As I think I mentioned, a while ago, I threw my second swap party here. This one was even more successful than the last, although we did have a lopsided ratio of those who were going to those who were staying.
Anywho, in preparation for that party, I went through my clothes and came up with lots of duplicates, no-longer-fits, and get-rid-of-its, but I also came upon a half a dozen pieces that I had never worn or stopped wearing because they really needed to be altered. I always have a pile of clothes like these, clothes that seem fine the first time I put them on but then I realize are just too large in the waist (often) or too long (also happens fairly frequently). Sometimes, when I am at my parents' house, my mother is kind enough to hem things for me, but I usually don't bring these clothes places with me, so there they sit, collecting dust and mothballs until I give them away. It's a horrible system, and a habit I am trying hard to break, so this time around, I decided to take these clothes to the tailor and see what he (it's always a he here) could do.
My friend had recommended a shop not too far from my house, so I headed over there one day and tried them out. I wasn't sure how this was all going to go; men here are pretty much loathe to touch a woman, so I couldn't imagine how they would be able to measure what they needed to measure, nor was I even sure there was a changing room in the place but I decided to push forward and see what happened.
In the end, the process went relatively smoothly, if a bit comically. I showed up with my bag of clothes and the man in front motioned me to a tiny little room made out of wood panelling I had missed before. I went inside and found mirrors on three sides of the room...only fabric was hanging across one mirror, for reasons that escape me. I put on each of my items, then went back out into the shop and explained what I wanted done. The tailor took a few measurements without actually touching me at all, which is quite the feat, and then wrote down a few incomprehensible scribbles (I think he is Sri Lankan) and pinned a paper to each item as I went and changed into the next. I had the waist of three pairs of capris taken in, one maxi dress hemmed, another maxi dress made into a knee-length dress (the hem on that one was hopelessly uneven after I washed it), and a chiffon border added to a third dress that was too short (I already had the chiffon trim from a 90% going-out-business sale I ran into in Cleveland one day). He asked me in his very broken English when I needed everything and I told him there was no rush, so he suggested two weeks, which was fine with me.
I gave him an extra day and then showed up to pick up my clothes, only for him to realize he wasn't done. He promised me they would be ready that same night, but I didn't want him to do a sloppy job which trying to rush, so I said I would be back in two days. Have I mentioned that time is relative here and deadlines are really, really fluid? So, anyway, I came back in two days and my clothes were ready, but I was in a rush, so I didn't try everything on until later that day when I got home.
The verdict? All the capris fit perfectly in the waist, though one pair, it turns out, still isn't all that flattering, so I put it in the giveaway pile. I'm pretty sure it came from a thrift store somewhere, so it's fine. The hemmed dress now falls at just the right length, and I love LOVE the knee length dress so much now. And the chiffon trim makes the other dress both more modest and less conservative. My only disappointment is that the trim had some seams, and he managed to leave one of the seams right in front, when rotating the trim just a bit would have been much more aesthetically pleasing. But, overall, I'm pleased. And all of that cost me about $20, which seems pretty reasonable. I think next I will let him tackle my array of maxi skirts that all seem to have been made for Amazonians!
Anywho, in preparation for that party, I went through my clothes and came up with lots of duplicates, no-longer-fits, and get-rid-of-its, but I also came upon a half a dozen pieces that I had never worn or stopped wearing because they really needed to be altered. I always have a pile of clothes like these, clothes that seem fine the first time I put them on but then I realize are just too large in the waist (often) or too long (also happens fairly frequently). Sometimes, when I am at my parents' house, my mother is kind enough to hem things for me, but I usually don't bring these clothes places with me, so there they sit, collecting dust and mothballs until I give them away. It's a horrible system, and a habit I am trying hard to break, so this time around, I decided to take these clothes to the tailor and see what he (it's always a he here) could do.
My friend had recommended a shop not too far from my house, so I headed over there one day and tried them out. I wasn't sure how this was all going to go; men here are pretty much loathe to touch a woman, so I couldn't imagine how they would be able to measure what they needed to measure, nor was I even sure there was a changing room in the place but I decided to push forward and see what happened.
In the end, the process went relatively smoothly, if a bit comically. I showed up with my bag of clothes and the man in front motioned me to a tiny little room made out of wood panelling I had missed before. I went inside and found mirrors on three sides of the room...only fabric was hanging across one mirror, for reasons that escape me. I put on each of my items, then went back out into the shop and explained what I wanted done. The tailor took a few measurements without actually touching me at all, which is quite the feat, and then wrote down a few incomprehensible scribbles (I think he is Sri Lankan) and pinned a paper to each item as I went and changed into the next. I had the waist of three pairs of capris taken in, one maxi dress hemmed, another maxi dress made into a knee-length dress (the hem on that one was hopelessly uneven after I washed it), and a chiffon border added to a third dress that was too short (I already had the chiffon trim from a 90% going-out-business sale I ran into in Cleveland one day). He asked me in his very broken English when I needed everything and I told him there was no rush, so he suggested two weeks, which was fine with me.
I gave him an extra day and then showed up to pick up my clothes, only for him to realize he wasn't done. He promised me they would be ready that same night, but I didn't want him to do a sloppy job which trying to rush, so I said I would be back in two days. Have I mentioned that time is relative here and deadlines are really, really fluid? So, anyway, I came back in two days and my clothes were ready, but I was in a rush, so I didn't try everything on until later that day when I got home.
The verdict? All the capris fit perfectly in the waist, though one pair, it turns out, still isn't all that flattering, so I put it in the giveaway pile. I'm pretty sure it came from a thrift store somewhere, so it's fine. The hemmed dress now falls at just the right length, and I love LOVE the knee length dress so much now. And the chiffon trim makes the other dress both more modest and less conservative. My only disappointment is that the trim had some seams, and he managed to leave one of the seams right in front, when rotating the trim just a bit would have been much more aesthetically pleasing. But, overall, I'm pleased. And all of that cost me about $20, which seems pretty reasonable. I think next I will let him tackle my array of maxi skirts that all seem to have been made for Amazonians!
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