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Ha Na Tailors (85 Tran Hung Dao)
We love this tailor shop. Two friendly sisters who speak very good English manage the front of the shop. They differentiated themselves from the other shop owners we interacted with by actually caring about every piece of clothing they sell as well as their customers’ satisfaction. There were times we tried something on and thought it was perfect, and Nga (one of the sisters) would inspect it and find something that could be altered so it would fit even better. There were even a few instances when we were unhappy with how something looked but couldn’t figure out why. Nga would offer some design recommendations and send the dress, coat, whatever, back to the shop for additional tailoring.
Ha Na Tailor Shop’s storefront.
Experience that really set Ha Na Tailors far above the others:
I wanted a casual dress, but none of the patterns they had in the shop caught my eye. Nga offered to drive me on her motorbike to their fabric warehouse to look through thousands of patterns. When we arrived, I described what I wanted and a few women quickly went to work finding patterns that matched my description. It took less than five minutes to walk away with a pattern I loved.
What we bought and how it all has held up:
Men’s winter coat: $70; no problems, worn many times
Two men’s suits: $120 (two-piece) and $165 (three-piece); no problems (both suits made appearances at two weddings to rave reviews)
Seven men’s silk boxer shorts: $8 each; buttons popped off on a few pairs when Mike washed them
Four men’s long-sleeve button-up dress shirts: $25 each; no problems, worn multiple times
Three men’s ties and handkerchiefs: free (discount for spending so much money!)
Women’s business suit: $100; no problems (worn a couple times – love the fit)
Women’s business dress: $40; no problems (worn for a job interview)
Women’s formal dress: $50; no problems (worn at Tara’s sister’s wedding)
Women’s short-sleeve button-up shirt: $15; no problems, worn a few times
Women’s custom-designed casual dress: free (discount for spending so much money!); one of the buttons at the top loosened a bit, and I fixed it myself by hand-sewing it
They also resized a t-shirt and turned pants into shorts for us for free since we spent so much on clothes.
Mike & Tara sporting new clothes made at Ha Na Tailors.
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Mê Linh Cloth Shop (28 Tran Phu)
I wanted a winter coat but couldn’t find a design I liked in a catalogue, so I decided to walk around and see if one on a mannequin struck my eye. Most styles were replicated at every shop, and all the materials felt too itchy or irritating to me. I loved the one I found at Mê Linh Cloth Shop because the style and material was unlike any other I’d seen around Hoi An. It also didn’t look weatherworn from being on the mannequin for too long. I tried it on and it fit perfectly, though I knew Nga would’ve found areas that could have been altered to make it that much better. The front-of-shop workers gave me a hard sell, especially when I started to walk out saying I wanted to think about it. I decided to buy it right off the mannequin and negotiated $27 for a woman’s winter coat. I asked them to add a loop at the top of the neck so I could hang it on hooks, and they got it back to me later that day.
Why I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this shop:
The hard sell is so off-putting, but the main reason I wouldn’t recommend it is because I feel that you can get better service elsewhere. They were accommodating putting the loop in without adding a fee, but I think a really good tailor would have offered to do a bit more, like take in each side a little.
Additionally, after about two months of wearing the coat during winter, about two inches of the left-side pocket seam tore open.
Tara’s winter coat
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Nhung Cloth Shop (661 Hai Ba Trung)
Similar to my winter coat story, I wanted a casual skirt but didn’t know what style. There was one on a mannequin outside Nhung Cloth Shop that caught my eye. I tried it on and liked the look, with a few minor alterations in mind, including a different pattern. It was a simple pleated design in a lightweight cotton material. The shopkeeper took my measurements and I came back later that night for my fitting. My custom-made skirt cost 315,000 dong (≈$15 USD).
Why I wouldn’t recommend this shop:
Customer service was not a strong point here. I was disappointed with the overall experience for a couple reasons: 1) Once the shopkeeper made the sale and I paid half up front, she seemed disinterested in my overall satisfaction with the skirt. 2) I requested double stitching and when I arrived at my fitting I found they had done single stitching. The shopkeeper started talking about additional charges, which was in no way the agreement we made. She finally agreed to send it back for double stitching, which meant I had to return later to pick it up.
I was able to wear it a few times before winter began in D.C., and so far I’ve had no issues.
Material options (sorry, I don’t have a pic of the skirt I bought).
Search flights to Vietnam
Read A Guide to Buying Couture Clothing in Hoi An, Vietnam
Hi there,
I would like to get my 2 piece men’s suit copied. Can the sisters at HA Na do such a task? If you don’t mind, May I have there contact info. Phone#, cell# website.
Thank you
P.s. I live in NEW York USA
Hi Oscar, you can find the contact information for Ha Na Tailors here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g298082-d3267807-Reviews-Ha_Na_Cloth_Shop_Tailor-Hoi_An_Quang_Nam_Province.html
They’re master copiers, so I’m sure that copying two suits wouldn’t be a problem for them.
Hi Tara. I was wondering whether there is much in the way of jersey/stretch material that the tailors work with? Thank you.
They don’t have that. What you’ll find is linen, cotton, silk, and the like. I really wanted to get running shorts and jeans made, but they don’t have those type of fabrics.
Hi Tara! You have a great site. I have material from Thailand and VN bamboo jersey. Do you know a place that would tailor these materials into dresses?
Off hand, I’m not sure of the capabilities of each tailor. However, you can find many of their email addresses online (like through TripAdvisor). You should try emailing a few of them with the specifics to see if they’re able to use the materials.
what currency do the shops prefer to be paid? And do they take credit cards?
We paid with credit card, but it’ll differ among shops. If you do that, you’re at the mercy of what they say to be the exchange rate, so you may lose some money doing it that way versus cash. I remember them accepting Vietnamese dong and USD. Not sure about Euro and others.
I have a question, did you try haggling with the prices? Or is more of a situation where you just accept the price that is offered? Great review, will be there in December so will check them out along with another place I found online. Hoping to get a suit made along with a few other pieces and a few things for my girlfriend as well
You can and definitely should negotiate. First get them to lower the price overall. Then try a “if I buy two suits then you throw in three ties and pocket squares for free” or something along those lines. It works out well, too, to have items in your back pocket. Like if you know you want a dress for your girlfriend, tell them you’ll pay X for [whatever you want] but you want a dress or two for her for free. That sort of thing. Use quotes from other vendors in your negotiations too. It’s Vietnam, so there is always room for negotiation 🙂 Have fun!
Great review! I’d love an email address please – tripadvisor did not have one?
Thanks, Rosh! You’re in luck – we found their email address. We don’t want the spam crawlers to grab it off the comments and spam them, so we’ll email it to you now.
Is it possible for you to send me their email as well? Thanks for your reviews!
Hi Ami. Yes, we’ll email that to you as well.
Hi Ami, if you see my posting could you please send it to me as well. I will be in Hi An mid-February, it would be very appreciated.
Thank you very much,
Eve
Hi Eve, we just emailed you the information.
Really useful review… Thanks…
I want to go over and get 4 matching suits for me and my groomsmen in a couple of months time – I really like the description of the first tailors you reviewed so will likely contact them. In your opinion, is it better to communicate in advance so they can get fabric etc ready and know the scope of the work and can negotiate in advance… Or turn up and negotiate on the day?
If you have an email for them, I’d also really appreciate it…
Thank you for writing the reviews, helped me when I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with options…
Glad you found it all helpful! I’m not sure that it really matters whether you talk to them before you get there. You might be better off waiting so that you can feel the fabric they have, see the colors they offer and make sure it’s exactly what you want. Negotiating in-person is good, too, because you can gather quotes from others and use that to help you get the best price. They are very quick in their turnaround times (so working this out in advance probably won’t make a difference), but you’ll probably get a better product if you can be there for a few days and not have them do a rush job. I’ll find their email address and send it your way.
Hi Tara,
Awesome and comprehensive review! I am wondering, did you ship your clothes back to America? If so how much did it cost, and what was the total weight? I am backpacking for another 6 months, so carrying around a bunch more stuff is out of the question 🙂
Cheers!!
Thanks, Kerry! Vietnam was the last country we visited during our long trip, so we dumped a bunch of stinky backpacker clothes and filled our bags with our new clothes. So we’re not sure what it would cost to ship, but if you have 6 months, you could get the slowest option. They should be able to give you a quote – because I’m sure they’ve shipped enough to be able to estimate it for you.
Hi Tara
Do they have leather as a fabric option for jackets?
Thanks
I don’t remember seeing it for clothes, but they may be able to order it in. The high-end tailors are probably more likely to have it. You could try to email them (some have their contact information on TripAdvisor).
Tara
Hi Tara,
The prices you mentioned above, including or excluding fabric?
Thanks
Hi Thuy,
Those prices include the cost of the fabric. Let us know if you have any further questions.
Thx.
Mike
Great review. I’m looking to do a “big buy” in Vietnam in a few months. How do you feel now about the quality of the clothes you had made at Ha Na tailor? Have they been durable?
Yeah, we’ve been very happy with the clothes we got made there. We really only got nice clothing (classy & professional) but they’ve held up each time we’ve worn them. At this point, I will say that it’s been 4 years since we were there. I would hope their quality would have stayed the same or gotten better. I’m sure there are other, newer tailors that are good too. Stop by Ha Na while you’re there, but interview others to see who you’re most happy/comfortable with. Have fun!
Hi Tara,
Could I get Ha Na’s email as well? Thanks.
Absolutely! We’ll email it to you now.