By Sanaullah Ataullah
DOHA: Most ladies’ tailoring shops in Doha have stopped taking new orders as demand surges for Eid.
Tailoring outlets, which have sprouted all around the city, prepare a variety of dresses for Qatari women and for citizens of other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
The dresses are mixed with traditional and modern attire including Jallabia, maxi, fustan (frock), tannura (skirts), Qamis (shirt) for women and kids. “We stopped taking orders on Thursday as we are operating above capacity,” said a tailor at a famous shop in Al Murra East. “We are working day and night to deliver orders on time. Ten people are working in my shop and they prepare about 20 dresses daily,” he added. Two-fold demand for tailoring services ahead of Eid has resulted in sharp rise in income as well. The income of our shop is around QR50,000 per month but because of Eid dresses we earned around QR100,000 in May. In June, we are expecting some QR120,000, said the tailor.
Qatari women prefer tailored dresses to the ones from boutiques.
“Orders for Eid dresses began coming from Shaban 15 . We received huge orders during first and second weeks of Ramadan ,” said the tailor.
Booking for general customers has been stopped from last week, we have some orders in reserve for very loyal customers who need to prepare special dresses for Eid, said another tailor at a shop in Al Murra West.
We are as busy as a bee to fulfill orders. We are eight people and working in two shifts from 12noon to 5.30pm and from 9pm to 1.30am, said the tailor.
Charges for stitching a simple dress range QR50 to QR100. Prices increase with the addition of embroidery, crystals and designs at the choice of customers. Dresses with embellishments cost from QR250 to QR350 depending on the material and the time it takes, said the tailor. The charges for dresses of some very choosy customers reached up to QR500. “We have a self-made price list but customers hardly pay by it. They haggle for prices and pay 20 to 30 percent less, said a tailor.
Some have devised a clever way of not paying. While taking delivery of the orders, they leave a few pairs of clothing as guarantee and promise to come back to pay the due. But never return and go to another tailor the next time. Such cases happen rarely, said the tailor.
The Peninsula
