Tailor made outfits are commonly referred to “bespoke” in the United Kingdom. These outfits are made to order and are personalised in terms of size and design for the wearer. For western outfits, bespoke tailoring is not very common as most people opt to buy off the rack or pret wear. These clothes are easily and conveniently available in a number of sizes and styles, allowing the person to try on a few apparel items before selecting those that are the most flattering for them as well as suit their sense of style.
For Middle Eastern clothing items like abayas and jilbabs, the large majority of designers were offering ready to wear lines, as these outfits are loose fitting to begin with and the regular sizes can fit a range of women varying in shape and size. But with the passage of time and the increasing popularity of the abayas, new designers have started to present bespoke and personalised tailoring services to their clients. Although there are still large stocks of “off the rack” abayas available at all leading Islamic stores across the globe, many smaller boutiques or well known designers now provide their customer base with the uniqueness of a one of a kind dress.
With the media focusing a great amount of time on latest fashions and trends, the Muslim woman is also becoming more and more aware of styles and designs. Initially the women were happy to be dressed in the simple and classic abayas readily available in stores and boutiques, but today the modern woman likes to explore her options about the way she dresses. This is creating a large market for dress designers and wardrobe coordinators to offer and cater to the savvy women of today.
Numerous abayas designers now choose to have a face to face evaluation with the client in order to get a feel of their dressing needs. This provides them with the added advantage of finding out about the customers physical attributes like their hair and skin colouring and physique in addition to their choice of colours, cuts and styles. These meetings also allow the client to discuss about the event or occasion that the abayas are needed for, which is the first step that the designer needs to take before creating an ensemble for their client.
Due to these aspects, more and more Muslim women, in particular the affluent and wealthy are turning towards bespoke tailoring to fulfill their abayas needs. In addition, the choice of fabric, patterns and embellishments can also be chosen and selected according to the wearer’s own taste. These are the primary reasons for the change in trend towards bespoke tailoring.
