If you want to buy some clothes before the brutal winter arrives, you have some choices.
You can go to the bazaar and paw through the various assortment of poorly made, inappropriate attire. This is a good idea if youХre seeking polyester see-through blouses lined with faux fur; or for men, T-shirts with a variety of misspelled brand names emblazoned on the front.
If youХre seeking quality business attire or tasteful evening wear, you can try any of the upscale Western stores, as long as you plan on spending nearly double what the garment might cost in another country.
If neither of those options suits you, there is an alternative: Pick a pattern, chose the fabric and have a tailor sew for you for a nominal price.
The 1998 Yellow Pages provides an exhaustive list of Kyiv tailors, most of whom charge between Hr 80 and Hr 200 for a dress, between Hr 130 and Hr 300 for a suit and between Hr 250 and Hr 400 for a coat, depending on fabric, size and design complexity. Most tailors take a minimum of two weeks to sew a garment.
Compared to the cost of tailoring in the West, these prices may seem cheap. But it still costs more than what you would pay a self-employed tailor.
One of the fastest tailor shops in Kyiv is Vitos Moda, Rusanivska Naberezhna 12 (555-8807), which charges Hr 85 for a dress and Hr 240 for a suit and takes about one week. Obolon House Atelier, Obolonsky 26 (412-7936), charges a minimum of Hr 50 for a dress and Hr 130 for a suit and takes up to 10 days per garment.
With an self-employed tailor, a short summer dress sewn in three days can cost Hr 30, while the simplest and cheapest dress at a tailor shop will cost about Hr 50 and take an average of 10 days to make.
There are several ways to find a self-employed tailor. The simplest method is to order a garment at a shop and then, if you like the tailorХs work, arrange for the tailor to sew for you on the side Р to save the commission that the shop receives.
Another way is to ask friends and colleagues.
Or you can try going to one of KyivХs tailoring schools and arrange for one of the instructors or one of the older students to sew for you. But itХs better to go in person because generally they are hesitant to discuss such transactions on the phone. You can find tailor schools at Baumana 8 (442-4567), Protasiv Yar 3 (269-9584), Nyzhniy Val 37 (416-0192), or Gagarina 22 (559-9661).
All tailors will expect you to buy your own fabric, thread and accessories. The biggest fabric store in Kyiv is Tkanyny located at Khreshchatyk across the street from the department store (TsUM) near metro Teatralna.
Most tailors have fashion magazines with design patterns, but customers are welcome to bring their own patterns.
A common way to check whether a tailor is good or not is to turn a garment inside out and see how neat the stitches are.
If your Ukrainian or Russian is not very good, itХs better to find somebody to translate for you because some seemingly minor communication issues may result in disastrous results.
Anna Kozmina
