesting fabrics and color combinations; all of the fabric choices ended up being my original ones, though. With the 2 alterations, 1 dress and 2 dress shirts, my bill was slightly over $100. After paying a nominal deposit, she assured me that I could stop by the following afternoon for my first fitting.
Lan then asked if I was having shoes made. My response was that I was considering it. With that, she asked me to hop on the back of her bicycle and she took me to her sister’s shop. I wasn’t in the mood for a hard sell, but looked around. Her sister wanted to know what I was considering, so I showed her a picture of some flats from Anthropologie. The flats were two-toned, with a pointed toe and 2 small buckles around the ankle. She asked me to pick either leather or fabric. After picking black leather for the toe and caramel leather for the rest, she quoted me a reasonable price. Once again, she drew around my feet, took some measurements, I paid a very small deposit and she said they would be finished that afternoon!
My final stop for the morning was Kimmie Tailor, which had been recommended by Yum Yum. On my way into the shop, I ran into the 2 Aussies, J., and his mother, L., who I’d met at Halong Bay. They ended up going to another tailor across the street, but said they’d stop back by so we could have lunch together. At Kimmie, I was assisted by the adorable Thu. As usual, I showed her pictures of a dress and a blouse from Anthropologie, she took my measurements, I paid a deposit and was told that I could stop by for a fitting the following day.
My initial clothes from Lan turned out so well that I ordered another dress, 2 more shirts and a pair of pants. I had about 3 fittings and was very happy with everything. The dress and blouse from Kimmie also took 3 fittings and were just as nice. The only reason I didn’t order more is because they were more expensive than B’Lan.
The shoes were finished that same day and turned out wonderful. Later in the week I decided to have a pair of boots and a pair of flats made at a shoe maker, also recommended by Yum Yum. I was very skeptical because the boots were two-toned, zipped on the inside and had mock laces. The flats were of fabric with minute leather details. The shoe maker looked at my pictures (from Anthropologie again), measured me, took my deposit and said they’d both be ready for a fitting the next day. I didn’t go back for 2 days, though. When I did, the boots were fabulous and fit perfectly. The flats were adorable, but needed minor adjustments. At that point, she talked me into having another pair of flats made. Both pairs of flats fit perfectly when they were done as well.
All in all, I’m thrilled with my clothes, shoes and boots. I wanted more of everything, but had to conserve some money for my return trip to Hanoi. I was also concerned with the weight of my suitcase! We’ll see if the shoes and boots fall apart in 3 months, but I’m betting they won’t!