TAILORING is a trademark in the Ramnarine family, who operates a tailoring shop at Alexander Street, Kitty.

The brothers are Rajesh and Ravi Ramnarine, who work side by side to meet deadlines to outfit customers with clothing that give them a ‘good fit.’

Rajesh, in an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, said tailoring is a profession that has to be ‘in your blood’. For Rajesh and his brother, they have followed in the steps of their late grandfather and father.

In his boyhood days, the family had a tailor shop on Regent Street and it was there he spent many of his days. Both his grandfather and father were village tailors and he used to watch them work and since then he knew he knew what he wanted to do for a living.

The Ramnarines are originally from Covent Garden on the East Bank of Demerara but they relocated to Alexander Street, Kitty where they have been residing for the past 30 years.

They are well-known tailors in their community, as such, they have a busy schedule and their place of business which is also their home, is often frequented by customers.

Rajesh said that being a third-generation tailor is rewarding for him because he likes what he does, and it has been his occupation since he formally exited the school system. Rajesh is hoping that the profession is passed down to his children but if doesn’t, that’s no problem, he said.

“This is what I know and I have been doing this for the past 30 years. In this job you got to love it to keep going, because you encounter all kinds of people, that is, customers and it is rewarding if you know how to deal with them,” he said.

Rajesh, who is married with two children, said his day of work starts 08:30hrs up until 19:00hrs daily and he has no choice but to work weekends too to meet the demand of customers.

DYING TRADE
But while his business is still a busy one, Rajesh said that tailoring as a profession is a thing of the past because these days, young people are hardly looking toward that kind of trade.

Rajesh recognised also that there aren’t many tailors around, maybe a few scattered here and there, he said, but not very many people do the work these days.

He related that mostly women work in the sewing business nowadays and fewer men are tailors, adding that back in the days older men were good tailors.

CHANGING TRENDS
Rajesh told the Pepperpot Magazine with the changing trends in both men and women, he must keep up with ever-changing fashion since people want to be in style.

He admitted that back then, people wore simple clothes like a ‘bell-bottom’ pants and a saltire shirt complimented that outfit. Today it is different since every day is a new style and customers want to make a fashion statement.

The Ramnarine brothers specialise in suits for men and women as well as work dresses, pants among other things.

Rajesh candidly joked that neither his father nor grandfather would have been able to cope with the ever-changing fashion of today.

“Customers come with a specific pattern and you have to get it right the first time for that perfect fit and that is how you keep customers happy and they will come for services,” he said.

He explained that on any given day they divide the workload because customers would want their suits a certain day and they have to finish them because they don’t want disgruntled clients.

Rajesh pointed out that when he is able to please his customers it is a good feeling, knowing they sew a good skirt or pants and when the customer puts it on and it is well fitted, that’s really good for business and self-satisfaction.

Being a good tailor is always about conditioning the mind, says Rajesh, who believes that everything is possible with the right attitude and self–application because being a tailor requires a lot of patience.