Mongolian seamstresses

The day after we arrived in Mongolia, Andy took us to a very small downstairs apartment where four or five women worked making tailored suits. The missionaries discovered these women and they pretty much kept them in constant work making suits for them to wear in Mongolia and to take home. We went to the market and bought fabric and then we took the fabric to these good women and they worked their magic. One week after dropping off the fabric we went back to pick up the suits. They made two suits for Rick, a summer suit for Andy and two suits for Dave. They made the suits for Dave with only measurements we brought to them and they fit very well when he tried them on when we got home (only needing a little alteration in the length of the pants.) Did I mention they cost about $40-$45 a suit? Hum...well, they did. I don't think they had ever seen such giants come through their door.




Also, did I mention that Andy has many Mongolian custom suits now? Yep, that right. I hope he doesn't gain weight really soon (even though he needs to.) He has every color of the rainbow and they are all well made.

That same day, Andy took me to the shop of another young woman who was a church member and a returned missionary. She worked in a small shop with only one other helper. She asked me what I wanted, sketched it out on paper, measured me and a week later when we went back. This is the beauty she created for me! She picked the color and the fabric. I told her I wanted something very traditional Mongolian, and she did a great job choosing a color that I LOVE. The button clasps are hand made and are unique to Mongolian clothes. The suit fits like a glove. I'll have to be careful to not put on weight either (I don't need to or want to.) Ha. We love our Mongolian clothes and will always remember the talented and sweet women who created them.