Four Inches, That's Not Too Many

[akirlu]

Sometimes it pays to document.

I got a bit of birthday money, and decided to sink it into a new summer-weight salwar kamiz. The fabric I won at auction is a magenta-tinged, garnet-colored cotton, striped dark and shot through with gold threads, and with an embroidered panel down the front. It should be stunning. I am very pleased.

Yesterday came time to send my measurements in to the Indian tailors, and I decided to re-measure myself for safety's sake. I lost a bit of weight back in March, and while I feared some of it had crept back while I grew lax and pathetic in these last few weeks, it seemed sensible to verify. Good thing I did. On my computer desk, I found the same scrap I noted my last measurements on. Since January, I appear to have lost 4" each off my bust, waist, and hip measurements. 1" off the biceps. Good lord. I know some of my pants are still fitting better/more loosely and all, but I had No Idea. If ever there was incentive to keep up and redouble my various sneaky ways of building exercise into my week, that's pretty much it. Go me.

Comments

[idahoswede.livejournal.com]

How exciting on the weight loss and where do you get your salwar kameez? I want another one but refuse to pay Swedish prices.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

I buy mine through eBay auctions. The two vendors I have been pleased with were Namaste India and Indian Art Cart, while Teresa Nielsen Hayden's favorite vendor is India Shop, which I haven't tried yet. If you go to eBay and search on the string "salwar any size" or "salwar free stitch" you will find a series of auctions by dealers who are essentially offering uncut fabric to be made up into a custom garment made to measure for the winner of the auction, at no cost above the winning price of the auction plus shipping. The prices often wind up ridiculously low even by U.S. standards, so presumably moreso by Swedish, for all that the krona is currently kicking butt in currency exchange with the dollar.

N.B. that if you have couture-quality finishing expectations, i.e. are looking for french seam closures and hand-finish work, that is not what you'll get. But the better tailors do perfectly fine serged seams and lots of detailed machine embroidery and good machine hemming.

Also note that different buyers have had differing experiences with the same vendor. I've had better luck with the vendors I liked than some others have. A good one will endeavor to rectify any problems you have.

[idahoswede.livejournal.com]

Thanks for all the information, very helpful. I got a salwar a couple years ago when I was in the States through eBay, can't remember the name of the vendor, but it was quite nice. I'd like a few more, but as cold as it's been here so far this summer, wool sacks are sounding more attractive at the moment.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

You won't see as many at this time of year, but both my extant punjabi suits are in fact wool blends. Depending on the weather you might still want an undershirt under the kamiz, but they are not what I'd call summer weight.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Nice. Go you, indeed!

I guaranteed that I'll find the scale that I moved by giving up and buying a new one last week. On the laxness front, I seem to have fallen away from the elliptical habit I spent April and the first half of May developing. Not so good; intend to correct that ASAP.

I look forward to seeing the salwar kamiz when the opportunity arises. Any chance you'll be at Westercon? It looks to be the convention traveling I'll be doing anytime soon.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Westercon's probably a no, alas. I am definitely planning on making it to Capclave, tho. Both Nielsen Haydens and Rob and Avedon expected to be in attendance...

[redbird]

I'm busy being confused, because I got one salwar kameez from a vendor that just asked for measurements, and am now getting another from a different vendor, which is asking for fewer numbers but wants me to add 3-4 inches to some of them. I think that vendor A wants the measurements for my actual body, and B wants the measurements that the fabric itself will be--this is suggested by vendor A having asked me to, alternately, fill in a different form with measures of an existing garment rather than my actual body.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Yes, different tailors will have different approaches. I'm sure that Vendor A is asking for body measurements, and will then add ease after the fact. This is what I've done in the past, and usually been happy with.

If you happen to have an extant salwar kamiz that fits the way you want it to, giving finished garment measurements from that would be a good alternative, and that is what Vendor A is offering you the option of doing. That's particularly handy if you want more or less garment ease than the tailor normally goes for. (Not that you will know what their standard is until you've bought from them once.) Since 3-4" is a pretty standard amount of ease to want in the kamiz, I would bet that Vendor B is in effect asking you for finished garment measurements. (Some measurements, like shoulder-to-knee for the length of the kamiz, do not require the addition of garment ease, which would be why you're only adding 3-4" to some measurements.)

I know that when I deal with Sonia at Namaste India she always checks to verify with me whether the measurements I've given her are body measurements or finished measurements. As long as you explicitly state which sort of measurements you're giving, they should be able to sort it out at their end, but it can't hurt to give them the information in the format they prefer to work in.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

In fact, if we see you while you're visiting, I'll try to remember to wear one or the other of mine, to show you.

[thatwordgrrl.livejournal.com]

If you have not done so already, you may wish to make chatties with noelfigart regarding salwar kameezes.

She patterns and makes her own!

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Though in truth, I already have a copy of the Folkwear pattern for kamiz and churridar, and I think I have a copy of the separate one for, among other patterns, salwar trousers. I am just not in the mood to sew, lately, and the thing about buying the salwar kamiz suits from eBay is that not only am I directly benefitting small businesses in India and Pakistan, I'm paying less for custom work than I possibly could in the U.S. It's a win/win choice. Plus that gives me access to fabric options that I simply don't have in Seattle.