Hoi An tailors for plus size, tall and petite: what to know

How made to measure actually handles it

A Hoi An tailor takes fifteen to twenty-five measurements and adapts a pattern to them. There is no largest size and no smallest. What changes with body shape is which measurements matter most and how much experience the shop has with that shape. A shop that makes a hundred standard suits a month may be less practised at a jacket for very broad shoulders than a shop that sees more variety. The way to find out is to ask to see a finished garment for someone with a similar build, and to watch how carefully the measurements are taken.

The measurement guide explains what is measured and why. You do not need to measure yourself, but knowing what the tape is doing helps you spot when something has been skipped.

Plus size: what to ask

Fabric width. Most cloth is 150 cm wide. Larger patterns can need more length of cloth, which affects the price, and a few fabrics come in narrower widths that limit what can be cut. Ask before the price is agreed.

Experience. Ask to see a finished garment in a similar size. A shop that can show one has done it before. A shop that cannot may still do well, but the fitting becomes more important.

Construction. On a jacket, ask whether the shop will add structure where you want it (a fuller lining, a firmer canvas) and leave it out where you do not. On a dress, ask about a lining and about the zip placement; a side zip and a lined bodice make a large difference to comfort.

Surcharges. Some shops add a percentage above a certain chest or waist measurement. It is a legitimate charge for extra cloth and work, but it should be stated before you order, not at collection. Have it on the receipt.

What to start with: a shirt or a blouse, a pair of trousers or a simple dress. These show you how the shop measures and fits, cost little and are usually finished the same day. If the fit is good, order the jacket.

Tall: what to ask

Tall visitors are the people for whom a Hoi An tailor pays off fastest, because sleeve length, trouser length and torso length are the three things ready-to-wear gets wrong and made to measure gets right by default.

Ask whether the fabric is long enough on the bolt for your trouser length; a popular cloth with only a few metres left may not be. Ask the shop to cut generous hems and seam allowances so a garment can be let out at home later. On a jacket, check the sleeve length at the fitting with your arms down and then raised; on trousers, check the rise sitting down. A jumpsuit, which almost never fits tall people off the rack, is a particularly good thing to have made; see the Jumpsuits.

Petite: what to ask

Off-the-rack petite ranges shrink everything in proportion, which is not how bodies work. A tailor sets each point where it falls on you: the waist of a dress on your waist, the knee of a trouser on your knee, the sleeve at your wrist.

Ask the shop to show you where the waist seam will sit before cutting; pin it on you if possible. For jackets, ask for a shorter jacket length and narrower lapels than the catalogue style, which are drawn for an average height. For dresses, bring the shoes: a hem a centimetre off is more visible on a shorter frame. Lighter, drapier fabrics usually flatter better than heavy structured ones; the fabric library explains the differences.

Other shapes that tailors fix

Broad shoulders with a narrow waist: a jacket cut to both, instead of one that fits the shoulders and hangs like a tent. A large bust: a dress with a proper bust dart and a lined bodice, cut for support rather than stretched. Long torso, short legs, or the reverse: trousers with the right rise and a jacket with the right length, which is a matter of two measurements. One shoulder lower than the other, which is most people: a tailor can cut for it; ready-to-wear cannot.

At the fitting

For any of these, the fitting matters more than for a standard build, because the pattern has been adapted further from its default. Wear the shoes and the underlayers you will wear with the garment. Move: sit, reach, walk. Check the places that off-the-rack always fails for you first, because those are where the adaptation was largest. Say what pulls or gapes and let the tailor decide the fix. A second fitting for anything structured is not optional.

Bringing a garment that fits

If you own one thing that fits well, bring it. For any non-standard build it is the most reliable reference a tailor can have, because it carries your proportions already solved. The guide to Can a Hoi An tailor copy clothes from a photo? What works covers how to use it.

About the shop behind this site

The styles on Hoi An Clothes Shop are references from Bao An Tailor, two ateliers in Hoi An; every style is adapted to your measurements rather than offered in sizes. Message the team with your measurements or a photo of a garment that fits, and ask the questions above directly. The Hoi An tailor guide covers the rest of the process.