Special Report from Asia: Part 1 - Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon near District 1, Ben Thanh Market

2013 will be a very special year for me and I believe also for this blog. I have taken a year off from work and decided to combine business with pleasure and travel south-east Asia with my girlfriend. We have arrived in Ho Chi Min City, formerly known as Saigon a few weeks ago and we will be based here for a while, as my girlfriend took a position as an English teacher. We are planning trips to the surrounding countries and I want to check out as many tailors and shoemakers (the Mantorii guys are based here) as possible. I will document the relevant bits here, perhaps one of you guys will make it to this corner of the world at some point and you can make use of the information. 

For now, I will take the chance and get to know HCMC a little better. I packed only very lightly and I'm in need of some proper clothing. Mosquitos somehow feel more attracted to me than my girlfriend, so I actually need long-sleeved shirts and pants for the morning and evening hours. HCMC is full of tailors, especially around the famous Ben Thanh market in District one. 

Fabrics can either be bought directly at the tailors or at the market. So far, I have established a price of around 400.000 VND for a long-sleeved shirt incl. fabric, this translates roughly to $19. If your bring your own fabric, the price will drop to $9, around 2m2 are needed for a long-sleeved shirt. I have no idea how the craftsmanship will be. I assume most tailors will take measurements and cut the fabrics at their shop, but send the fabrics to the same place for production. 

Upcoming Review: My Sang near Ben Thanh Market

The first tailor to receive my business will be My Sang near Ben Thanh market, located in a little side street. I will buy some navy blue linen fabric at the market and find some designs on the internet (suggestions welcome!)

My Sang

12 Nguyen An Ninh, Q1, Ho Chi Minh City

0125.8922.770

Any recommendations? I'd love to hear them!

Did you have shirts or suits made in Vietnam before? If yes, I'd love to hear your feedback. Just walking into one of the many tailor shops is a gamble and recommendations found on StyleForum are often already outdated. HCMC changes very quickly and information from 2010 is very often already useless now. 

Also, if you know any special tricks - what to take care of, how to communicate certain wishes, I'd be happy know!

Furthermore, there are a couple of more things to be published soon. A very interesting interview with Crystal, Indochino's Product Marketing Manager. A new coverage of Mantorii (I'm having a Chili Red Wholecut shoe made!). A new Indochino review (shirt and suit from the latest collection in production). Hope you will find all of this as interesting as I do. 

By Lorenz Loidl