Blog du Wren

A long search is over

For almost as long as I can remember, gramicci shorts have been my uniform. They are comfortable, durable, and even stylish enough for the likes of a slob like me. But in the past couple years, I've had a hard time finding the right size, color, style combination (not to mention recent inconsistencies in fit).

Enter Hoi An, Vietnam. This place, which was one a major trading hub with the Portugese(?), has clothes shops on every corner with quite persistant sales women. Wearing my ragged gramiccis through the market yesterday, I got talked into having a replacement pair made for me. I was skeptical of the whole endeavor. But lo and behold, I return today and was knocked off my feet. My new pair is so like the old ones, it is uncanny (minus the tears and holes, of course). I commissioned another pair on the spot.

On top of the satisfaction of getting such a great pair of shorts, the transaction felt good because I knew wearing my clothes were coming from. Over at his blog, Saxtor mentions his concerns on globalization, esp. as it affects the clothing industry. While I don't share his point of view entirely, bypassing all the middlemen and corporations that are usually involved did give me a sense of everyone involved getting a fair deal.

Time will tell on the quality and durability of the purchase, but in the mean time, I've made a friend in the seamstress and I've got a great story to tell.

Wednesday December 13 2006

File under: travel, Vietnam

Toggle Comments (7)

comment?

on Wed 13th Dec, 2006 04:59 pm UTC Saxtor said:
Awesome awesome awesome! I have considered looking into this same route for a jacket, although it would definitely be more expensive to be custom-made in the US. That is just great you managed to get yourself a recharged pair of "Grahamichee" shorts!
************************
on Wed 13th Dec, 2006 08:07 pm UTC Chris said:
See if they can make me a replica uniform with built in kevlar, probably be better and cheaper than what Uncle Sam gives me.
************************
on Thu 14th Dec, 2006 02:04 am UTC Andrew said:
get her to knit me a car-cozy. my subaru is getting cold in the bitter northeast.
************************
on Thu 14th Dec, 2006 02:31 am UTC Sarah said:
Saxter- Did you think about a Patagonia? They are a great company and they have a wide range of every day to "performance wear". Their clothes are mostly made in the US (some of their jackets are made in China). But they have good business practices. They have a great in-store and on-line sale in Feb. with great deals. Also Cloudveil (American) or Mammut (Swiss) are other, i think, "sound" companies. REI doesn't really stock any of these three brands. (But you shouldn't shop at REI anyway :-)) I have an aquaintance that works at Mountain Soles here in Portland repairing outdoor gear; she says Arcteryx is the best. They rarely repair it and when they do it's almost impossible to fix b/c it's made so well. Sorry to ramble on. nice work on the shorts Wren. The last time I met you you were digging trenches and were wearing the same shorts without washing them at all for the entire summer. they were liek cement shorts. kind of gross... ;-) these don't happen to be the SAME PAIR?
************************
on Thu 14th Dec, 2006 05:32 am UTC Mom said:
Wren, I understand that you can also get a tailor-made 3-piece suit--the buryin' & marryin'kind--quite reasonably as well. Ya never know when it'll come in handy. TeeHeeHee.
************************
on Thu 14th Dec, 2006 06:01 am UTC Kevin Iga said:
Wait, for burying or marrying?
************************
on Thu 14th Dec, 2006 05:55 pm UTC Saxtor said:
Sarah, to not further clutter Wren's blog, I responded to your comment on mine.
************************

<<Fruit Shakes Anonymous

Sledding>>

Name:
URL: (optional)
Comment:
speak yer peace