Wheelchair bound 80-year-old fashion expert

At the age of 14 she started stitching clothes, now the octogenarian is an author of three books on Arab fashion and Arab dress making.
 
Khadija Ksaibati Shahrour, who is more than eighty years old, has penned a new book narrating her six decades of experience as a dress designer and tailor for the Arab fashion enthusiasts.  

The wheelchair bound Syrian designer and author is confident of selling more copies of her book in Arabic, launched during the Sharjah International Book Fair this year.

Her book was originally a handwritten guideline distributed to some women who attended a fashion and dress making workshop held at her house, and it is now published in the form of a professional book.

"When I started making clothes for family members and neighbours, I was only 14 years old. Since then I must have stitched thousands of dresses for Arab women and initially for males who are only close family members.

"I am passing on my experience of six decades as a fashion and dress designer," Khadija told Emirates 24|7 in Arabic and translated by her grand-daughter Rajheb. 

She had to leave Syria due to the unrest there. Her husband died in the 1990s and the widowed designer is now living with her daughter, who is a teacher in Sharjah.

Her book in Arabic, 'Khebraty - 2' (My Experience) is an expert advise to Arab women about how to design and stitch fashionable dress. 

Even though her book is heavily based on designing dress for females, the colourful book with pictures and designs also addresses menswear. 

She became very popular in her neighbourhood and later started holding tailoring workshop for women. 

"She distributed rudimentary notes giving her guidelines to participants in her workshop. There was no cover for her book as it is published now, but it was a useful guideline," said Rajheb. 

"She has very rich experience in Arab dress making and design, now she is too old to stitch clothes and cannot even walk. However, she is confident of training new tailors and her book is an attempt to pass on her six decades of experience as a dress maker and dress designer,” continued her grand-daughter.

Published by Dar Al Farqad, a Syrian publishing house, this is her third book about dress making and tailoring for the Arab women. 

It is also an attempt to pass on the traditional dress making techniques using a normal sewing machine. 

She has nine children, but not many of her family members continued the tailoring profession. 

"She was very poor when she started stitching, now she may be eighty five or more. Even now people from her community ask her to make dress. 

"She is very famous and her books are quite popular. We are proud that she has written three books based on rich experience,” said Rajheb.