Custom Tailors and Fine Fabrics

Mumbai's bazaars boom with some of the richest and widest varieties of cloth, and the Mangaldas Cloth Market has enough bales of material to carpet all of South Mumbai.

Buying clothes tailored to fit in Mumbai is not a difficult proposition: There are a number of tailors who can turn splendid fabric into custom-made clothing—Indian or Western—in a matter of hours, for ladies or men. The tailors are often armed with the latest catalogs and will faithfully copy a design from a picture. They're fast and competent, but be specific about what you want; their improvisations are not likely to go over well. If you have a shirt or trousers to give as a sample, they can generally make an exact copy. Make sure you preshrink cotton material and any lining before you give it in for stitching (rinse for a few minutes and drip dry; colored cottons need to be rinsed by themselves for just a few seconds to prevent too much bleeding). Fix a rate beforehand, and give an earlier deadline than necessary to allow for refittings if needed. If the material needs a lining, buy it yourself.