A change in weather is being experienced in the capital and the garrison city of Rawalpindi, leading to a demand in a new wardrobe.
The chill in the air at the advent of winter has sent people rushing for woollen clothes.
“Stalls have been set up at a various places selling winter stuff, including woollen caps, sweaters, socks and warm clothes,” Inam Ullah, a shopkeeper at G-9 Markaz, said. “I have every kind of warm stuff in stock, but people have mostly been buying woollen caps and sweaters to protect them from cold.”
Asma Zahid, a housewife, complained of higher prices.
“I went to the local market to buy warm clothes for my children and observed that the prices of these items were much higher as compared with last year,” she said.
Roadside vendors, already doing well, are expecting business to pick up further in the coming weeks.
Prices of blankets, quilts and heating appliances have also gone up.
“We are doing quite a good business these days and it is going to gain further momentum in the days to come,” said a shopkeeper.
The streets in the markets are packed with carts offering secondhand winter wear.
Imported sweaters, jackets and coats sport price tags far beyond the reach of ordinary citizens, while the quality of locally-made clothing is not even good enough, according to some, to last a single winter.
“I have made several trips to the Sunday market in G-6 and have checked out several roadside carts in order to get a few sweaters for the cold season,” said pizza delivery man Salman. “Instead of buying cheap Chinese merchandise, I would rather buy used, branded Western clothes” which, he explained, outlast the former.
Mohsin Ali, a customer at Aabpara Market, complained that the prices of secondhand clothes were higher this year.
He said while last year he managed to buy a jacket for Rs250, this time he had to pay Rs450 to the shopkeeper for a similar jacket, after a lot of bargaining.
Though days are sunny, evenings are cold.
And to cash in on the seasonal demand, a number of stalls have sprouted at Aabpara market, G-9 Markaz, commercial market, and Rawalpindi Saddar.
Pakistanis are seen amid winter fog in Lahore yesterday.
