The tailor shop

I brought a couple of pair of pants that were feeling too tight in the waist so I found a tailor shop. This wasn't easy to find. While various people said we'd find a shop "just over here," or "just over there," I never found them. Fortunately, Alla remembered seeing one and knew specifically where it was, near where we lived previously. It's called "Clothing Repair," and I'm pretty sure it's state-run, just like the giant shoe-repair shop I found near the University.

I went over there today with my pants. Walking in the front door, I saw a sign pointing to a salon on the left. Not sure what kind of a salon this might be, I checked to the right and saw a bunch of women at sewing machines. Really. I mean a LOT of women at sewing machines. So I went to the right. Folks were friendly, and one of the women near me said hello, but nobody got up from their work. I waited. Finally somebody asked me what I wanted and directed me to the salon.

When I told the well-dressed woman at the desk in the salon what I wanted, she sent me into one of two changing rooms and called a woman away from the sewing machines. She measured me and marked the intended circumference on the waist band of my pants. This makes ever so much more sense than the American method of marking a V on the back of the pants indicating how much more fabric to let out from the other side.

Anyway, I had my choice of spending $10 and coming back in two days or spending $13 and coming back in an hour. Since this place isn't on any of my regular routes, I opted for the one-hour service and went to the shopping center nearby to buy a pair of speakers. The speakers are great, and so are the pants.

(The speakers are MicroLab Solo 6C. I don't think this brand is available in the US, but they sound really amazing for the money. They sure were heavy to schlep home, but I'm happy to report that it was entirely worthwhile.)