They are much in demand, and equally difficult to find, like elsewhere in the country. In Hyderabad, however, the ‘master’ who tailors the perfect blouses is invariably a Muslim gent with old-school training and years of experience, one who will typically peer at you over moon spectacles, nodding abstractedly as you outline the various peculiarities of your shape that he must pay particular attention to. Also, alas, one belonging to a fast-vanishing breed.

Any respectable list of blouse tailors in Hyderabad must surely include KG Rao Tailors, ensconced in its quaint-looking establishment in Park Lane, Secunderabad. No one knows precisely when it was started — “at least 70 years ago” or “before Independence” is the closest you will get.

The founder, Keerti Ganapati Rao, is no more, leaving his sons K Kishore Kumar and K Suresh Kumar in charge. This is a modest establishment catering to the ‘daily wear’ category — it charges ₹150 to tailor a blouse — and if you want frills such as embroidery and lace, you’ll have to organise for it.

Why is the blouse such a challenge? “It’s a tight-fitting garment, so there are so many details,” Kishore Kumar says, reaching out for a piece of fabric to demonstrate: “See, if you stitch the cloth holding it cross instead of straight, it has a lot more stretch. You need to know where to place the cloth like that. It doesn’t take more cloth to do it that way; it’s just a better technique. Not many people know how to do that anymore — everything is stitched straight.”

When did he begin to learn? “I’ve been working in the shop since I was eight,” he says, “but anyone can learn it if they pay attention.”

At the other luxe end of the scale is Jus’ Blouses. NIFT-trained designer Varsha Mahendra opened the boutique’s first store in 2010 in Khairatabad, followed by another in upscale Banjara Hills and the third is coming up in Dallas, USA. This is where you go when you want to pull out all the stops. Apart from the readymade blouses on sale, at this design shop you can walk in with fabric, or even just an idea, and leave with a quality garment that will soon become a talking point. A simple blouse could cost between ₹1,700 and ₹2,500 to make, while more elaborate patterns command up to ₹5,500 and extra for the stones, embroidery and other embellishments.

“You get readymade blouses everywhere these days, but I was the first to actually sit down and design blouses in sizes 32, 34, 36...” Mahendra says. “My team and I worked out a way to make blouses that suit 90 per cent of body shapes, taking into account various factors. About 10 per cent of women need extra customisation, but we’ve learnt how to deal with those as well.”

Among the store’s impressive collection is an array of blouses in gold and bronze for wedding wear, exclusive pieces in the latest styles, and a delightful confection in pink that carried French knots in gold thread and a tag of ₹17,000. Appliqué on tulle net is big, crystals are still ‘in’, and scalloped edges are all the rage… Plus, there is a line of Kutch work that’s increasingly popular. “I’ve become bolder with the designs, but they’re working. Women are eager to experiment,” says Mahendra.

Two streets away from Jus’ Blouses in Banjara Hills is Anagha, which stocks an interesting range of blouses with a focus on handlooms. You’ll find racks of Kalamkari, Phulkari, silk, Mangalagiri weaves, cotton, brocade and Kutch embroidery works — all ranging from ₹1,100 to ₹7,000. Anagha doesn’t custom-make blouses, but then again, each pattern comes in 10 colours and six sizes. Its in-house tailoring unit will do some tweaking to give you a better fit. Sarvamangala Chavali, the owner, says, “We change designs often and tend to go to Bollywood for inspiration — they are always popular. A while ago, we had the Chammak chhallo (Ra.One) blouse, the one Katrina Kaif wore in Singh is King and also the design Deepika Padukone wore in the song Badtameez dil (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani).”

Sheetal Vyas is a Hyderabad-based writer

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