Saleh Fareed
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — For those planning new thobes for Eid, this may not be the right time as tailor shops are refusing any new orders.
According to Hatan Sindi, several tailors in the city stopped taking orders for thobes even at the beginning of Ramadan with the claim that they were already overburdened with advanced bookings for Eid.
“Five days ago I tried to get a new thobe as every year for Eid; unfortunately I could not get any through some of the big famous thobe fashion designers here in Jeddah because they closed booking of orders several days before the beginning of Ramadan,” Sindi said.
Abdulrahim Al-Zahrani, a father of two boys, said: “I gave the order of my children’s thobes to the nearest tailor on the seventh day of Ramadan and with some difficulty convinced him to stitch them before Eid. I am still in doubt whether the tailor will manage to finish the thobes or I will have to go for the ready-made ones at the last hour," he said.
It is part of the Eid tradition for Muslims worldwide to buy new clothes. With the approaching Eid, tailors are bogged down making thobes for their customers in time.
Ali Yamani, who runs a tailor shop near Sari Street, said the tailors stopped taking new orders since the first week of Ramadan due to load shedding. He said majority of thobe shops cannot meet the demand as they do not have enough tailors to do the job.
“If you do not have the manpower, it will be impossible to meet the demand of your customers especially these days when every one hopes to wear a new thobe as part of Eid celebration,” he added.
It has been observed that the tailors are demanding double for Eid thobes and people are willing to pay any money for the new thobes. Nasir Ali, 29, said he had to pay extra in order to get his Eid thobe. “I went to one of the famous fashion designers for thobes and they told me they were not taking any more orders. I had to pay extra to convince them to do only one thobe for me.”
He paid SR900 for one thobe while at other times he pays around SR450. “If you have not yet gone to the tailor to make a new thobe for Eid, don’t bother. Tailors are most likely to tell you that they are not accepting any more orders,” he said.
