“The young generation likes to wear these clothes,” says Ali, though the man in his mid-forties himself wears kurta-pyjama.

Ali is not alone. More than 20 readymade garment shops have opened in the past one year in the Walled City area.

“Young men wore jeans earlier, too, but they went to places such as Gaffar Market, Monastery (ISBT), or Sarojini Nagar to shop,” says another shop owner, Shadaab Siddiqui. “Now they get it all here.”

But more than sourcing ready customers, these shops are changing the façade of the area’s old lanes. They stand out with their glitzy looks — all have flashy neon lights and modern interiors, complete with glass counters and designer cabinets.

“It is for the kind of customer we want to attract,” says Siddiqui, in his mid-30s. “No one would come inside a shop that doesn’t look up to the mark — jo dikhta hai, wo bikta hai (looks make for sales).”

Earlier, these shops would come up around festivals and the wedding season. But now they have anchored permanently, open throughout the year.

“If you go from Jama Masjid to Delhi Gate, you will find at least 50 to 60 shops selling readymade clothes,” says Taj. “There were only two or three such shops when I set my shop in 2003; and they were all in Matial Mahal area.”

The likes of Liyaqat Ali are exceptions in these shops; most have youngsters selling clothes, primarily aimed at the youth. “We are able to relate better with customers than our fathers,” says 20-something Sahil, whose father now sits outside Bombay Cloth House, which had been selling unstitched cloth for 35 years.

Chandni Chowk was also known for readymade clothes but the shops there did not exclusively stock jeans and t-shirts. And neither did they have the swanky looks of their modern counterparts, which are little showrooms in themselves.

Operating out of the area’s narrow bylanes, these shops target the local youth. “They save time and money by buying from us,” says Khalid, who sits with his young friends at UK Garments, which was a jewellery shop earlier.