Oh the anxiety of shopping the streets of Bolsa! To a gal like me, born and raised in SoCal, I find shopping in Little Saigon easy to navigate, but not so easy to negotiate. Here are a few things bound to happen when shopping for an ao dai and how to overcome them!
They will insult you, then compliment you
True Story! A girlfriend of mine was ao dai hunting (earlier this year) and came across a tailoress who did just that! Said girlfriend was making the best out of the shopping trip and was picking out fabrics that she liked. The tailoress interjected saying that a color wasn’t right, or the design wasn’t flattering or a fabric wasn’t of the right quality. Tailoress even had the audacity to say she was too tall (Girlfriend stands 5’7″) and that in Vietnam she probably would not be able to find a husband.
Girlfriend about died at that comment.
She thought to herself, “Women, do you or do you NOT want me to buy something from you??” Thank goodness her Auntie accompanied her! Auntie was able to ease the frustration by pulling a classic parent card: “Miss, my niece is well-educated and an accomplished dentist. She can wear whatever she’d like.” *Boom*Pow*Snap*
My did the tables turn quick! Tailoress addresses Girlfriend, “oh, yes of course! You know, if we were in Vietnam, you’d easily be mistaken for a model! You’re so tall! Everything would look beautiful.”
ROTFLOL.
I daym near fell out of my seat when she told me that. The story was so good we took sake shots after!
Haggling is Acceptable
Yup, it sure is! And because haggling is so inevitable, merchandise is not marked with a price. As a customer, merchants expect you to browse. When you ask for a price, it shows interest. Interest leads to your level of willingness to pay for a product or service. Let the wheeling and dealing begin. Poker face (or resting bitch face) highly recommended.
Cash is King
‘Nuf said. Vietnamese merchants love cash! And our generation loves plastic! But for this kind of shopping, come prepared to count out that cash money, honey!
There’s no such thing as politely waiting your turn to be serviced. Jump in and tell them what you need!
So have you ever watched the show, Fresh off the Boat, based on chef & comedian, Eddie Huang’s memoir (also called Fresh off The Boat)? If you haven’t, you’re missing out! In season one, the Huang’s move from the DC area and Mama Huang misses the market from back home:
ABC / Via samwilsons.tumblr.com
That kind of market is exactly what it’s like to shop in Little Saigon…albeit it’s a bit over exaggerated for the sake of comedy. Haha. Bottom line, you gotta get in there and tell merchants what you want. Clear, concise and direct works best. There is no number taking or waiting your turn. If you snooze, the person behind you will jump right in.
As Vietnamese Americans, we’re accostomed to customer service, getting help from a willing, friendly face and waiting our turn to complete a transaction. I can’t even begin to tell you what a breath of fresh air it was when Lee’s Sandwiches showed up on Bolsa Avenue in 2001 and had designated lines, a flat screen monitor with flashing numbers and audio calling out orders—in friggin’ two languages no less! Progress folks! That was major progress!
If all else fails, bring along mom, older sissy, aunty or grandma
Having someone you trust like mom, big sister, aunty or Ba with you to shop, haggle and have cash ready is a fail-safe to making ao dai shopping a breeze!! They’re not only fluent in the language, they can shmooze their way to getting exactly what you need and want! Besides, no other group of strong-minded women will hesitate to let their opinion be known and at the same time have your back! #justsaying
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