there are no well-known local emerging fashion 'designers' as you might find in lebanon, for example.
There are good cottons for sheeting, but that is about it here in Egypt (in my experience) and other than that, they love their polyester. Silk is as good as non-existant. If you ask for silk, they will surely show you something (polyester) and claim it is silk. If you really know your fabrics, do come prepared to do testing on anything they claim is one fabric or another as they will lie to you as soon as look at you about the fabric content every time.
And while there are tailors here that are very good, plan on giving them a week to sew something and in general if you want it to be cheap, bring something for them to copy, don't expect them to be able to sew up anything the way you want it without a pattern to follow....and even then, it's a good idea to expect some of them (the cheaper ones) to add a little something to make it "a little fancy".
I don't want to sound negative on the subject (even though I know I do), as I do have clothes made here, but it's just that it's not very very easy for a tourist to walk in here, find fabric and a tailor to do something quickly. Cairo ain't Hong Kong.
And, if you do find great fabrics, they will likely be imports and NOT CHEAP. The best cottons seem to make it out of the country.
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quote:
Originally posted by Debbie:
And while there are tailors here that are very good, plan on giving them a week to sew something and in general if you want it to be cheap, bring something for them to copy, don't expect them to be able to sew up anything the way you want it without a pattern to follow....and even then, it's a good idea to expect some of them (the cheaper ones) to add a little something to make it "a little fancy".I don't want to sound negative on the subject (even though I know I do), as I do have clothes made here, but it's just that it's not very very easy for a tourist to walk in here, find fabric and a tailor to do something quickly.
You're right, Debbie, it takes a while to have the stuff made and it's definitely a good idea to bring some item that the tailor can copy.
However, if you look around you can find nice fabrics among all the polyester stuff. A friend of mine had a whole new wardrobe made here before she returned to the states.
I have a tailor in Zamalek who's very good. Nice old guy, he doesn't speak a word of English though ...
The only time I buy clothes in Cairo is when it's an emergency...and the only store that I found has reasonable styles with clothese that don't fall apart in a few months is Mix-n-Match, which has branches everywhere. I do seasonal shopping for the year on trips to the US...there are always sales and it's a better value in the long run, bcs the clothes can withstand the brutal spin cycles of most washing machines in cairo and last longer.
quote:
Originally posted by ExptinCAI:
...and the only store that I found has reasonable styles with clothese that don't fall apart in a few months is Mix-n-Match, which has branches everywhere.
quote:
Originally posted by Dalia:
You're right, Debbie, it takes a while to have the stuff made and it's definitely a good idea to bring some item that the tailor can copy.However, if you look around you can find nice fabrics among all the polyester stuff. A friend of mine had a whole new wardrobe made here before she returned to the states.
I have a tailor in Zamalek who's very good. Nice old guy, he doesn't speak a word of English though ...
silk...nonexistent?! oh well. lol. Thanks alot for the advice about the tailor, but I'm not going to pay someone to do something I can do just as well myself! Thanks alot