The city of Hoi An in Vietnam has over 200 tailors ready to make custom clothing- from suits and cocktail dresses to cotton skirts and zip off pants.

This makes it a somewhat dangerous place to be stuck for 8 days. My time there definitely took it's toll on my wallet.

If you have a Y chromosome, you will probably find the rest of this posting to be quite boring. Don't say I didn't warn you.

The most difficult choice is decided which tailor to go to. I went on a recommendation from some former traveling companions.

When you get to the tailor they have catalogs and magazines for you to look through. My tailor didn't have the best selection, but I was going for classic stuff anyway.

Everything, I bought is well crafted and made of good quality fabric. I spent around $300 and then I sent it back by Sea Mail for $54. It will take 3-4 months because but it was $100 cheaper then the next shipping method.

Since the clothing fits perfectly, I don't really have room to gain a centimeter and by the time they reach me, I will probably have done just that! Luckily there is a lot of extra fabric for letting out, but that will of course drive up the great prices.

For the price of one ill-fitting pair of zip-offs from REI (around $60), I got all of this:
2 pairs of zip offs- low rise without a saggy rearend! And, I added my own special security feature!
1 cargo skirt with special security feature
1 tank top- stretchy jersey cotton
1 long sleeve top- stretchy jersey cotton
1 sleeveless top- stretchy jersey cotton

1 cashmere silk blend lined black suit, $35 (in retrospect I probably should've gotten grey because it is less formal)
3 silk cotton blend twin sets, $16 each
1 long sleeve cotton/poly button down, around $6
1 short sleeve cotton/poly button down to go with suit, $4
1 pair of nice pants to go with long sleeve button down, $12
1 pair of cotton twill pants with stretch, $12
1 pair of red cords, $12
1 cotton stretch skirt of my own design, $10
1 lined cotton skirt of really cute fabric, $10
1 pair thai silk crop pants, $15
1 thai silk dress, $30
PJs- soft shiny cotton, around $14

Unfortunately, I designed my own dress and didn't ask for the pants to be long enough. I of course chose to do this with the most expensive fabric which I know realize I don't really like because it is too stiff and I prefer a dress to drape.

So, I am happy with my purchases but very disappointed that I left without a fabulous new cocktail dress.

I also told her to make my pants a bit more low rise then I actually wanted which is OK but I will need to invest in some new underwear. And, who knows if I guessed the legnth right.

They also have shoe makers but I decided against that and am glad because they would've been heavy to ship. I had been excited about the prospect of custom made shoes and when I saw other people's they looked nice. But when I looked at the materials they used, I think the leather and suede were nice but the soles and heels were not the best quality and they did not pad the shoes enough. Also, they were better at making standard pump and boot heels and couldn't make cool shaped rubber heels which is the kind of shoe that I wanted.

I did see a sandel on the day that I was leaving that would've looked great with one of my new skirts but I didn't have enough time to have it made. C'est la vie.

If I start a new job that requires nice clothing, I may have to watch the air fares to Vietnam. It could be cheaper to fly here and have it made then to buy it at home! And, it fits better!

And I can only imagine how much fun it would be if I brought pictures from home . . . .