Shopping in Hoi An

One reason I was keen to visit Hoi An is that I was told it's the best and cheapest place in the world to buy tailored clothing. I heard so many stories from people.

I bought two suits, two shirts and two ties for 47 cents!

There are entire city blocks with nothing but tailors and shoes stores. For the folks back home, imagine a city twice the size of Annapolis with over two hundred tailors, all within two or three blocks of the City Dock, and you begin to get the idea. The sheer number is overwhelming.

So how do you choose one? At some point in the near future I hope to be going on job interviews, so I thought I'd buy a suit. I talked to other tourists. I looked at online travel forums. I visited a couple shops.

Hoi An is not, I repeat NOT a good place to buy clothes.

It is not noticeably cheaper than the US. With so many tailors it's hard to find a good (or honest) one. I met people who had to go back for three, four or even five days of alterations.

And even if you do get good clothes at a good price, you still have to get them home. You can carry them home, which isn't an option for me. Or you can ship them home. Everyone I talked to, without exception, had paid at least $100 for shipping.

I bought nothing.