JOHOR BARU: Despite the wide variety of ready-made clothes available in retail outlets and online stores, tailors here continue to see strong demand for traditionally sewn clothes this Deepavali.
Tailor S. Kalaivani, 42, said she saw an increase of about 80% in orders this year compared to last year.
“Business has been very good this year. Most orders come one to two months before the festival but some still place orders just days before Deepavali. On average, we are still receiving at least four orders a day.
“We expect to see more orders over the next few days. I think we should be able to continue taking them until Deepavali,” she said.
Kalaivani said the busy period for tailors would continue even after Deepavali as they would then be fulfilling orders for the wedding season.
“November and December are popular months for Indian weddings and this year, Deepavali falls at the beginning of November,” she said.
She added that wedding-season orders were also starting to come in, keeping her busy, with many of her customers coming from Singapore.
Sharing a similar view was tailor P. Ravindran, 65, who said he had stopped taking new orders for Deepavali and is now focusing on completing existing orders.
“I usually stop accepting new orders about two weeks before Deepavali so that I have ample time to complete all of the bookings.
“This year, we also have many wedding orders to complete for the next two months,” he said.
However, Ravindran said there was about a 10% drop in Deepavali orders this year.
Meanwhile, M. Priya, 57, said more young people have been opting to have their Deepavali clothes sewn by traditional tailors in the last few years.
“In terms of bookings, I think it is about the same as in previous years but I do notice more young people coming, both locals and Singaporeans,” she said.
“I think this is a good sign as it shows that demand for such services remains strong despite other available options.”
