Tailor made

So things work a little differently here. I wear a sari every day, or a skirt at least. I can't show anything above my ankles, or my shoulders, or god forbid my *ahem* chest area... so I wear a sari with a choli. A choli is the little tops we wear with the saris, the ones with little sleeves, but that cut off underneath the bust area. The choli usually matches the sari, either in the same colour, a contrasting colour, or even sometimes the exact matching fabric. Matching a choli to your sari is an art I think.. haha and something I get really particular about sometimes.

Me with my many cholis. If I have no choli that matches, I wear a black or white one.

So thats where the tailor comes in. I can't just go down to the local Glassons or Just Jeans and buy me a choli, NO NO NO. Instead I call my tailor and he comes to my house, measuring tape in hand. When I say my tailor, I just mean the one I usually deal with, the one I find that makes my cholis just right. Sometimes if he continuously gets it wrong, I might change tailors... but for now this one is fine.

So first I show him the sari that I want it to match, and then tell him the colour I want the choli to be. If I can't provide the fabric, he'll head to Navadwipa in the next few days and get the colour I want. I give him a sample of a choli that already fits me perfectly and tell him to make the new one exactly the same. I have to repeat myself over "Avryting zactly sam, na? Sleve sam lent, back same saize, sam avryting. Sam sam Avryting ookey?" Thats my Banglish (Bengali-English) accent in case you're wondering. They only seem to understand you if you speak like that. You really do have to make sure they know though, otherwise if you miss something out, the choli will come back with a slightly longer sleeve, or the back will be lower than the sample you gave him... Not to mention sometimes it takes days for him to bring it back to you, and you have to call him and keep calling him aaaaah its a disaster!

But what am I talking about, sometimes they actually DO get it right. And then I hand over my Rs70 and sport my flash new choli the next day. Cheap as chips for a choli made to fit just me. Not only that, I didn't even need to leave my house to get it!

The tailor doesn't just make cholis by the way. He can also make tailored-to-you punjabi tops (red one worn by my mother here - her top was NOT tailored by the way, I think she just bought it from the shop! god forbid!), last week he made bolster and cushion covers for our apartment... and even he can also make dresses or pants, as long as you give him a sample. Last month I gave him a sample for a cute little dress for a two year old and got him to make two dresses from the sample, only one had to fit a four year old. I provided the fabric, cuz I was picky, but they turned out great! Speaking of which - Jen have you got them yet? Do they fit the girls?

Maybe I can bring my tailor back with me to NZ?