Faisal Aboobacker Ponnani Saudi Gazette DAMMAM — Tailoring shops in Kingdom are frantically working to deliver their orders with only three days to go before Eid Al-Fitr. “We work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. just to ensure that all the pending orders are completed,” said Sayed Amoudi, a Yemeni national who runs four thobe tailoring shops in the Eastern Province. “Every year we experience this rush as Eid Al-Fitr nears, but this year more customers approached us to make their thobes compared to the previous years.” Amoudi employs more than 40 people. “My staff work hard at various locations to meet customers' requirements without delay. Due to the heavy load of work this Ramadan, we have rejected more than 150 thobe orders. If I take the order and could not deliver before Eid, then I will lose that customer for ever,” he added. “But we are still taking orders for small children's thobe till the last day of Ramadan, as everybody knows the Eid celebration is mainly for kids and kids are very happy wearing new thobes while going to Eid prayers. I have instructed all my shop managers not to reject orders if it is for children below the age of 12,” Amoudi said. Since it is part of the Saudi tradition and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to wear new garments during Eid, the abayas are also in great demand and many women visit the shop. Ready-made thobes are available in the market, but most of the people prefer to have theirs tailored with their own specifications. Ameer, an Indian tailor at Shabab tailoring shop in Faisaliyah Street in Dammam, said most of their customers are Saudis. “Some customers are ordering three and four thobes at a time and I work continuously throughout the night to meet the demand.” Prices of thobes range from SR200 to SR400 depending on the fabric. The cheaper fabrics come from Indonesia and China while the expensive ones are made in Japan. As well as Saudis and other Arab nationals, some Pakistani and Indian expatriates wear thobes as their Eid gear. “We have nine tailors working for making thobes and they stitch an average of seven thobes a day. Since we have a handful of orders this month prior to Eid deliveries, we request our customers to wait for at least a week to ensure that the thobe is stitched to perfection,” said Abu Saeed, a Yemeni salesman at the Sana tailoring center, which specializes in thobes. Sulaiman, another tailor who has been working a long time in Kingdom in this field, said: “Saudis are very particular about how their clothes are stitched. Though the shop sometimes refuses to accept new orders due to accumulated work, customers insist to have their clothes tailored by us since they like the special way we make thobes. “The Eid is the most busy season for us. We will be back to normal after the holidays.” Yemeni nationals dominate the thobe making business in the Kingdom, followed by Pakistanis and Indians. Tailors who come from north of India have special skills in embroidery work.
