Abdul Mannan still makes clothes for his loyal clients in Dhaka city, the way tailors in every nook and corner of the country did two decades ago.
His small tailoring shop in the city’s Motijheel area is a testament to the heyday of tailors once upon a time when their demand was high. A young Mannan came to Dhaka from rural Chandpur after embracing this craft 30 years ago.
“People nowadays are hardly interested in tailor-made shirts and pants. Only during their weddings or festivals like Eid or Puja, customers need our touch,” Mannan told this correspondent, casually cutting fabric for a shirt.
He is conscious of how readymade garments and fashionable brands have taken over the local market in recent times.
“People believe readymade clothes are cheaper than having clothes tailored,” Mannan said, adding, “But that might not be the case always.” He is aware that the propensity towards new fashions and the taste of the new generation has led to the decline in the tailoring business.
Could he anticipate that the demand for tailoring would drop in his lifetime?
“I learnt how to make shirts and pants at a very young age. Having a little bit of schooling in my village, I started a shop there,” Mannan recalled.
One of his acquaintances encouraged him to come to Dhaka and exploit the opportunities wide open in the metropolis. “I was young, excited and ready to pursue a dream here in this lovely city that beckoned me.”
With the help of his friend, Mannan opened a tailoring shop at Pir Yamini Super Market, a newly built market, in the crowded Gulistan area in the early 1990s.
“Those were perhaps the best days of my life,” he said.
“I earned a lot at that time and managed to bring my family to Dhaka city.”
Once he saw the demand for tailors declining in the busy market, Mannan shifted from his shop to Motijheel. The arrivals of fashion brands affected his trade.
Mannan said today’s youngsters love slim fit clothes whereas the generations of 1980s and 1990s preferred loose and more comfortable outfits.
“It’s all about changes in the style of clothes from time to time. What can I do about it?” he said when asked if he regretted anything about the old days.
“I could have saved some money, but I spent freely when I earned reasonably well,” he said.