KARACHI: They may be working out of two small shops in Saddar but their gowns are no less gorgeous than anything on the catwalks of Paris or Milan carrying labels such as Vivienne Westwood, Ralph Lauren, Dior, Versace or Chanel.

There were once several tailors of women’s Western dresses and other outfits in the area, which have slowly shrunk to just two — Noor Sons and Shafi’s. They are said to have been opened over 50 years ago by two brothers named Noor and Shafi, the latter of whom is no longer around while the former also feeling his age comes to his shop for a few hours a day. Still, their sons are keeping their businesses alive.

Anwar Qureshi, Noor’s son, says that most tailors with expertise in Western outfits have closed shop owing to a decrease in demand. “Earlier, there used to be so many Goan Christians living in Saddar. But many have now moved to the United Arab Emirates, Muscat, the United States, Canada or Australia. So the market for tailor-made Western clothes has also gone down,” he explains. “We have very few clients left here.”

Asked why they don’t switch to stitching Eastern clothes, the tailor shakes his head. “Western and Eastern clothing have very different cuts and methods of stitching. We pride ourselves in our art. It won’t work with Eastern fashions,” he says.

Reaching for a little girl’s lilac and white dress from his display window with a fitted little bodice, he reveals the layers and work that went into its fluffed skirt, including a can-can. There are belts, ribbons, sequins, laces, collars and cuffs.

“We may not have a tailoring shop in Clifton, Defence or Tariq Road, but we do get clients from those areas coming here just because of our expertise. They come with references so we are doing okay for a small business,” he says. “We are well-established. There is no need to be overambitious.”

Next door at Shafi’s, Abdul Jabbar, a tailor’s assistant, is waiting for their clients to come and pick up their orders that are ready before he locks up the shop for the day.

There are pretty wedding gowns and party dresses hanging in the display window. There are also smart dress pants and skirts in hangers, all made to order. “The Christian wedding season begins in September and goes on until Lent around February. That’s when we get the most orders,” he says.

The stitching costs from Rs6,000 to Rs7,000. “But if you compare these to Eastern wedding dresses, they start at Rs25,000,” he says smiling.

And who designs the dresses? Jabbar points towards a table with several very thin old catalogues. “We have these. Earlier, we used to get brand-new catalogues with the latest designs for every season but they have stopped coming now,” he says. “Still, our clients download any design they fancy and we stitch it for them.”

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2017