A conversation overheard...

The other day when I went to the tailor to get my blouse stitched, there was a lady who was discussing blouse patterns with him. The conversation was hilarious because the lady was trying to fit in as much as possible onto the blouse and the tailor was trying hard to politely dissuade her. They seemed to have worked with each other for years and their conversation showed it. The conversation went something like this:
L: Kya design kar sakte ho yeh kapde ke liye? Dekho maine Alka se thoda sa embroidery karvaaya sleeve pe.
T: Haanh dekha, paan-galaa banaa doonga.
L: Aur kya ho sakta hain?
T: Aur kuch nahi, galaa ka design karoonga, bas!
Another lady came in at that time with some lace to be put onto the blouse she had already given.
L2: Aap woh pink blouse pe yeh lace lagaa denge na? Aur woh blouse princess cut rahega.
T: Theek hai, kar doonga.
And the second lady left after this exchange.
L: Yeh princess cut kya hai? Mere blouse pe kar do na.
T: Woh pattern thode young ladies ke liye hai; 30-35 tak ladies ke liye.
L: Woh lady toh 35 ki nahi thi.
T: Yeh blouse unke liye nahi hai, unke bhaanji ke liye hai.
L: Main bhi sochu aap unke liye alag cut kar rahe hain, mere liye nahi. Woh meri friend hain aur main uski umar jaanti hoon!
I think at this point the tailor gave up trying to advise her on keeping the pattern simple and ....
T: Aap kal dopaher ko aayiye aur pattern book dekh lijiye.
L: Kab aaoon? Dopaher doh baje (2pm)?
T: Haanh, doh baje.
And with that he turned to me and said, "Boliye, aap ko kya karwanaa hain?". His tone suggesting, he was ready to tackle another unrealistic female :)
I felt like asking him how many such ladies does he get in a day but let it rest, maybe some other day.

In search of a tailor, blouse patterns et al

After our return from the US, a lot of things kept us busy what with the shipping of our stuff, getting our phone and internet connections, opening bank accounts, organizing our stuff and some more. During this time, I had not given much thought to my saris and Indian wear, but the announcement of my cousin's wedding got me all geared. Being in the US we had missed a few marriages of our cousins and we were so looking forward to joining in the celebrations.

Now I had the opportunity to wear that silk saree that I had bought just for its color. I had not even cut the blouse piece off it. So that's the first thing I got done with mom's help and then started our discussion for a tailor. Our old tailor who did all our clothes and uniforms from the time my older sister was in kindergarten, was long gone. Which meant I would have to get a blouse stitched with a new tailor as trial and if it fit well then this piece could be given.

There were a few tailors in the area but not all of them could do a good job with a blouse. The tailor I relied on to do my salwar suits did not do blouses and suggested I check around before giving it to any tailor. On speaking with a few neighbors the search narrowed down to 2 tailors who specialized in blouses. Both of them stitched well but one of them was better but could not be relied on giving the blouse on time. So I decided on the first one, tailor A, who would stitch and have the blouse ready on time. I gave him a piece first which I would not regret if it did not fit well. He stitched it well and off went the prized piece to him to get done. The blouse was to be stitched in a simple cut with a deep u-neck and short sleeves in keeping with the current fashion.

At the same time I also needed to do a blouse for a georgette sari I had bought for the evening reception. And everywhere I went, I now started noticing the blouse patterns that the ladies were wearing. The necklines were varied: high, deep, with ties, with tassels, with contrast cloth inserts, differently shaped necklines, off shoulder, halter necks and many more. I also checked the internet for pictures and found some more! And further learnt that there was something called princess cut as well. Whew! Thoroughly confused now I went to the tailor and hoped he would tell me what to get done. I had a couple of other blouses also which I took to him. He looked at them and suggested that for 2 of them, he could do different necklines and put zari trims on the sleeves and back. For the third one, he suggested I keep it simple so attention is drawn to the hand work done on it. This time I had taken these blouses to tailor B and true to his reputation he delivered it to me 5 days late!