Fashion wins the race

I’m tired of catching up with fashion. It always seems to be one step ahead of me.

I remember a time when the shirt or kameez as we call it was very short and the trouser or shalwar was very baggy. Then over the years the kameez became so long it was brushing the ankles and the shalwar was replaced by tights. After that I moved to Dubai and lost track. Someone told me that the shirts are short again but I really don’t care. I’ll wear what I have and I am not making any trips to the tailor.

In Pakistan the ladies go to a tailor to have their clothes custom stitched. This is not just for the party clothes but the ordinary every day wear ones as well. This is the biggest hassle of all because tailors can literally bring you to tears.

A typical conversation between a woman who is visiting her tailor for the third time in 3 days. Every time he makes an excuse about not having done the work on time. Finally on the third attempt the clothes are ready.

“Are my clothes ready?”

“Yes Baji (a term used to show respect to a woman). Here they are.” The tailors hands the woman a big package.

“What have you done with this one? I asked for long sleeves, why are they so short?”

“Baji the cloth was less, that’s why. Don’t worry they will look nice.”

“And this one is ruined; you’ve made the shalwar out of the cloth of the kameez!!!”

“Really Baji, I didn’t notice, but it looks nice, no?”

“Just give me the bill”. The woman is totally fed up by now. The tailor hands over a piece of paper grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“What? Have you increased the rate?”

“Baji we have so many power outages. We have to keep a generator. What can we do?”

The woman hands over the money and leaves. The next day she’s back because most of the clothes don’t fit her correctly. She will probably have to make a few more trips before she’s satisfied.

Who can blame me for not wanting to go to tailors?

Images credit: Google.com

Daily Prompt: New Sensation

24 thoughts on “Fashion wins the race”

Yes and they steal the material which makes me angry. The ones in Dhaka are awful.

znjavid says:

February 20, 2014 at 6:07 pm

Yes they do and say the cloth was less.

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oh wow i would be livid if it was me, When it comes to tailors one would think they’d be skilled enough to get it right the first time :O

znjavid says:

February 21, 2014 at 7:55 am

That’s the way they are in Pakistan, very unprofessional.

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What a racket! Seriously, charge for clothes someone doesn’t want, and make them come back and pay to have them refitted. http://marthakennedy.wordpress.com/2014/02/20/best-dress-ever-daily-prompt/

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Sounds like an absolute nightmare. It would be cheaper to buy a sewing machine, you’d probably get it right quicker than them lol. Beautiful pics 🙂

znjavid says:

February 21, 2014 at 4:07 pm

Yes you’re probably right. A generation ago mothers would stitch their own clothes and their daughter’s clothes. Now they just don’t have the time nor the inclination. I learnt how to stitch and can make a basic shirt but I’ve always gone to tailors to make my clothes.

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Right now its long kameez and churidars or tights, I guess. Short kameez and baggy shalwars were never my favorite.
Haha tailors, no one tests our patience like they do. No One! And their rates have been sky rocketing for the past two years. Sometimes the daily wear material is cheap compared to their rates, charanay ke bandar ko baranay ki rassi type.
I dont know why but I really dont like what tailors make out of my kapdey there has to be something wrong and I cant stand that cz from the beginning mom used to stitch my clothes which were always perfectly done. Then she didnt have enough time toh i had to go to tailors and now I’m thinking of pestering mom to stitch my clothes again. 😀
Oh and then they have extra charges for “designs” or “neck patterns” too.

znjavid says:

February 21, 2014 at 4:09 pm

No one can stitch like mothers can! They get it exactly right. Once you get used to that, tailors feel like the biggest pain. And yes they’re really expensive on top of it. You should ask your mom to teach you how to stitch. Imagine all the designs you could make! 🙂

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- Miss Maqsood says:
  
  February 21, 2014 at 5:37 pm
  
  I know right!
  Ah not now, mom taught my cousins and is after me as well but not now. And yes it would be cool to design maybe someday iA 🙂

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hello zainab

I really liked your blog ….
This is exact story for almost every women in sub continent.
i am also living in Saudi Arabia from last 5 years but every time i am going to Pakistan for summer vacation my story is not that different….
And many of my clothes are coming after i arrive here .
It’s simple and wonderful… all those who suffer can understand this.
I also blog about different things…
i will be happy if you can see
http://publicawaz.blogspot.com/2014/02/witless-rolling-tear-of-little-girl.html
thank you

znjavid says:

March 6, 2014 at 5:27 am

Thank you for your comment. I read your article and really liked it. You have an interesting blog. Happy blogging. All the best, Zainab

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