Buy
Lantern shopMade-to-measure shirts, blouses, dresses, suits etc. are on offer from the renowned tailors of Hoi An.
When last counted in 2002, there were 140 shops in the city, and the number is now well over 400. It's one of the few
places in Vietnam where the motorbike taxi drivers look positively sedate by comparison. Be careful who you choose to
manufacture your clothes. As a rule of thumb, give all tailors 2 days advance to prepare your garment and keep going
back until you get your clothes right! Suits should cost around US$40, if you choose to pay US$30, beware that you get
what you pay for, slightly lousier quality of cloth and problems with workmanship, such as misaligned stripes on the
pants and blazer. Shirts should cost US$10 and below. Skirts normally sell around US$7-10. Dresses should cost
around US$10-14. However, prices might change depending on design and detail.
Note that if you go to the larger, more renown tailors such as Yaly and Adong, the prices are much steeper (a 2 piece
suit costs between US$80-300 depending on material). The maximum discount that seemed possible (checked against
three different stores) was 15%. Both places have good workmanship on simple items such as jackets.
Cloth Market, located next to the Central Market and looks like a cloth warehouse. Inside are many small tailor stalls that
are generally cheaper and more reliable than shops elsewhere. Orders usually take a day or two.
Yaly, Tran Phu Street, has a great and extensive range of fabrics to choose from and the staff are very attentive and
extremely patient. Ignore the fixed price claim! Discounts can be given for multiple purchases. This is possibly the
biggest tailor in the old town and is constantly full of tourists. Demand attention from a staff member who will then ply
you with all the catalogues you want - much easier trying to pry the catalogues away from other people.
Adong Silk is another large tailor, however nowhere near the size of Yaly. There is a better staff to customer ratio but
the customer service is comparable between the two, as are the prices. Again bargain hard if you're buying multiple
items.
Thuong, 30 Le Loi Street, a great alternative to the fancy shops mentioned above. Friendly and no hassle service
providing great value.
Hoi An also has a good selection of Vietnamese art, both modern and traditional, serious and kitschy. Galleries can be
found all over town but Nguyen Thi Minh Khai St, on the other side of the Japanese Bridge, has the heaviest
concentration.
Central Market, Bach Dang Street, (just before the Cam Nam Bridge) has all of the cheapster t-shirts and bog-standard
souvenirs you've seen at every other stop in Vietnam, but it also has plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, seafood, and all of
the other stuff they use in Hoi An's terrific restaurants. T-shirts should cost around 40000 dong, and any amount of
haggling will not reduce the prices beyond this level. There are shops selling backpacks, around US$20 for a 100L
backpack. However, Hanoi has a wider but more expensive selection.
Thanh Ha Pottery Village - about 2km west of town, this traditional village has been making pottery for more than 450
years. It was on the verge of extinction until the wave of new hotel construction in Hoi An revived demand.
Kim Bong Carpentry Village - about 3km west of town.
About 4km west of Hoi An is Chrum Glass Factory. All the glass is 100% handmade by vietnamese glass artisans. Their
products are then sold in 71 Phan Chau Trinh Street. From here you can book glassmaking experiences, so you can
have a go at making glass of your own.
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