By Ramesh Kebbehundi
Most people can identify a Police Officer by the official uniform. When citizens on a busy street are in need of help, they scan the crowds of pedestrians looking for the distinctive uniform of a Police Officer. Criminals usually curb their unlawful behaviour when they spot a uniformed Police Officer. What is so special about a uniform that is usually hot and uncomfortable to wear? The crisp uniform of the Police Officer conveys power and authority. When a Police Officer puts on his or her uniform the Officer is perceived in a very different way by the public. He or she is viewed as embodying each person’s stereotypes about all Police Officers. Research suggests that clothing has a powerful impact on how people are perceived and this goes for the Police Officers as well. The uniform has been found to have a profound psychological impact on those who view it. Research also tells that even slight alterations to the style of the uniform will change how citizens will perceive the Officer. And to make the uniform a perfect piece of clothing, there are exclusive tailors in Namma Mysuru who specially cater to the uniformed lot. While one can find at least a couple of tailors on any given stretch of a road, one can rarely find tailors who only stitch Police, Forest and Military uniforms. And these tailors are stitching uniforms since more than 80 years. These exclusive shops are Mahatma Tailoring Shop on Benki Nawab Street on Irwin Road and Bahadur Store on Ashoka Road. Both have been supplying uniforms and all other accessories to men in uniforms from the days of Maharajas. These two shops also cater to uniforms of National Cadet Corps, Scouts and Guides, Forest, Excise Departments and also various security agencies. They stitch and supply uniforms to Prisons Department staff, hotel groups, and factories like J.K. Tyre and Kirloskar. They also supply accessories like caps, shoes, socks, belts, badges, sweaters, lathis, buttons, gloves, name plates, T-shirts and jackets. Shoes are also sold after getting them manufactured from cobblers who are outsourced by the shops after taking foot measurements.
