Requiem for a Shirt
Please join me in a moment of silence for my Hoi An shirt.
Crickets.
Thank you. It was a good shirt. It lasted through more than a decade of hard service, not bad for a custom-fitted, hand-tailored green cotton shirt that cost me less than $10. But that little fray under the left arm erupted this morning into a full tear. R.I.P. old shirt, R.I.P. (Get it?!)
Old Greeny was born in Hoi An, Vietnam, back in 1994, the first piece of clothing I ever had made during a trip abroad. It began a custom-shirt custom that I've pursued ever since. I'm not talking about the fancy bespoke tailoring you get in Hong Kong or London or Madrid. I'm talking about dirt-cheap sewing machine stalls in teeming markets of Yangon, Phnom Penh, Nairobi. My routine is simple: I take a simple button-down shirt to the market, ask around for the best local needle jockey and ask her to knock off five or six copies, made to meaure. We go around to the fabric stalls and buy the cloth. I come back in a day or two to pick the goods. It usually runs $30 to $40 for the whole lot.
They don't always last more than a year or two (Old Greeny was exceptional), but they always fit well (which isn't easy when you have a pencil neck and chimpanzee arms). And more importantly, I never put one on without taking a brief side trip back to that foriegn market. Ahhh, the thread of memory.
Not bad for a cheap shirt. I can't wait to get a new one.
By Steve Hendrix |
March 15, 2007; 9:11 AM ET
| Category:
Steve Hendrix
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Posted by: Alex | March 15, 2007 10:40 AM
Ahh, shirts. I have a short-sleeved white blouse (with buttons that say "CROCODILE" on them) and a beauuuutiful ankle-length silk skirt that were made for me by my friend's hostmom in Cambodia when I was there for a visit. I haven't worn those in a while...I should find an occasion that calls for long silk skirts.
Posted by: h3 | March 15, 2007 11:16 AM
You ought to write about the experience. I'm a custom shirt fanatic, though I have to admit that it takes about 10+ times the cash to scratch my itches....
Not that I can ever imagine doing it, but the idea of searching for the fabric with the person who will stitch it does sound like an adventure.....
Posted by: CW | March 15, 2007 11:26 AM
Steve,
Just wanted to let you know that you will be missed in the travel section. I always searched for YOUR articles, chat responses, etc - ignoring most of your colleagues - because of your insights and enthusiasm for adventure. My husband even teases me about having a favorite travel writer, whose work I devoured.
And, like others, your New Zealand article was the final prompt to move from "places I'd like to go some day" to what was "the best vacation we ever had." Thank you!
Posted by: Big Fan | March 15, 2007 11:32 AM
Thanks so much for the kind words, Big Fan, but ignore my colleagues at your travel peril! They are an adventurous and talented lot. I've never learned more from anyone about travel, writing (not to mention travel writing) and all-around professionalism than I have from these guys.
Posted by: Steve Hendrix | March 15, 2007 1:19 PM
I had a linen suit made in Hoi An, largely because I wanted the experience of getting something custom made and figured it might as well be something useful. I was really looking just for a jacket, but at 20 bucks for that and 10 more for a skirt, figured I couldn't go wrong. Only took a day and I still wear it frequently 4 years down the road. I'm only sorry I didn't get a lot more stuff made at the same time.
Posted by: MHN | March 16, 2007 10:42 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
I also had a customer tailored shirt made in Vietnam back in the mid-90's. I'm happy to report it is still a part of my regular wardrobe. It only cost me around $10, if I remember correctly.