I also hung out in Vietnam, but only for a month. I found the custom clothing that was not brand name to be an absolute steal. Just great custom tailoring and

I also hung out in Vietnam, but only for a month. I found the custom clothing that was not brand name to be an absolute steal. Just great custom tailoring and fabrics for basically nothing and ready the next day. That said, the real brand name stuff that westerners would recognize and prize was not cheaper. There were very well done knockoffs, to be sure, but if you knew what you were looking for the watch or shoe wasn't quite right. If you Google "how to spot counterfeit [brandname] [product name]" and double check you'll see that 95% of the time it's a knock off. I've learned to just learn what makes a given type of hide or fabric high quality and shop based on that. Most brands are merely shortcuts for the busy to make sure they get reasonable quality and a possible status symbol if it's especially luxurious and expensive. But if you know what quality looks like you can usually find something way better at half or a quarter or even a tenth of the price. Or even if it's more expensive to purchase (e.g., a fullgrain leather belt with properly protected metal[0]) it will last much, much longer. [0] https://saddlebackleather.com https://saddlebackleather.com is one of the few places I will shill for whenever I can. They make the very best stuff and it lasts forever. I wish more online retailers were like them. I've saved so much money over the years because their stuff truly lasts.