Tailor (swift)

TAILOR OR TRAITOR?



Recent wedding in the family made all of us to make a beeline for the various tailor shops situated in and around our area. Being a readymade buff, I thought that ‘chalo’ let me try out the tailor for a change. I was taken aback when during the visit I found that I had taken a long hiatus from tailors. Everything had changed.

The tailor (let us call him T) had tossed the design book in front of us. While the teens were busy flipping thro the book, I was dumbstruck by the different kinds of neckline (plunging, U, V and some other irrelevant alphabets), sleeves, (less, more, nil), Back (plain, windows 98, 2000, vista, win32, API, crossbars, tying)

The teens went thro the back designs first. There were many like the low back with one or two hooks just enough to hold the blouse in place. This type of back left much to be desired. You blink your eyes, and you miss the two hooks.

Some cowardly females, scared to expose the no man’s land (the back I mean) go for threads running helter skelter from one part of the blouse to the other. Though you can not see the back fully, you definitely will have a glimpse of the same.

Meanwhile, the tailor was arguing with one of the teens about how it is not advisable to wear a sleeveless, but he was ready to keep the back as low as possible, without hooks but with a tying option.

While arguments about the style were going on, I was watching the customers who were in and out of the shop. There was lot of confusion with many admonishing the tailor for his tardiness. The T was silent and was taking the shouting, yelling on his stride and promising to deliver the goods the very next day at 9 am sharp (he opens only at 10 am).
The moment the customer leaves, in goes her garment, to be taken out during her next visit.

This reminds me of one of my aunts who had a love hate relationship with the tailor. Every time he delivered the finished product, (which never turned out as per her expectations), she used to give him a piece of her mind and get it altered. She kept on grumbling till she reached home. But he was her tailor for a very long time.


The teens with lot of enthu selected some designs for their blouses and turned towards me. They said that I must go in for a mega sleeve or cap sleeves, for, this was the one event where one can showcase her beauty without being criticized. I nodded though I was a little hesitant.

After various visits to the T , the blouses were brought home. Then the ordeal of trials began. There was lot of noise about the fittings, sleeves back etc. All of them ran to the T to get it rectified. This made me jittery. Slowly I tried mine. Result?

I could not get into one of the blouses. It was struck near my elbow and I was neither able to pull it up or remove it.
I could get into the other but what did I see? The sleeves went beyond my arms and settled near my shoulder revealing my biceps with BCG mark. Bang! For the first time in my life I found out that I had biceps which was matching the likes of salman, sharukh aamir etc. I hurriedly looked at my chest to see if there were four packs too. Thank god. It was not so.

With heavy heart, I went back to the T. After altercation, he agreed for alteration. This took another day. The next day was the ‘D’ day. I had no option but to wear whatever he called it as blouse. Though it turned out to be somewhat better, I vowed never to go to a tailor or at least not to that tailor. But tailors or Tailors everywhere.