Fashion-conscious women boost boutique biz in Patna

PATNA: The growth of hostels and working women executives in the state capital has led to mushrooming of boutiques.
People associated with the business and residents of upmarket localities in the city said there used to be a few boutiques in the city till five-six years back. “Now, every lane and bylane has at least a couple of boutiques,” said Suman Kumari, a homemaker from Boring Road.
The increase in number of boutiques is primarily because of young girls and women who want special outfit for every occasion, be it birthday, fresher’s day, date or wedding. Since most of them are working women, the budget for customized clothing for wedding ranges from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
As the design and fitting is according to choice, most young working executives and to an extent homemakers also prefer their ‘masterji’ over readymade clothes. The ‘masterji’ customizes their demands as per latest trends in the market. With entry of trained fashion designers, the range has also increased.
“I get the raw material from Surat, Kolkata and Delhi. A fashion stylist looks after the boutique in my absence. The market has become very competitive and we have to be innovative with our designs with time. I draw my inspirations from famous fashion designers from Bollywood,” said Jayshree Singh, owner of a boutique near A N College on Boring Road.
Jayshree said women of the city are very much fashion conscious and they have to be updated with the latest trends and designs.
“Many a times, customers come with the picture of the Bollywood stars like Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt and Anushka Sharma. The branded stores have clothes based on theme for each season, but our clients have individual taste and this makes our business more challenging,” said Wasim Akhtar, who has been in the business for the last 12 years.
He said because of rise in business, a large number of artisans and trailers, who were working outside Bihar, especially in metropolitan cities, are slowly returning back.