Silk tailors in Vietnam

Start with dresses. A long silk dress at Blue Eye Tailor cost €100, a silk dress at Be Li Tailor US$125, and at the other Blue Eye Tailor, on Nguyen Thai Hoc, a double-lined silk dress cost VND 2,800,000 and was made in under 24 hours. For a larger order, three pure silk dresses plus an ao dai set at 45 Thu Tailor came to about US$600 as a bundle.

Ask whether the fabric is pure silk or a blend, because both are sold. A 1-star reviewer at Be Li Tailor paid US$76 for a silk-cotton dress, and at BeBe Tailor one couple paid $530 for two suits, one of them in a Thai-silk blend. Price and finish vary between shops too: a 1-star reviewer at Shine Tailor later found a silk dress for US$60 at another Hoi An shop, with work they judged more precise.

Silk is not only for dresses. The Vy makes robes, kimono and traditional Vietnamese sleepwear sets in silk, and Bari Tailor makes silk pyjamas. In Saigon, Viet Thanh Silk is known for silk robes and kimonos; full-length robes in heavy silk cost about C$100 each, and one set of kimonos was made and delivered to the customer's hotel within 24 hours, although most orders there take two to five days. Of the 157 shops, 78 ship abroad. For more figures, see the tailor prices guide.