Creating a Fashion by Aybolek Akyyeva

Western culture is known for modernization, so it is rare to see handmade clothes in the US. America has forgotten the values of handmade traditional clothing because of the rapid growth of the textile industry. I came from Turkmenistan, Central Asia, where it is common for women to design their own dresses in any way they would like. Thus, the services of custom tailors are popular. I have grown up in a culture that values its traditions; hence, I miss handmade outfits, and such inventories are considered antique and expensive in the US. 

The first things that I miss are the fabric stores. When I came to Chicago, I noticed that there were not many fabric stores to choose from. I was trying to find a fabric store where I could buy similar fabric that I got back come, but I was disappointed every time I tried. Spending a lot of time and my energy, I scanned several malls but there was no result. All the fabric that I saw did not impress me. The expensive prices and similar styles surprised me because I expected to find fabric in a big and developed country. If I hadn’t come to the US, I would never have known that Turkmenistan, even being a small country, has a rich fabric option, which is readily available in stores and buyers can be satisfied with their purchases with affordable prices. 

In the US, I miss going to a tailor to get my dress made because unfortunately, it is not common here. In Turkmenistan, I used to go to tailor right after I purchased the fabric that I want. Tailors for women are affordable and easy to find. It’s traditional in Turkmenistan for women to design their own dress in any way they would like. Women make dresses for many different celebrations, even for daily wear. One more thing that surprised me was that handmade dresses are not common in America. There are many tailor shops but they mostly just fix clothing but making handmade dress in America is expensive. Many American women prefer to buy their dresses.

Moreover, finding the similar style dress as Turkmen dress did not go well. After trying many times to find my cultural handmade dress, I decided to buy premade dress in the stores. The U.S. surprised me with many store options. The variety stores and affordable prices make people dizzy. However, here in the US I can’t find Turkmen style dress. The dresses worn by my Turkmen women are long with embroidered patterns on them. The benefit of handmade dress is that if you can’t find premade dress in store, women can design it according to their wishes. Women in Turkmenistan not only make their dress, but they create the fashion. 

I wish that someone would open a store with similar Turkmen style dresses. I wish I could find fabric stores, and custom tailors to make my own handmade dresses. Unfortunately I won’t be able to make my own handmade dress because I haven’t found shops for tailor and fabric even premade dresses I like. That’s why I have been trying many different dress stores to find similar styles. Maybe one day, I will be able to make my own handmade dress, but I don’t think it will happen any time soon.