Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [278]
Clothes and accessories Kana, 41 Hang Trong, stocks traditional Vietnamese designs and some Western variations, while it’s all French chic at Song, 27 Nha Tho (www.valeriegregorimckenzie.com), and ethnic embroideries at Sapanesque, 45a Ly Quoc Su. Indigo, 65 Ma May, is a fair-trade outlet selling a limited range of clothes and bags in cotton, silk and linen. Aussie-owned Things of Substance, 5 Nha Tho, designs for Western sizes. At the other end of the spectrum, Ipa-Nima, 59g Hai Ba Trung, and its offshoot Tina Sparkle, 17 Nha Tho (www.ipa-nima.com), make outrageous bags – and Ipa-Nima’s decadent decor is worth a look. Beautiful handmade silk clothes are available at Co, 18 Nha To, and Marie-Linh, 74 Hang Trong (www.marie-linh.com), while most of the silk shops and some of the embroidery shops listed below also sell ready-made clothes and accessories. For jewellery, Phuc Tin, 49 Hai Ba Trung & 22 Hang Gai (www.phuctin.com), sells traditional and contemporary designs by a master silversmith and made in the family’s workshop.
Embroidery Vietnam Quilts, 16 Hang Tre (www.vietnam-quilts.org), is a not-for-profit organization raising funds for a variety of causes through the sale of quilts; all are made by women in rural provinces. For the very finest, albeit expensive, embroidered bedlinen, tablecloths, cushion covers and so forth, head for Chi Vang, 17 Trang Tien, or May, 7 Nha Tho. Chef Collection, 21d Ha Hoi, sells household items and souvenirs embroidered by disabled students under Hoa Sua’s vocational training programme (see "The Old Quarter and west of Hoan Kiem Lake").
Handicrafts Craft Link, 39 & 43 Van Mieu, is a not-for-profit organization working with small-scale producers of traditional crafts, particularly among the ethnic minorities, helping develop increasingly high-quality designs. Another shop worth seeking out is Tribal Pan Flutes, 38 Hang Bac, a real Aladdin’s cave of minority crafts.
Interiors For elegant if pricey home accessories and gifts try L’Image, 34 Nha Chung; Mosaïque, 22 Nha Tho; Dome, 71 Hang Trong (www.dome.com.vn); and Hanoi Moments, 101 Hang Gai. La Casa, 12 Nha Tho (www.lacasavietnam.com), sells unusual and upmarket household items from an Italian designer, while Nguyen Frères, 3 Phan Chu Trinh & 9 Dinh Tien Hoang, specializes in high-end antique and reproduction furniture, and also sells more portable souvenirs.
Lacquerware You’ll find lacquer everywhere, but for something special Minh Tam, 2 Hang Bong, uses top-quality lacquer for his unusual designs, often incorporating eggshell to give a crazed finish, and gold leaf on black lacquer for a more dramatic effect.
Musical instruments Browse the shops on Hang Manh, where Thai Khue Music Shop, at 1a, and Ta Tham, at 16a, sell a range of unusual instruments from packable pipes and flutes to lithophones and bronze gongs from the central highlands.
Shoes To complete your outfit, Pinocchio, 71 Hang Trong & 52 Hang Bong, is the place to go for the most gorgeous handmade shoes with lacquered wooden soles and silk or leather uppers. Alternatively, most silk shops sell or will run you up a pair of dainty embroidered slippers.
Silk and tailoring Hanoi’s most famous silk shops, Khai Silk, 121 Nguyen Thai Hoc (with branches at 96 Hang Gai and in the Sofitel Metropole hotel), and Kenly Silk, 108 Hang Gai (www.kenlysilk.com), sell expensive but high-quality Vietnamese silks (raw, taffeta, satin and even knitted) as well as other fabrics. They also sell ready-made clothes and have a reputation for reliable tailoring. Other places to try for both fabrics and tailoring include: Cocoon, 20 Nha Chung; F-Silk, 82 Hang Gai, 4 Le Thai To & 49 Hai Ba Trung; Hadong Silk, 102 Hang Gai; and Hanoi Silk, in the Sheraton and Sofitel Plaza (www.hanoisilkvn.com). Finally, Emerald Silk, 9 Bao Khanh, is chock-a-block with a rainbow array of silk items at very reasonable prices.
Hanoi and around | Shopping and markets |
Galleries
As Vietnamese art continues to attract international recognition, so ever more art galleries