It started years ago on the sultry Indonesian island of Java when I arrived without enough cool clothing. Out of desperation, I approached street-side mom-and-pop tailors in the city of Yogyakarta. They spoke no English, so I relied on rough sketches and pantomime to communicate that I wanted to turn a $2 batik sarong into a pair of loose-fitting trousers. They could copy the waistband from my Banana Republic shorts.
My goal was to get through the rest of my trip without sweltering, although at the time I felt a little like Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind," designing an outfit from the green velvet parlor drapes that once hung at Tara. But I was so pleased with the results that I had those $10 pants copied five more times on subsequent trips to the region.
That experience, born of necessity, was my introduction to the affordable luxury of custom-made clothing from Southeast Asia, an interest I have pursued with a passion on seven trips to that part of the world during the last 14 years. Each time, I have looked forward to visiting tailors who seem to magically stitch beautiful garments in a matter of days or even hours -- often for less than it would cost to buy the same things off the rack back home.
In the process, I have built a wardrobe sewn for me in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos. Some pieces, such as my Javanese trousers, have been Western designs cut from traditional local fabrics such as silk or batik. Many more have been made of wool, cotton or linen that was available there or that I brought with me from the United States.
Cost saving is one attraction of buying clothes this way, but an even stronger motivation is being able to get exactly what I want. Because Southeast Asian tailors tend to be skilled at copying, I have learned to take prototypes from my own closet that I want replicated or updated, although it's also possible to have things made based on a photograph or on samples displayed in the store.
Two of the places I visited on a December trip to the area are known for their tailors: Bangkok, Thailand, has had a busy garment trade for years; Hoi An, Vietnam, is developing one. Intending to have clothes made in both places, I left home with half a duffel bag of prototypes, fabrics and even buttons. I returned with six linen blouses -- four of them copied from a Perry Ellis original, a three-piece (skirt, pants, jacket) wool crepe suit, cashmere hip-hugger dress pants, two pairs of silk pajamas and corduroy jeans. The tab was $402, not counting the fabric I took with me, but including some that the tailors supplied. That's less than it would have cost to buy just one designer blazer in the United States.
Not surprisingly, the success of such endeavors depends on the quality of the tailor, and choosing one can be a bit tricky. Many of the shops in Bangkok, for example, look indistinguishable -- cramped, unassuming places that are either clustered together or sandwiched between other stores.
One possibility is to rely on leads from locals. Although hotel concierges can also make suggestions (they got me to the mom-and-pop operation in Yogyakarta), I take them with a grain of salt. Sometimes their rave reviews are inspired by what the locals call "tea money" that has passed under the table.
I've had the best luck with recommendations from ex-pats, who tend to appreciate the tailoring more than label-conscious residents who generally prefer ready-made Western designs. In Singapore I have been a repeat customer for more than 10 years at Carvette Fashion, the shop of Alice Pwa Ah Lan. Carvette was a favorite of an American friend who once lived in Singapore.
Anticipating my visit to Bangkok and not fully trusting what I read on various travelers' websites, I contacted Julie Dolan, whose commentary on her travels in Bangkok I had heard many times on the National Public Radio show "Satellite Sisters." Dolan, who has since moved to Moscow, recommended a dressmaker for me and a shirt maker for my husband, Ken Stern.
My husband and I contacted the shops by e-mail before we left home, because we wanted to be sure they would be open around New Year's weekend, when we planned to conclude our vacation with a stop in Bangkok. Lucky we did; they replied that they would be closed for all or part of the time. With that in mind, we scheduled a five-hour layover in Bangkok earlier in our trip, on the way from southern Thailand to Laos, and hopped a taxi to both stores.
Bangkok
