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EID SHOPPING

Tailors face slack time

Sohel Parvez
Mannequins show off new trendy designs in air-conditioned, cosy readymade garment stores. The approaching Eid festival offers them the privilege of taking a new look quite frequently to pour a buzz into the young minds.
Today's craze for a man is shirts and trousers that fit him the best. For women, it is a short kameez and piped' salwar. All are either bought readymade or made by tailors or seamstresses in die hectic hours ahead of the Eid.
The battle between the readymade and tailor-made clothes has intensified, although tailoring workrooms, mainly for men's wears, appear losing their foolhold. Many still keep their order books open for Eid delivery.
"1 received around 1,300 orders for making clothes during the Eid festival last year. But it appears difficult to get as many orders this year as 1 have received around 700 orders so far," said Mohammad Sanahullah, owner and tailor-master of Anamika Tailors and Fabrics at Bakushah Market in Nilkhet, Dhaka.
"It seems I will have to continue taking orders until September 25," he said.
Tailoring houses did brisk business last year as winter coincided with the Eid, resulting in increased orders for making suits.
Things have changed a bit this year, as the Eid is coming far ahead of the winter, the main business season for tailors.
During the Eid season this year, except for a few branded tailoring houses, most report a slowdown in business due mainly to erosion in people's purchasing capacity and a rise in
the numbers of readymade garment shops and boutiques.
These shops with stylish dresses that bear the testimony of local culture and heritage and the trend of Bollywood and the West are now attracting a section of customers in the city areas due to a wide array of options and choices available there.
Sector people said customers, mainly men, now like to buy readymade clothes instead of tailor-made ones to save time and avoid hassles of repeating visits to get the delivery of dresses.
Consumer sentiments over the quality of fabrics and tailoring arts have also cast a dampening effect on the tailoring business, they added.
The result is, tailor-made men's wears are being showcased for ready sale at the leading tailoring houses. Now the leading branded tailoring houses such as The Raymond Shop, Fit Elegance and Elegant are displaying their own tailor-made items at their shops.
"We haven't yet fully shifted our focus to tailoring. As peoples' interest to readymade clothes is increasing, we are bringing in these dresses more,” saidToriqul Islam, an executive of The Raymond Shop.
Islam however said the company, the franchisee of Indian Raymond, recorded around 20 percent rise in orders for tailoring this season.
"Days are coming when people will prefer readymade dresses to tailored ones,” he said, citing the trend in India.
Mosharrof Hossain Khan, owner of Elegant Tailoring, Readymade Garments and Fine Clothes, said his shop received good response from the customers for both the tailored and readymade clothes.
"Sales of readymade clothes in my shop have almost doubled this year, "he said.
But this is not true for many small tailoring shops.
Officials at different tailoring houses also said customer's response to tailored clothes during this season was less than expected. Tailors in the Elephant Road and Ramna Bhaban areas echoed the same.
But demand for women's tailored clothes is still high, as women prefer tailor-made dresses to readymade ones.
“It's the question of proper fitting. Customers may switch to other options if they get properly-fitted dresses al reasonable prices," said Khalid Mahmood Khan, director of Kay Kraft, one of the leading boutiques.
"But tailoring shops will run on their own legacy. And those tailors who adopt technology on fine finishing will do well,” he said.
Ashrafun Siddiqui Dora, cofounder of the country's one of the oldest readymade clothes retailers Cats Eye, attributed the increase in demand for readymade clothes to a change in people's lifestyle and tastes.
"During 80s, there were a few readymade clothes retailers except us. But the number is increasing at a rapid pace now due to change in people's lifestyle,” she said, adding that even-tually people will shift to readymade garments.
Dora said tailors will remain as speciality shops dedicated to making serwanis and suits.
"The only hope now is suit tailoring as its demand is rising compared with other dresses," said Selim Ahmed, owner of Progoti Tailors and Fabrics at the Bakushah market.