How to Buy a Tailored Suit (or Coat) in Hoi An Vietnam

Hoi An is a well known city in Vietnam famous for its colonial buildings untouched during the Vietnam war. But, that’s not all! Hoi An is also famous for being the city where you can buy tailored suits made with high quality materials. For a fraction of the cost that you would pay in your home country, you can look sharp without breaking the bank!

First of, if you are staying in Da Nang, you can take a bus to Hoi An from the bus stop beside the University of Economics. Don’t get ripped off; though, they will try and charge you 50,000 VND for the bus ride. The real price is 30,000 VND so hold your ground or just hand them the money when they ask.

 

 

Searching for the right shop in Hoi An

Once you reach Hoi An, it’s time to search for a shop! I would recommend looking at Trip Advisor and check out all the high rated shops. The highest rated shop tends to have higher prices and according to my friend, has quite an arrogant attitude. But, if you want the best of the best, perhaps that is the best option for you.

I met up with a friend from Canada and he took me to the shops that he found to be good and also rated highly at Trip Advisor.

 

We ended up in a shop called Hoa Thuan Peace Shop which turned out to be a good place to buy a suit.

 

Bargaining for your suit (or coat/dress)

Before you get fitted for a suit, you will have to agree on a price first. The shop owner will show you three types of materials (or more) varying in quality. Obviously, if you choose a higher quality material, you will pay more than if you chose a medium or low quality one.

I was quoted $120 USD for the low quality two piece suit, $150 USD for the medium quality, and $230 USD for the high quality Italian fabric. After examining the fabric and feeling the material and getting some advice from Mick, I decided to go with the high quality one. You typically don’t buy a suit all the time and they last for up to 8-10 years so you might as well buy one that is really good quality. If you want to get a vest, then it’s an additional $30 USD.

After bargaining with the owner, I got it down to $245 USD for a three piece suit and got them to throw in a free tie and a white dress shirt. Since I was still backpacking for awhile, I decided to get it shipped to Canada. The shipping was an additional 1,115,000 VND which is about $70 CAD. In total, my professionally tailored suit cost me $390 CAD including shipping.

Suit measuring

After the bargaining is over, it’s time to get fitted! They took their time getting my measurements and afterwards, they told me to return the next day for fitting and adjustments.

Suit fitting

The very next day, they started the fitting process to see if my suit fits me well. I noticed it was a bit tight on the upper back, thighs and shoulder area. They told me to come back half a day later while they make alterations before showing me the finished product.

Sight seeing and eating to kill time while waiting for the suit alteration to be completed

Thankfully, Hoi An is a beautiful town and I spent half the day sight seeing and grabbing a bite to eat.

 

 

I also noticed they had some great shops for women looking to have a dress or coat tailor made.

 

Final touches and finished product

After the wait is over, it’s time to see how it looks!

 

Overall, I was pleased with the result. I felt that the vest was just okay but the suit jacket and pants was perfect!

Afterwards, the post office staff came over to the shop and got me to fill out a bunch of forms. They weighed my suit then boxed it ready to be shipped!

If you’re wondering if it’s safe to ship your suit from Vietnam to your country, the answer is yes. My suit arrived in Canada safely after about 4 weeks.

Thanks to having a professionally tailored suit, I am ready for any professional or formal setting where a suit is needed. No more feeling embarrassed that I look tacky! Instead, I can feel like James Bond with my sharp suit!

I highly recommend Hoi An as the city to visit, not just for sight seeing but to get a professionally tailored suit, coat or dress made!

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