A Stitch in Time

Ever wondered what a group of women talk about when thrown together in a party?

Well, apart from husband bashing, comparing notes on maids, travails of bringing up kids, putting up with teenage tantrums and discussing their careers, there is a topic of universal appeal that seldom fails to evoke interest among the fairer sex. 

Wear a smartly tailored outfit to any gathering where there are a bunch of women -  the reactions are varied - some secretly admire your dress but are too vain to pay you a compliment; a minority are indifferent to what others are attired in and choose to ignore their sartorial preferences; there are the simple, candid souls who gush with praise and curiosity…‘I like your blouse / churidar / embroidery.. where did you get that made?’ ‘Thanks, I have a tailor who makes all my clothes’.  No sooner does a woman utter these words than the name of the tailor, his shop, contact numbers are all exchanged in record time! ‘You could refer my name’ - the supposedly well dressed one will even offer condescendingly.

Some women would rather not reveal the source, for them, tailors are a zealously guarded secret. ’Oh… this is a gift from a cousin.. don’t know where she had it made’ is a safe answer.

I confess to having this sentiment that once I recommend a tailor to friends with the noble intention of helping him expand his trade, I would invariably fall out with him and what is worse, the very friends I introduced would latch on to him for the rest of their lives!

My neighborhood tailor who was struggling to make ends meet in a match-box of a shop until a couple of years ago, has now, thanks to me, expanded big-time with an impressive list of clients and guess what - he refuses to oblige me! When we run into each other on the street we behave like perfect strangers!

Just as clothes come in different shapes, sizes and fits, so do tailors come in different moods, moulds and styles of functioning. Some are happy with using a sample (by the way - there is no perfect sample - there are always minor alterations suggested - an inch higher on the sleeve, half an inch lower at the back etc), some insist taking measurements hands on, some so professional that they call you for a trial before actual delivery.

And we women don't mind at all being 'measured' by a male tailor...so long as the end product is satisfactory. 

Holding on to a tailor is not easy. Talk to a tailor and he will tell you that if you ever want to incur a woman’s wrath, it is by ruining her clothes! You can of course get them altered but it will never be the same. I can think of a dozen tailors I have tried and abandoned for  some reason or the other... has an attitude, too haughty, spoilt my silk blouses even after taking detailed measurements, changed a pattern so painstakingly explained, used a colour scheme in the embroidery I disliked, and of course, failed to deliver on time.

Ah…. Delivery! Tailors give you an Expected Date of Delivery (EDD). Land up at the tailor on EDD - it is most likely that your bundle of fabric will lie untouched by scissors, needle or thread in its pristine, virgin  form! Reasons given unapologetically are – workmen absent, power-failure, wedding-season, festival-time and the most annoying of them all – bulk-orders from NRIs.

There are tailors specializing in blouses, tailors expert in embroidery, tailors making only salwars, tailors who charge exorbitantly and tailors who are ridiculously cheap - but remember there is simply no tailor who delivers on time!! If you have one could you please give me his contact number?