If you’ve spent any time in Dubai’s older shopping streets like Deira, Bur Dubai, Al Karama or the newer, high-footfall malls, you’ll know one thing: men’s traditional wear isn’t a niche here; it’s a daily uniform for a big slice of the market. Setting up an Arabic Men’s Wear Tailoring business is commercially interesting because demand is both cultural and practical: people need perfectly-fitted kanduras (dishdasha/thobe), crisp collars, clean cuffs, and fast alteration, often on tight timelines around weddings, Eid, and corporate events.
Dubai also has the kind of customer mix founders dream about: Emiratis, GCC residents, and a huge expat base who buy traditional wear for work, ceremonies, or gifting. Add Dubai’s tourism engine, and you’re selling into a city that welcomed 17.15 million international overnight visitors in 2023. That’s a lot of people walking past storefronts, browsing souqs, and searching Google for “tailors near me”.
For founders, this isn’t just about stitching garments; it’s about operating in a market where fit, speed, and consistency matter as much as craftsmanship. Whether you’re opening a neighbourhood tailoring shop, running a made-to-measure studio, or specialising in quick alterations for kanduras and traditional wear, operating legally requires the right tailoring business license in Dubai.
Arabic Men Wears Tailoring – 1410.91
This business activity covers professional tailoring and alteration services for Arabic men’s traditional clothing, including kanduras (dishdasha or thobes), Arabic waistcoats and ceremonial overgarments, traditional trousers or inner garments, and other garments customarily worn as part of formal or cultural Arabic men’s attire, using approved tailoring equipment and workshop tools for commercial purposes.
Under this business activity, you can operate a tailoring shop or studio, stitch made-to-measure Arabic men’s garments, and provide alteration services such as length adjustments, sleeve corrections, collars, cuffs, and fittings. You can also maintain customer measurement records, handle rush orders, and manage seasonal demand aligned with weddings, Eid, corporate events, and formal occasions.
In practice, you could be running a neighbourhood tailoring outlet serving repeat local clients, operating a made-to-measure studio specialising in Arabic men’s traditional wear, or handling high-volume alteration work during festive and peak periods when turnaround time is as critical as craftsmanship.
But there are limitations. This business activity does not include the manufacture of wearing apparel of fur skins (except headgear), footwear, wearing apparel of rubber or plastic garments not assembled by stitching but merely sealed together, leather sports gloves and sports headgear, safety headgear (except sports headgear), fire-resistant and protective safety clothing, or the repair of wearing apparel.
Third-Party Approval:
No third-party approval is required for this activity.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance:
Business activity 1410.91 is exempt from this requirement.
