Tailors in the capital have been passing busy time to ensure delivery on time of the orders received ahead of Eid. Many of them keep their shops open whole night, working tirelessly. The sound of machines echoes incessantly.
This scene repeats in every tailor shop in Dhaka and its surrounding areas. Fashion for Eid not only adheres to tradition but has also evolved somewhat in style.
Some of the shop owners in the capital said they stopped taking orders after 14 Ramadan. Not only that, the wages of the workers have increased. Some skilled workers have been brought here from various districts to handle the workload.
In the areas like Dhanmondi, Elephant Road, Farmgate, Nilkhet, and Gausia Market in capitals, Tailors and workers don't have time to take rest for a moment.
Workers are similarly busy in Punjabi-pajama-making tailor shops in some parts old Dhaka including Thataribazar, Banshal.
However, the industrial areas like Savar, there's an even greater crowd of industrial workers.
Khorshed Alam, the owner of Choyonika Tailors in Nilkhet, said that due to increased worker wages, shop rents, and the prices of thread and electricity, the cost of making clothes has slightly risen.
Habibur Rahman, the proprietor of New Sugandha Tailors in Wari, said that they have received enough orders. If they fail to deliver on time, their reputation will be hampered. The worker cost has increased by around one hundred taka compared tolast year. Therefore, the workers' wages have also increased. Additionally, they have to provide bonuses to workers for Eid,
Regarding the cost of tailoring, this year, depending on the design, the worker cost for a Salwar-Kameez varies from 500 to 2000 taka. For a blouse, it's 500 taka for single stitching, and if lining is included, it's 800 taka. For adding false borders to a saree, it's an additional 200 taka.
The markets like Gausia, Chandni Chawk, and New Market, one can find various designs of printed, checkered, and single-colored fabrics, along with Pakistani and Indian thrice-piece sets. The popularity of Pakistani lawn dresses has remained strong for the last couple of years.
However, there is still demand for Indian-designed thrice-pieces. For wedding events, people are buying unstitched Lehengas. Additionally, locally made Batik, Tie-dye, Chundri, Jamdani, and Tangail fabrics are also doing well.
The block batik artisans in the New Market are also seen busy. They are busy in dyeing fabric with various colors, working, Aajmal Hossain, a worker, mentioned that there's a higher demand of Salwar-Kameez, sarees, and bed sheets ahead of Eid. They started taking orders even before Ramadan.