049. made in Vietnam
my shirt by Như May tailor shop
I asked a man working the Hội An tourist information booth if he knew roughly how many tailor shops there are in town. He laughed and replied, “too many to count. And they are always closing and opening.”
“Too many to count” is right. There are blocks and blocks of them in the center, and many more outside too. I searched 'tailor' on Google Maps in Hội An, and scrolled and scrolled through results and didn’t reach the bottom. See for yourself?1
The vast majority have 4.9 or 5.0 ⭐ ratings — thanks to a combination of great service, and straight-up asking customers to leave a 5-star review. They all look more or less the same too. Choosing which one to go to via internet searching is impossible.
So I went to the one recommended by our tour guide to get a dress made. I was excited about the possibilities of custom clothes — who wouldn’t be? But after 3 fitting appointments in a week, some of the shine wore off. It eats up your time.
So on my second to last full day in Hội An, finally free of my teaching duties and basking in the satisfaction of a big job well done, I was surprised to find myself browsing inside one of those near-identical clothing stores.
I’m not sure what exactly made me go inside this one.
A typical tailor shop of Hội An has samples cramming the storefronts and mannequins spilling out onto the street. Because of the UNESCO world heritage designation, branding and signage are all standardized across all the businesses.
In contrast, this one was restrained and uncluttered. The clothes on display were a palette of soft-hued solids, all in a linen-y material. The style appealed to my fashion preferences: natural fibers, not super gendered, a mix of fit and flow.
Having the shopkeeper standing right there usually scares me off, so I was happy that she was occupied with two older Australian-accented people finishing up a transaction.
As they left, the Aussie woman told me exuberantly, "She makes the best clothes! You won't regret it."
The young shopkeeper welcomed me in. She was very petite, with a blunt haircut and oversized clothing that’s in style. Our height difference was vast; when she was standing in front of me, I could see the entire top of her head. She was super cute.
She introduced herself as May. The shop is called Như May (“Like May”). According to my translation app, may means “sew” in Vietnamese.
She opened Như May 3 years ago, “Even though I am only 35 years old,” she said with pride.
And so we discovered we are about the same age — both born in the same year of the horse.
"I don't believe it! Your skin is so baby!!!" she flattered me.
"You’re so baby! You look like you're 25!" I gave it right back.
I tried on a few pieces of clothing, and chose one that reminded me of another beloved shirt in my closet that is on its way out. It has a silhouette I like: sleeves above the elbow, cropped on the waist, flowy on the chest.
May and I looked at the sample on my body in the mirror together and discussed the adjustments: 4 cm shorter on the sleeves, bigger in the bust, and slightly smaller waist. I chose a color for it from an array of swatches. The cost for all of this was đ800,000, or about $32 USD.
That's surely not the cheapest shirt you could get custom made in Hội An, but it was easy to justify — considering the work, the materials (woven linen + bamboo fiber mix) and the relative price of things where I live. And she was so cute and charming too.
Also, it was April 30th: Vietnam’s National Reunification Day, the official holiday marking the end of the American War (or as it’s known in the U.S., the Vietnam War) and the rejoining of the North and South sides of the country.
On top of that, it was the 50th anniversary of it! It was huge deal in Vietnam. I wondered it if it was acknowledged at all by the U.S.
I was feeling lots of things about it all. Including that was that there was no better time than this day as an American2 to buy directly from a young Vietnamese entrepreneur. I also related to her a lot, being the same age and also being a creative professional.
Both times I’ve visited Vietnam, I have noticed how creative and enterprising people my age are there. This country went through so many hard times in recent history, but I think it has a bright future ahead.
My shirt would be ready in 2 days. Usually it would be faster, May said, but she had some plans for the holiday. I told her to rest and enjoy herself.
One of my bucket list things to sketch in Vietnam was a tailor shop. Why not this one?
After putting the deposit down for my new shirt, I found a patio seat in a restaurant across the street and ordered a Huda3. Before, it would have been a decent view of an unexceptional row of shops. Now, it was a great view of my shop.
Như May is in a typical Old Town building: one story, tiled roof, painted that particular yellow-orange color, with abundant lanterns hanging around it. Some samples and headless mannequin torsos hung from the shutters.
The street was closed to traffic for the holiday, so it was easier to draw across the street than it would be with the usual noisy stream of scooters passing through.
May stepped outside to sweep up the storefront and tidy the display. The way she took care of the entrance felt so tender. I reflected that I never sweep the entrance to my studio, but it inspired me to do so.
The morning of my last day in Vietnam, I went to Như May to pick up my shirt. She was running a bit behind schedule (relatable) but soon enough, her sister dropped it off. Maybe this was actually a family business, and May is just the face of it?
I tried on the shirt, and it fit perfectly! It’s such a good feeling. I definitely understand why all the shops have such high ratings.
I left the fitting room to show her, and saw May was talking to a European woman who happened to be holding the sample of the same shirt I just got made (clearly she had great taste). She was excited to see it on a different kind of body from hers. With good tailoring, clothes can really look and feel so nice.
I told the European it was a great experience working with May and she wouldn’t regret it. Remembering the Australians telling me the same thing two days ago, it felt very cyclical.
If you see me in person sometime wearing a short dark green linen shirt, now you know the story behind it, and that it was made in Vietnam.
Charismatic Vietnam 2027!
Good news — I am confirmed to go back and teach another session in Vietnam in late January 2027 with the same travel company, ArtFoodCulture. If you want to be among the first to get the link for it when the page goes live, message me or write your email in a comment :)
I watercolored the ink sketch at the top in my recent Live Let’s Draw demo. If you’re a paid subscriber, look through the archive for the link. It starts at about 50 minutes in and was a bonus to what I originally planned to do in that session.
The next Let’s Draw will be on Friday June 27th at 10am PDT
and a link will be sent out to paid subscribers a few days before. If you want to join, subscribe — no shame in trying it out for a month!
It’s been a dark week, but writing this made me reflect on how much can change and heal in a few decades.
Besides protesting, I’ve been busy working on some big projects, and preparing to present back-to-back at Chicago Urban Sketch Seminar and Edmonds Sketcherfest in July. It’s going to be a crazy and fun month. See you there?!
— Eleanor (linktree)
I did eventually reach the bottom of the list, and counted 119 results for “Tailor” listed on Google Maps in the ~1 km² Old Town area. But Như May didn’t show up in that list — likely because it is classified as “Clothing Shop”. This makes me think there are way more than 119 alterations/clothing/tailor shops in Hội An.
I am continually frustrated about how there is no good English word to describe myself as a person from the United States of America. America is a continent, so saying I’m an American is technically true, but it’s not what I want to say! Please know that when I use the word “American” to describe myself, I am cringing :) me gusta la palabra ‘estadounidense’ pero español no es el idioma mejor aquí.
Huda is one of the major Vietnamese beers, it is very light and well-balanced. After two sweaty weeks in Hội An, I finally had gotten into the habit of moving the condensation-lined glass from the table to my mouth in a wide path around my sketchbook instead of directly over it. Many drawings on this trip got dripped on by whatever I was drinking at the time, but that helps tell the story of the place, right?
Thank you! Link - possible to dm me here or through insta @suburbansketch? I'll be out of town for the whole seminar, but will be in Quebec on vacation and hope to do lots of sketching!
The Vietnamese community here in Northern Virginia did mark the 50th anniversary but not really as a celebration. Those non-Vietnamese here with memories and ties to the event also marked it quietly, I visited the Vietnam War Memorial on the DC Mall to find a couple of names. But having protested the war and then been present for its end I perhaps have a more complex relationship with it than many. Love reading about your experiences there and how well the people are doing.