October 2019 Edition Apparel October 2019 issue | Page 52

FEATURE
WHAT MAKE THESE SERVICES
ATTRACTIVE ARE THEIR FIXED
RATES FOR STITCHING.
Aamna Khan realised how difficult it was to
get well-tailored workwear for women in India.
The company uses advanced technology for
everything from taking measurements to sewing
clothing, and ships the same in a period of three
days. But in online buying, there are many returns
and exchanges as sizes are often miscalculated.
As Binks believes, tailoring has not exactly
changed with times. It is still the old manual
method done on rickety machines. Technology
and latest equipment are still to enter in a big way.
THE PROS AND CONS
What make these services attractive are their
fixed rates for stitching. Quality is ensured and the
hassle of haggling with the tailor, done away with.
Since each customer has a different body type—
and since they would want to wear the perfect fit,
one that flatters their body—customised tailoring
is here to say.
The sphere, however, has its own pitfalls.
Rastogi explains, “We stopped offering
custom-tailoring services since 2014. We prefer
customers making their own arrangements
for stitching, and encourage them not to do
so with us. For overseas customers or those
who need this severely, we have a tie-up with
a nearby tailor with whom they can get their
fittings done. There is also Tilak, a well-known
tailoring shop to which we refer our customers.
The charges, trials, and design discussions are
kept between the client and tailor. We have no
role to play in it whatsoever.”
He further explains the reason behind the
discontinuation of the service, saying, “Earlier,
customers were willing to adjust and would
buy an item with less fuss. But the new wave
of consumers has not only become demanding
but also ruthless. For instance, if a blouse is
not stitched properly, the image of the entire
store would be spoiled, as they would go on
to brand the whole collection as bad. Also
sometimes, customers play the poor-tailoring
card to return their purchase, while them not
really having liked the product might very well
be the actual reason.”
50
I APPAREL I
October 2019