Taking In or Letting Out a Waist
The single most common reason a garment stops being worn is a waist that no longer fits. Bodies change, after a pregnancy, after a year of desk work, after a bout of illness, and a kurta or pair of trousers that fit perfectly two years ago now sits in a pile. Most people buy new. A tailor can take in or let out the waist seam of trousers, salwars, skirts, and even structured kurtas by up to two inches in either direction, depending on how much seam allowance the manufacturer left. The cost at most neighbourhood tailoring shops in India runs between Rs 100 and Rs 300 per garment. That is a fraction of what any decent replacement would cost.
