26 Ly Tu Trong
We actually came across this yet another amazing building while we are looking for The Loft Cafe. Thanks to the stroke of luck, 26 Ly leaves a deep impression.
At its entrance, you’ll find both sides of the wall are filled with paintings. Yes, hand-painted canvas covered the walls like tiles, and these handcrafted tiles gave this building so much personality compared to others. There are 2 artists sitting by the side with a small stool on their every corresponding corner. I stood at the side and watch in awe as I watch the artists drew the beautiful outline of a lady in an Ao dai with fresh red paint. The uncle at the other side isn’t too shabby either as he was tracing blank paint over his pop art style painting.
We moved on after, heading upstairs. There’s a retro-looking elevator possibly still on service. The building is rather quiet and there are no tourists in sight wandering around apart from us and 2 other Vietnamese teens possibly here for shopping/coffee. Apart from cafes, the shopping arcade stretches along the corridor, with independent male boutiques to feminine female flowery blouses manufactured in-house.
We headed for Loft Cafe to chill from the heat before checking out the other shops. We went through various fabrics of the clothes. Though I’m no expert, I know enough to tell the quality. Those self-manufactured canvas berms and bespoke style blazers certainly don’t come cheap. The novelty speaks of its price compared to “market-tier” clothing. There a male boutique called Mr Simple that left an impression with its chic design and sleek noir store image. Anyone looking for decent casual male wear can check them out.
Any true hybrid of a caffeine-fashionista might find 26 Ly a wonderful gem to explore, with both cafes and fashion shops lined within a stone throw away from each other. And speaking of stone, why not kill 2 birds with one stone when “THE NEW PLAYGROUND”, is just right next to 26 Lý Tự Trọng
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Details
Name: 26 lý tự trọng
Address: Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
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