A Tailor-made Town: Getting Things Made in Saigon

 Ho Chi Minh City is a fashion lover's paradise. I've always had dreams of becoming a designer, but my lack of ability to sew and draw on top of my unwillingness to be yelled at by people like Kelly Cutrone has really crippled my opportunities. Luckily, I moved to Vietnam to make things much easier. If you can envision something here, you can more or less make it happen. Here is how I make it happen:

Step 1: What do you want?

For inspiration, my go-to place is Pinterest. You can search specifics or browse and stumble on some amazing things from designers on every corner of the earth. Usually if the pin was from a clothing site where the piece originated, the link to the original site will be there and you can find different views of the piece to make sure you get exactly what you want. If you can't see the back/front/side view of a piece; you can always draw, explain, or simply find a similar item with a back that you'd like.

Step 2: Choose a tailor

There are tailors all over Saigon and I'm sure many of them are around the same level of quality. When I first got here, I was recommended a place called "Bao Silk" at 233 De Tham Street in District 1. I was satisfied with my first piece (both the price and the quality), so I've never found a reason to go elsewhere. I've developed a lovely relationship with Lo An, who works there basically as the liaison between the customer and the tailor. She also makes adjustments on things and does your measurements. She's an absolutely lovely lady. If she needs to make adjustments on my pieces, sometimes I just sit with her and chat while she does so. About a month ago, she got an adorable little puppy as well that I love to play with. His name is Na Na and he's such a nugget.

Now back to the point of step 2: to find out how much material you need.  When you go to the tailor you will show him or her the picture and ask how many meters of material you will need for the piece. Usually, the tailor will have an assortment of materials (as they do at Bao Silk), but you have much more options if you go to the markets. Plus, it is so much fun to go to the markets.

Step 3: Buying material

This is my absolute favorite part of it! The amount of material available in Saigon is incredible. Plus, the price is amazing in comparison to the price you pay for ready-wear pieces at shops. For material, there are a few different places I go to depending on what I need to buy.

Tan Dinh Market

The main hub for it all is Tan Dinh Market on Hai Ba Trung in District 3 (the official address is: 48 Mã Lộ, where you would turn right off Hai Ba Trung for parking). The market more or less has everything under the sun and usually the stalls will specialize in different types of cottons, polyesters, linens, etc. I could (and do) spend hours here looking at all the different prints. Printed cotton and jersey material is about 50-80,000 VND/meter. At Tan Dinh, you can haggle a little bit for prices but its not like Ben Thanh market where you'll get really ripped off. They usually offer a relatively fair price to start with. I know some of the ladies that work in the stalls there, which helps. The more you buy, the more they will offer you a discount.

Two things I'd say not to buy at Tanh Dinh are lace and knits/woolens. Lace is way over-priced at Tanh Dinh and woolens/knits are much more difficult to find. Also, Tanh Dinh seriously lacks accessories like buttons, buckles, studs, etc.  So for those, I can suggest a few more places.

Đại Quang Minh

This is an incredible place for people who love to craft. You can buy felt, buttons, jewels, embellishments, a variety of papers, and so much more for crafting. Keep it mind it is a wholesale market so if you'd like to buy buttons, you will have to buy a gross. It is also extremely Vietnamese, so it will be more of a challenge to communicate if you don't speak the language...and if you are white, prepare to stick out like a sore thumb.

This market is also great for lace. Not only is it much cheaper to buy lace here than it is at Tanh Dinh, but they also have a much wider variety of lace. At Tanh Dinh lace starts at a minimum of 180,000 VND/meter. Here, lace starts at around 120,000 VND/meter. 

Again, if you want to choose your own buttons, buckles or anything of the sort for a piece you want to have made, Dai Quang Minh is the place to go. The amount of options they have is truly remarkable. Only a few stalls sell things in smaller packages, but the buttons that come in packages of a gross cost only around 40,000 VND/packet (which is roughly $2 USD), so you can just have loads of leftovers to make a craft with, donate to your tailor, or whatever else you think you could do with 144 buttons! 

Address: 33-35 Châu Văn Liêm street, Ward 14, District 5.
Getting there: You basically take Tran Hung Dao Street all the way from District 1 to District 5 until you get to a large intersection at Châu Văn Liêm street and the market will be just 

Cửa Hàng Vải Nhật Ái

This is a store opposite of Tanh Dinh Market on Hai Ba Trung. There are many stores opposite the market and many people refer to it as "Fabric Street," because there's a street for just about everything in Ho Chi Minh City. The exact address is 323 Hai Ba Trung. Tel No: 38.202.279.

This is the place I go to for all knits and woolens. They also have some really nice sheer,chiffon and lace material as well (although Dai Quang Minh is usually better for lace). It's a small narrow store, but it's the only place in Saigon where I've truly seen a large variety of knits and woolens. Most other places with have up a few options, but here they have all sorts of different thicknesses, textures, colors and patterns to choose from in the woolens/knit department. Keep in mind that this is a store, so all the prices will be fixed. However, sometimes they have things that are even cheaper than the market.

This store and the surrounding stores also have a lot of really nice material for fancy dresses/gowns and suits. I can't remember which store I went to to get my dress made for my work gala (the very first thing I had made in Saigon), but there's a whole row of stores opposite Tanh Dinh Market that you can explore.

Step 4: Test and Purchase! 

Your final step is to go back, try on the finished product and make necessary adjustments. They will not charge you any extra for things that need to be fixed. Once you are satisfied with the outcome, you will pay and be on your way to show off your new pieces! Oh and one last things to mention, you will usually pay a deposit of around half of the total cost upfront and then once you are satisfied and the pieces are ready to be taken home, you will pay the remainder of the bill.

Things I've had made in photographs: 

Striped Jersey Dress. 

2 meters at 60,000VND/meter at Tan Dinh

300,000 VND for labor

Chambray Collared Crop Top

Price: 300,000 VND including fabric (from the tailor)

Red Floral Kimono and Green Mixed Pattern Floral Kimono

2 Meters each at 60,000 VND/Meter at Tanh Dinh

Labor: 250,000 VND each

Lace Crop Top

1 Meter at 120,000 VND/Meter at Dai Quang Minh

Labor: 250,000 VND

White Drippy Jersey Dress

Structured Shorts in Blue Floral Print and Red Polka Dot

Fabric: 1 Meter each at 60,000 VND/meter

Labor: 300,000 VND

Black Lace Shorts

1 Meter each at 120,000 VND/meter

Labor/Lining: 300,000 VND

Floral Print Matching Separates

400,000 VND for labor and material (tailor's material)

Knit & Chiffon Dress

Top: 1 Meter at 70,000 VND/meter (Nhat Ai)

Bottom: 2.5 meters at ??/Meter (I can't remember!)

Labor: 500,000 VND

Bright Orange Floor-Length Backless Gown 

(this was my first tailor experience in Vietnam!)

4 Meters at 100,000 VND/meter

Labor: 600,000 VND