Did you know that you can easily and cheaply get your own original clothes tailored in Indonesia? Tailoring clothes is a skilled craft that involves various steps, starting from the design and pattern-making to cutting, sewing, and finishing, but you can easily make casual clothes for daily use to formal dresses for parties and weddings. This time, I would like to introduce a story of an actual dress I made and actual fabric stores in Surabaya.
I hope it will be useful for you, a foreigner in Indonesia.
Design and Planning
The tailoring process begins with the design phase.
Decide on the image of the clothes you want to make.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so it’s easier for tailor to understand what you want to create if you have a picture of the clothes. Enter a keyword in a search engine such as “instagram”, “Google”, or “pinterest” to get a rough idea of what you want. The images will be narrowed down to what you want.
I personally recommend “pinterest” because when you select a photo you like, it will show you related and similar photos, and you can choose from a variety of options to get closer and closer to what you like and to find more amazing images.
For example, if you search for “dress,” on pinterest, you will see a wide range of dresses, from short to long, patterned or plain, etc. You can choose the image that is closest to your image, or you can change key words like “party dress” or “resort dress” in the Related searches which pinterest shows you.
In my case, the first thing I wanted to make was a pair of Batik pants and a pair of pants from the Japanese brand ”steven alan”, so I had a sample to make.
Fabric Selection
The choice of fabric significantly affects the quality and appearance of the garment. The selected fabric must be suitable for the design and purpose of the clothing. Fabrics vary in type, color, pattern, texture, thickness, and stretch, and they must harmonize with the design.
Find the desired fabric based on the image you have selected for yourself at a fabric store.The fastest way to do this is to tell the store clerk that you are looking for a fabric similar to the one you have chosen by showing the picture or your own clothes.
In my case, I don’t speak bahasa Indonesia yet, but I used Google translate to find the fabrics I was looking for when no English-speaking shopkeeper was available. When looking for the cloth, I asked the store clerk if the cloth was “washable”,” how long the cloth would need to be for the clothes in the picture” , ”whether the cloth is suitable for the photo designand”, and “the price”.
It is also important to choose fabrics based on their intended use (everyday wear, special events, seasonal, etc.). The shop clerk can help with fabric suggestions.
Maybe those bahasa words below can be used at fabric stores.
”Tipis (thin)”, ”tebal (thick)”,” panjang (long)”, ”pendek (short)”, “besar (big)”,”kecil (small)”.
Design Request to Tailor
When you bring the fabrics to tailor, there are several things you need to take care of and tell to the tailor.
DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
Give specific requests for the design of the garment. Describe the desired style, cutting, neck, sleeves, hem, pockets, and other design details. If it is a patterned fabric, clearly communicate the direction of the pattern and where you would like the pattern to appear. As with fabric stores, bringing an image, design sketches, or sample garments will facilitate communication. It would not be necessary to go into that much detail if there were photographs or actual samples.
Tailor may not remember what you tell them, so if you are unsure, you may want to write down the requirements on a piece of paper and give it to them.
・Size and Fit: Provide information about your body shape and size. Provide detailed measurements such as height, chest, waist, hips, shoulder width, etc. and clearly state the desired fit. It is also important to provide specific specifications such as desired garment length and sleeve length.
・Use and Season: Discuss how the clothing will be used. Design and fabric choices may vary depending on whether the clothing is for everyday wear, business suits, special events, or is appropriate for each season. The frequency of wear and comfort will also depend on the season.
・Budget and Delivery Time: Be clear about your budget and ask for suggestions to meet it. Also, coordinate with the tailor about delivery dates. If you need the garment by a specific date, let them know so they can adjust their schedule accordingly.
Try-ons (fitting) and adjustments
Allow time for try-ons and adjustments before the garment is finished. It is important to point out to the tailor any changes that need to be made to the fit or design of the garment so that adjustments can be made. Make sure the final result is as expected. Here, details such as collars, cuffs, hems, buttons, zippers, pockets, and other elements are attended to, ensuring the garment’s comfort and aesthetics.
I myself found some differences from the sample, so I checked it in the store and requested again what I wanted fixed.
Textile shops in Surabaya
Quds Textile
https://maps.app.goo.gl/gDnkEVKfhhFQHUnh6
A well-stocked two-story fabric store, with the second floor for formal dresses and the first floor for general fabrics. There are not many batiks, but there are nice silk batiks and hand-drawn batiks with modern design, and printed batiks. Prices were reasonable, including batik. Silk was also very inexpensive.
Mahek Textile Cabang Surabaya Barat
https://maps.app.goo.gl/UyAxLcBYPh6MMGWX6
Five-story building with the store portion on the fourth floor from my memory. The store has the impression of being long and narrow, but the inside is more substantial than it appears on the outside. There are fabrics for both formal and casual wear, and as for batik, only printed batiks are shown on the front, but if you ask the clerk, he or she will pull out a large quantity from the shelves. All are inexpensive, and I got a great piece of cloth here for 15.000rp a meter. It is a very good place to visit in West Surabaya, where there are many foreigners, because it is so close by.
Dedado Batik
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7zxhKW5UCHMKDWfd8
This store specializes in batik and is located at the end of the G walk. The interior of the store looks like it is not open because of the dark lights, but it is. More than half of the batiks are not cheap, ranging from 500.000 to 1000.000 rp. Many of the cloths have splendid patterns and various colors. I think the cheapest one costs more than 150.000 rp. There were no printed batiks sold by the meter.
Mirota Batik & Handicraft Surabaya
https://maps.app.goo.gl/76Zy5bMefVz156ft9
It is a 3 story shop with a large number and selection of batiks and Indonesian (mainly BALI) souvenirs. Not only are there many batiks, but there are batiks from many different regions and types, so you can get lost in the shop and almost get drunk. Printed batik, handwritten batik, and stamped batik are all available, as well as ready-to-wear items such as dresses, shirts, and pants. The selection changes from time to time, so it is a good idea to visit several times over a period of time. For women looking for their favorite batik, 3-4 hours may not be enough time.Prices are not that expensive.
Conclusion
Choosing your own fabric and tailoring your own clothing in Indonesia is the unique design and customization, an experience not available in your home country, handwork, reasonable prices, and a contribution to sustainability. This experience provides an opportunity to freely express personal fashion and gain a deeper understanding of local culture, while at the same time enjoying handcraftsmanship.
These are what I bought and got from tailor!
I hope this helps you. Thank you for reading.
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