Tailors lose out on Eid
Getting a tailor to stitch an outfit in time requires a mix of cajoling, emotional blackmail, white lies and threats.
KARACHI:
Trying to get a tailor to stitch an outfit in time often requires a mix of cajoling, emotional blackmail, white lies and threats. But this Eid, many tailors’ shops were empty as Eid looked set to be a muted affair, owing to the massive flooding in the country.
So tailors - who told The Express Tribune in May about the harsh treatment that is often meted out to them by clients - missed them sorely.
Shezad, who runs the Shezad Ladies Tailoring Shop on Tariq Road, said, “This Eid, business at the shop was average. It did not exceed the demand like in previous years. I stitched suits till noon on Eid day, but these were orders that were given prior to the start of Ramazan. I did not take orders during Ramazan.”
Shezad told The Express Tribune he stitched around 250 to 300 suits for Eid, but said that the decrease in clients was because of the “rains in the city and floods all over the country.”
A recent poll conducted by The Express Tribune/Sybrid this year showed that 44 per cent of respondents in Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad prefer to go to the tailor and 40 per cent preferred picking up ready-to-wear outfits.
Saeed, who works at a tailor’s shop called M Rafique and Sons in PECHS, said that the decrease in clients was, “because of the floods and inflationary prices. But some regular clients even came with their suits to be stitched at the eleventh hour on Chand Raat and I stitched their suits till the wee hours of the morning.”
According to Mohammad Zaeef of Dua Tailors, which is located in the Federal B area, “The rush at the store was like previous years. But clients who would normally get four outfits stitched for Eid only got two outfits stitched this year. I have three workers at my disposal and we were able to complete 60 outfits before the 28th day of Ramazan.”
Zaeef said it was because of the inflationary prices of commodities in the market that made people think twice before visiting the tailor.
However, some tailors differed in their assessment. One tailor called Asif said that “Nothing hampered people from visting my shop and ordering clothes.”
Sami, who runs Super Collection Tailors at Gulfway Shopping Mall said, “My six workers stitched as many as 30 suits in a day till the end of Ramazan. But it was a blessing that we had this many clients, since the number of clients has decreased recently. The entire market was suffering because of the impact of the floods and the price hike, and the rain in Karachi in the last days of Ramazan also hampered people’s movement.”
Store owners in shopping markets and salon workers told The Express Tribune in August that there had been a drop in clients as compared to previous years, because of the floods, depression and a rise in prices. While tailors are expecting that business will pick up in time for the wedding season, which starts right after Eid, the loss of earnings during Ramazan represents yet another section of the labour force which has been affected because of the flooding in Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 15th, 2010.
Trying to get a tailor to stitch an outfit in time often requires a mix of cajoling, emotional blackmail, white lies and threats. But this Eid, many tailors’ shops were empty as Eid looked set to be a muted affair, owing to the massive flooding in the country.
So tailors - who told The Express Tribune in May about the harsh treatment that is often meted out to them by clients - missed them sorely.
Shezad, who runs the Shezad Ladies Tailoring Shop on Tariq Road, said, “This Eid, business at the shop was average. It did not exceed the demand like in previous years. I stitched suits till noon on Eid day, but these were orders that were given prior to the start of Ramazan. I did not take orders during Ramazan.”
Shezad told The Express Tribune he stitched around 250 to 300 suits for Eid, but said that the decrease in clients was because of the “rains in the city and floods all over the country.”
A recent poll conducted by The Express Tribune/Sybrid this year showed that 44 per cent of respondents in Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad prefer to go to the tailor and 40 per cent preferred picking up ready-to-wear outfits.
Saeed, who works at a tailor’s shop called M Rafique and Sons in PECHS, said that the decrease in clients was, “because of the floods and inflationary prices. But some regular clients even came with their suits to be stitched at the eleventh hour on Chand Raat and I stitched their suits till the wee hours of the morning.”
According to Mohammad Zaeef of Dua Tailors, which is located in the Federal B area, “The rush at the store was like previous years. But clients who would normally get four outfits stitched for Eid only got two outfits stitched this year. I have three workers at my disposal and we were able to complete 60 outfits before the 28th day of Ramazan.”
Zaeef said it was because of the inflationary prices of commodities in the market that made people think twice before visiting the tailor.
However, some tailors differed in their assessment. One tailor called Asif said that “Nothing hampered people from visting my shop and ordering clothes.”
Sami, who runs Super Collection Tailors at Gulfway Shopping Mall said, “My six workers stitched as many as 30 suits in a day till the end of Ramazan. But it was a blessing that we had this many clients, since the number of clients has decreased recently. The entire market was suffering because of the impact of the floods and the price hike, and the rain in Karachi in the last days of Ramazan also hampered people’s movement.”
Store owners in shopping markets and salon workers told The Express Tribune in August that there had been a drop in clients as compared to previous years, because of the floods, depression and a rise in prices. While tailors are expecting that business will pick up in time for the wedding season, which starts right after Eid, the loss of earnings during Ramazan represents yet another section of the labour force which has been affected because of the flooding in Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 15th, 2010.