Transparent Pricing: Snow White Chemise

When it came to pricing the Madame Tây pieces, offering a fair and affordable price was really important to us.  So often ethically produced goods are priced so high that only a small privileged strata of society are able to access them. For us, an ethical clothing project meant not only having an ethical production process where our tailors are being paid a fair wage, but also offering a fair price for our consumers at the other end. 

I am strongly convinced that there is a  place for something like Madame Tây - we want to create the pieces that you want to buy because they are beautiful and can buy because they are affordable, but are simultaneously assured that each piece is ethically produced. And so Madame Tây has served as an experiment of sorts - because something like Madame Tây can only work in the long run if it is sustainable and it can only be sustainable if it is financially viable.  

And here lies the balance that we are trying to find - determining a selling price for our clothes which is on the one hand fair and affordable for consumers and on the other hand financially viable for Madame Tây.

Inspired by the concept of radical transparency advocated by Everlane, we decided to break-down and show you our production costs so that when you buy the Snow White Chemise you know exactly how much it cost to make and where that money went. We have questioned whether this is the right thing to do - after all would people still want to buy a shirt at $40 if they knew that the raw production cost of the shirt is less than $15? In the end, we decided to do this for two reasons. Firstly, we constantly emphasise that we are more interested in the process than the final product. Throughout the project we have been keenly aware that there are many things which we could (and should) do better - one example is using more sustainable and ethical fabrics. The whole project has been an important process of learning - and we believe that by seeking out, documenting and sharing that information - we (and maybe even others) can learn from it and improve our work in the future. Secondly the issue of transparency lies very close to me - afterall I work for an organisation called Transparency International in Vietnam. Everyday I operate on the premise that transparency is critical - because knowledge is transformative whether it be in the struggle against corruption or in building a safer clothing and garment industry.

For the Snow White Chemise you see that there is a mark-up of 2.7 times the cost of production. What is important to keep in mind is that this is the raw production cost associated with producing this item. What the $14.75 does not include is all the time Sarah, Cara, Christina and I have poured into sampling clothes; sourcing fabrics, buttons and zips; bi-weekly visits to the tailors to oversee production and quality; testing out sizing; ironing and tagging each piece individually. And those were a lot of hours - let me tell you! It also doesn't include any of the costs of bringing the clothes to you - designing and building our website or the cost of market stall (not to mention the hours spent staffing the stall). It doesn't cover the invaluable contributions of many friends and family who volunteered  their time, bodies and skills to build and host our website (thanks Matt!), photograph our clothes (thanks Lisa), model and test sample sizing, help with make-up, provide production and financial advice, the list goes on and on. To be completely honest, if we were to factor in and cost all this time, the first production lot of Madame Tây is not financially viable - not by a long shot. But this first production lot is small - only around 175 pieces in total and as we emphasise time and time again, we have learnt so much though the process. If we were to do this again at a slightly larger scale - say double or triple the production size, now that we have found trusted tailors, a better understanding and eye for fabrics (and also leads on where to source more sustainable fabrics) and a website created, I see that Madame Tây has the potentially to become self-sustaining in the future.     

Why Madame Tây?

In Vietnamese, Tây literally means west, but the term has been liberally applied to describe any foreigner you might come across. Having lived in Vietnam for almost three years, being Tây continues to be inextricably tied to my identity. You carry the label with you where ever you go: from getting passport photos printed, where the storekeeper will jot down Tây in the blank space next to name; to weekend trips in the countryside where kids will run after you shouting Miss Tây or Uncle Tây. I won't go into this in more detail, since my friend Tabitha has already described it far more eloquently than I ever could in her blog here. When I started visiting the tailors, I noticed that many of our pieces would come back with a piece of paper labelled Tây sewn into the fabric to indicate that they were for me. Of course, having grown up as a second generation Chinese girl in Australia - where almost half the population has at least one parent who was born overseas the broad application of the term Tây sat for me somewhere between amusement and bewilderment. I remember the security guard for our small alley asking one day whether Sarah - my Jewish-American housemate - and I were sisters.

As we started this clothing project, we ended up producing clothes in Senegal and Vietnam by chance. Cara and I were skyping one day when she raised the idea. I live in Vietnam and Cara was planning to go to Senegal. One of the first questions we had was how to bring together clothing under our project which would inevitably be of two very different styles that reflect each countries own history, culture and fabrics. One small thing which ties together these two vastly different countries is their history of french colonialism for more or less a hundred years. The influence of the French differs greatly between the two countries. In Senegal, where French remains the official language the influence of French colonialism is very visible. It is important to note however that Senegalese society, whilst greatly influenced by the rule of the French, remains uniquely Senegalese - the top university in Dakar bares the name of Senegalese intellectual Cheikh Anta Diop who developed the notion of négritude - the promotion of a common black identity as a rejection of French colonialism, and although French is the official language, most Senegalese prefer to converse in their first language. Despite this strong Senegalese cultural identity, the influence of the period of French colonialism is undeniable and is present on institutional levels (the Senegalese educational and legal systems mirror the French systems) as well as more informally - all street signs and shop names are French, and you'll hear the French greeting 'ça va?' everywhere you go in Senegal. In Vietnam, french influences remain more subtle - but can still be found in the baguettes for sale every afternoon on the pavements in the old quarter, the french style seating in cafes - arranged for people watching - and the occasional use of Madame when addressing foreigners.

So we chose the name Madame Tây to serve as a reminder for a few things. The importance of adaptation (which would haunt us throughout the whole production process) - you may not understand how or why something works, but still need to trust that it does. The  magnitude of roots and origins - despite how desperate you may be to fit in - our roots, for good or for bad, mold the food we eat, the books we like and the clothes we wear and deserve due respect.  And finally that the world is a much smaller and more interconnected than it first seems.

Photoshoot - Behind the Scenes

We wanted to share with you a few behind the scenes shots from our photoshoot.

Click through for more photos!

West Africa Production - Phase Three: Garment Production

After our first samples had been tested, we set to work making the needed changes – the blazers were too long, the t-shirt were too wide, the shorts were a bit too tight and the skirts needed a few extra details. The whole process was pretty difficult for me, as someone who has never worked in patternmaking or design but who has specific ideas about what the final product should look like. Luckily, our tailor Diogo was super patient and really great at showing me his methods of cutting fabric and explaining techniques like darting which really helped me understand what changes we needed to make for our final run of garments.

Diogo in his atelier in Marche Santhiaba, Saint-Louis, Senegal

Once Diogo and I had decided on the final changes to make to the four different pieces we are producing, he set about the production – which included transferring patterns, cutting and finally sewing over 130 metres of fabric! Needless to say, it was a look of work, so Diogo called in his friend Atou (pictured below) and they worked together to complete about 75 pieces (plus a few extra surprises!) for Madame Tay’s first range of garments.

Atou (l) and Diogo (r) getting to work, Saint-Louis, Senegal

Atou and his machine, Saint-Louis, Senegal

Diogo has an atelier in Marche Santhiaba, the big textile market in Saint-Louis, in Northern Senegal. The market is buzzing from 6am to 11pm with the sounds of sewing machines and scissors slicing through fabric. Diogo’s atelier looks onto a long, covered passageway where apprentice tailors spend hours each day looping string to make fancy embroidery for dresses and shirts -  which are both really popular in Senegal for events and celebrations.

Detail of Diogo's atelier - superman, mannequins and posters of Senegalese religious leaders

Marche Santhiaba

The last part of the production was completed in Dakar, at Diogo’s family house in a suburb called Parcelles. We set up a temporary atelier with a borrowed table, a borrowed sewing machine and goats constantly sticking their heads through the window as Diogo worked.

Diogo's temporary atelier in Parcelles, Dakar

Madame Tay garments ready to be sewn!

Diogo cutting out some Madame Tay high waisted shorts.

Diogo and some neighbourhood goats.

West Africa Production - Phase Two: Samples

After doing preliminary design with Martha in Ghana, the next step was starting production in Senegal with our tailor, Diogomaye. On a Saturday afternoon I was invited over to Diogo’s family’s house in Parcelles – the Northern suburbs of Dakar, right next to the beach – super beautiful!

Diogo and I going over measurements

The first step was going over the first designs with Diogo, and seeing how these could be translated to the fabric we had purchased at Sandaga earlier in the week with Diogo’s cousin and Aunty. After reworking a few of the measurements, Diogo got to work in his atelier to produce the first lot of samples we would use to finalise the pieces we’d make for Madame Tay’s first production lot.

Diogo hard at work on our first pieces

Cutting table

Diogo at work at his atelier

After Diogo had completed 15 samples, I gathered a few of my friends to have a casual clothes fitting to see how the pieces worked and if we needed to do any adjustments. The clothes fitting turned into an impromptu photoshoot, here are a few shots:

It was really useful to see what the pieces looked like on a range of different sized women, and made me realise just how difficult correct sizing and fit could be. My friends were really helpful, and made plenty of suggestions to Diogo and me as to what should be changed. After taking lots of notes, and working out what pieces needed some work, Diogo and I set to making a few more samples, just to make sure we were on the right track.

Partner Profile: Binh & Thuy, Vietnam

Like most of Binh’s customers, I first came to know about him through a recommendation. Having run his own tailoring business for more than 20 years, Binh never advertises his services, so his customers learn about him purely through word of mouth.

Now 54 years old, Binh came from a family of tailors and has been working since he was 16. His parents taught Binh and his three sisters and brother to sew from a young age and they would help their parents in their small tailoring business. Today, all of his three sisters own their own tailoring businesses in Hanoi – one of them living and working in the house directly opposite Binh’s. His only brother has moved to Saigon and works in business, but Binh has stayed in the family trade - he notes that he likes to keep with traditions.

Although Binh’s parents worked as tailors out of same family home and shop where Binh still lives and works today, the backdrop was vastly different. His parents worked through Japanese and French occupation of Hanoi and the American-Vietnam War.  Back then, employing staff was restricted by law, so Binh’s parents worked on their own filling out a small number of orders each week. After his parents retired, Binh started his own tailoring business.

He first met Thuy in 1990 when she came as a customer to his shop to get some clothes tailored. Although Thuy worked in a clothing factory, she did not know how to make clothes herself as she worked only on her small part of the production line. After they married, Thuy quit her job at the clothing factory, Binh taught her the basics to sewing and tailoring and today she helps to sew zips and buttons and manages the finances. 

When he first started his own business, Binh worked by himself – as he explains, his expenses were low back then and he only needed to work enough to earn a small amount of money for food and other basic living costs. After getting married, he suddenly found he needed to spend a lot more money! As luck would have it, Doi Moi had taken place only a few years before and in 1994 the United States would lift  their almost 20 year trade embargo on Vietnam, opening up the country’s economy to international business and trade. Opportunities were ripe for small business owners like Binh and Thuy. At their peak, they employed 7 staff to support him and Thuy. However, the economic downturn that hit Vietnam in 2011 has also affected their business. Today, they have three staff who have been working with them for 20 years. Binh estimates that each day, they make together on average 10 pairs of pants and 5 dresses.

For each Madame Tây piece, Binh and Thuy estimates that it takes 3 hours to put together a skirt from start to finish and 4 hours to put together a dress.  They explain that each of these pieces take a bit longer to make because of the lining.

When I ask Binh what he imagines himself to be doing if he hadn’t been a tailor, he pauses for a while and then shakes his hands perplexed, tailoring he explains is his hobby. He points to the checked shirt and trousers he is wearing and his daughter My’s denim jeans, noting that they were all tailored by him.

You can find Binh and Thuy just around the corner from the Temple of Literature.

House 7, Alley Lương Sử B Quốc Tử Giám, Đống Đa, Hà Nội

Phone: +84 04 3732 1557