Tailors getting by on alteration skills

Making do: Teoh mostly does alteration work now at her shop in Jalan Datuk Keramat, George Town. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star

GEORGE TOWN: The ongoing movement control order and a decrease in orders have led tailors to rely on their clothes alteration skills.

For Teoh Kooi Cheng, 68, who has been in the business for decades, the availability of mass-produced clothes has resulted in a decrease in demand for custom-made clothes.

“People used to look for tailors to meet their clothing needs 20 to 30 years ago, but that is no longer so.

“Even during festive seasons, we do not get many orders because festive clothes are mass produced and sold at cheap prices online.

“The only demand we are looking at presently is alteration. When customers buy clothes online and they do not fit, they’ll seek our services, ” she said at her workspace in Datuk Keramat here yesterday.

With business already difficult as it is, the restriction on events and gatherings and the closure of schools has made it worse for Teoh.

“I cater a lot to school teachers’ orders as they would order baju kurung to wear to work.

“Between last year and this year, schools were closed for an extended period of time, so few teachers ordered clothes from me, ” she said.

Alyssa Chin, 48, who operates from a small tailoring shop in Bayan Lepas, now caters to alteration works for regular customers.

“Before this, many of my customers would order costumes or custom-made suits for social events and celebrations at schools, workplaces or factories.

“Now that all gatherings and social events are banned, I have no orders at all, so all I can do is provide alteration works.

“I work from my condominium unit and my customers will send me their clothes and measurements. These are usually clothes they bought online but later found to be ill-fitting, ” she said.