Family-friendly tailors in Hanoi

Several of these shops are run by families themselves. At Hoàng Vân Silk a mother, her daughter and son run the shop and speak English and French; most orders take 3 to 5 days, and rush jobs 24 to 72 hours. At Nhà May Dương Dương does the tailoring and his son Ken translates, and many reviewers had suits or dresses ready in 24 to 48 hours.

For children's clothes, North Tailor makes kids' pieces alongside suits and shirts, usually in 2 to 4 days with one fitting. Bambou Silk Tailors, run by Loan, makes kids' clothes too; kids' dresses were around US$50 each, though a couple of reviewers felt they cost more than the fabric justified. Áo dài Thanh Di makes custom ao dai for women, men and children, rents them, and runs weekend silk-painting and woodcut workshops.

A family order means several fittings, so give it a few days rather than the last day of the trip. Where reviewers gave a price for one suit at these shops, it ran from US$110 to US$300. 12 of the 16 ship abroad, which helps if one piece is not finished before you leave. For typical prices, see the Hanoi tailor prices guide.