Day 90 – Long Phu, Vietnam – 8:27 PM

Tonight I am traveling south from Hoi An to Nha Trang.  Having ridden an overnight train last week, I decided to reserve a seat on an overnight bus for this leg of the trip.  The seat I am occupying reclines almost perfectly flat however I am a couple inches to tall thus curtailing my ability to lay perfectly flat.  I would prefer to be a couple inches from the ceiling of a train coach instead of contorting my body to fit inside the compartment I am offered on this bus. I will try to sleep as much as possible and hopefully the next ten hours pass quickly.

I spent four days in Hoi An and divided my time between an 8-person hostel room at the Sunflower Hotel and my own private hotel room at Vaia Boutique Hotel.  As I have stated before, I enjoy the camaraderie that multi-person hostel rooms afford.  It is a perfect way to meet people and find out information about the areas you intend to visit later. But, there comes a time when you miss the privacy of your own room.  For my final two nights in Hoi An, I booked a hotel room and thoroughly enjoyed having a room and bathroom to myself.

As I walked the streets of Hoi An on my first day, I was struck by the number of tailor shops that lined the sidewalks.  Other travelers I met prior to my arrival enlightened me to this unique characteristic of Hoi An. An item that fell near the top of my priority list while in Hoi An was to have a tailored suit made before I continued south towards Saigon.  A Scottish group of backpackers I met in Australia had just left Vietnam and recommended the seamstresses at A. Dong Silk.  After arriving in Hoi An, I looked up the address of A. Dong Silk and walked there early Saturday morning.  As I walked inside, Lau, a Vietnamese seamstress, stepped forward and introduced herself.  I exchanged pleasantries and she inquired about my reasoning for this visit. I informed her I was interested in having a suit tailored to my dimensions.

With a smile she invited me to sit at a nearby table. Behind me rose a wall lined with various colors and fabrics of cloth.  She stood with her back to this wall and asked me what color suit I desired.  After responding “grey”, she turned around and pulled out four or five different shades.  She folded them in such a manner that each draped over my shoulders and provided me an opportunity to narrow the choices.  I immediately discarded two and had a hard time deciding between the final three.  Lau stepped forward and used her expertise to assist me.  She thought one shade did not match well with my skin tone. Two choices remained.  She removed them from my shoulders and we sat down to make a final decision.  After minutes of back-and-forth debate I decided on one particular shade.

She then asked what style of suit I desired.  I immediately responded “slim fit”.  I have a tall, slender body type suited for slim fitting clothes.  I often struggle finding clothes that are long enough in the sleeves yet not too large in the body.  She pulled out a tablet and had me scroll through various suite styles until I chose a few to guide my decision-making.  Two or three jumped out at me and I informed Lau of my choices.

Next came all the minuet details I often overlook on suits.   I decided on the color of the jacket liner, the number of buttons on the front of the jacket, the number of buttons at the base of the jacket sleeves, the style of jacket lapel, a single or double vent in the rear of the jacket.  As I debated each question, Lau sat down and pulled out a blank sheet of paper.  She began sketching a jacket and annotated my responses on her sketch.  With the jacket finalized, she asked if I wanted a corresponding vest.  Seeing as I thoroughly enjoy wearing a suit and tie whenever possible, I answered with a resounding yes.  If I am going to have a suit custom tailored, I am going to get a vest as well.  On Lau’s white sheet, below the outlines of a jacket and pants, she drew a vest.  Again, I decided on the number of buttons.  Lau recommended five as I am tall and most often the bottom button is left undone.

She then asked if I desired any custom tailored dress shirts.  Being tall and slender, I often struggle to find appropriately fitting dress shirts.  Why not have a couple of custom shirts made.  Lau brought me over to three racks each holding between 20-25 rolls of fabric.  After a couple minutes of debate and Lau’s professional eye, I decided on three colors: white, pink, and blue.  Each would go well with my grey suit.

We returned to the table and Lau drew a shirt on her white piece of paper.  Again she asked me about details I often overlook: regular cuff or french cuff, style of cut for the corner of the cuff and collar style.  To help me decide she pulled out an example of each.  With each decision I chose, she made a note next to her sketch.  With her trusty sketch in hand, Lau and I stepped to a separate counter and she pulled out a tape measure.  As I stood still, she moved from back to front and side-to-side measuring here and there.  She noted each measurement on her white sheet of paper and moved onto the next.  After the measurements were complete, Lau informed me to come back in two days time for a second fitting.

Yesterday afternoon, I rented a bicycle from Vaia Boutique Hotel and cycled the ten minutes to A. Dong Silk.  I walked inside and Lau welcomed me with a smile.  We walked towards the dressing rooms and there hung my grey suit and three dress shirts.  The colors looked great and I was immediately pleased with my choices.  Over the next hour I tried on each piece to ensure sizing was accurate.  A couple of times Lau stepped forward with a piece of chalk to mark where she believed the fabric should be taken in or let out.  Most alterations were minor and I was satisfied with how everything turned out.

Lau informed me the alterations would be completed by later that afternoon and I should come back around 5 pm for the final fitting.  I acknowledged her instructions and departed eager to return and see the final product.  I cycled back to my hotel room to take care of a couple of things for the remainder of my time in Vietnam.  I booked my overnight bus ticket to Nha Trang, reserved a hostel bed and drew up a calendar to plot out my stops in country for my remaining two weeks.

As 5:00 PM drew closer, I returned to A. Dong Silk for my final fitting.  I walked up the flight of stairs separating the split-level showroom and Lau waved me towards the dressing rooms.  Once again I stepped into suit pants and threw on each shirt along with the vest and jacket.  The alterations chalked earlier had been completed and everything fit perfectly.  Before I departed to find a bite to eat, Lau asked if I wished to purchase additional items.  I hesitated and she smiled knowing that I was going to break and order something else.  I asked her how much a pair of slim fit navy blue dress pants would cost.  She did a couple of mental calculations and quoted me $60.  I smiled agreeing on the price and we stepped over to the wall lined with fabrics.  She pulled out a number of navy blue swatches and I sat down.  I mulled over the options and decided on one particular shade.  The measurements from my suit pants would be applied to the navy blue pants so no additional measurements were necessary.

All told, a tailored suit, thee shirts and a separate pair of pants totaled just over $400 USD.  While this purchase sent me over my daily budget, I cannot even imagine how much this same purchase would cost back in New England.  It was an exciting experience working with a seamstress and deciding on all the small details that go into a suit and dress shirts.  Luckily, A. Dong Silk affords you the option to ship items anywhere in the world.  Seeing as I do not have a surplus of free space in my bags, I obliged and agreed to have my pieces mailed home. I look forward to that first formal event I attend back in the States when I can don my freshly tailored suit along with one of my custom dress shirts.