I had not been in Dhaka long before I heard rumours of a wonderful local eccentric, a man who goes by the nickname “The King of Dhaka.”
Who could this pretender be? Some long-lost heir to the sultanate of Bengal? Or a scion of an old Nawab perhaps?
Eventually I was told that His Majesty’s kingdom is, alas, in cyberspace. But anyone who heads to kingofdhaka.com will find all the regal splendour they could ever want.
The man behind the site is Shahzaman Mozumder, and it is the most unique fashion blog I have ever seen.
The site’s homepage consists of a series of daily photo-posts bearing the title “What I am wearing today,” with pictures of Zaman in his immaculate, and often flamboyant, ensembles.
Smart English-style tailoring is very much the order of the day. There is a menu with clickable links for sartorial advice, all organised under helpful headings such as “Suit jacket buttoning rules” and “Pocket square folds.”
The website is aimed at young professionals who find themselves wearing suits and ties for the first time, and seeks to provide guidance to those navigating the minefield that is men’s tailoring.
This need comes from personal experience.
Zaman tells me: “In 1980-83 I actually didn’t know what to do. I wish there had been a resource that I could have consulted, just to learn a little bit about what colours go with what,” he says.
“For example, what should be the colour of my first suit? ... I purchased a suit in a very funny colour.”
“What colour did you buy?” I ask.
“It was blue, but not the blue I would buy these days.”
“Was it a light blue?”
“Not exactly light. It was… funny.”
Zaman tells me that kingofdhaka.com has had more than 110,000 hits since its inception a year ago, proving that he may be onto something.
He fervently believes that the purpose of style is to present oneself, almost as if for sale, something young people need to be able to do when in search of their first job.
He asks me: “Do you know: What’s the point of a necktie?”
“Erm…”
“It is like a ribbon – you wrap yourself up in a ribbon to present yourself like a gift.
Zaman is hugely enjoyable company, self-effacing and witty. He’s not remotely bothered that some people might think he looks like a stuffy anglophile. In fact he is totally self-aware, and seems to acknowledge the prospect that formal clothes can be a source of comedy.
When I mischievously suggest his already dandy-like appearance could be improved further with the addition of a trilby, he doesn’t take the bait. Giggling, he says: “I think wandering around Dhaka in a hat would be totally ridiculous!”
In spite of his congeniality, the reality of Zaman’s life has been much tougher than one would expect from someone so fond of fine clothes.
Born in Dinjapur as the youngest of six siblings, his family struggled to make ends meet after the early death of his father left them in semi-poverty.
As a student at Dhaka University in 1971 when the war broke out, he joined the Mukhtibahini at a very early stage, seeing extensive combat and later being awarded the Bir Protik for his efforts.
These days he works in IT, and pursues his interests in men’s style – he hates the word “fashion” – whenever he can.
The next phase is his quest to re-educate people’s dress-sense is to set up his own tailor shop here in Dhaka. “The problem is when the British left, the flow of technology stopped.”
Not one to be put off, Zaman has been training a set of local tailors over the last 4 years, and is soon to open a tailoring service that will operate from inside Sonargaon Hotel.
Products will include made-to-measure suits for $100 plus material costs, and also fully bespoke suits, the cost of which will depend on how extravagant the customer wants them to be.
After more than an hour of enthusiastic discussion on the benefits of different styles – double-breasted would be a good look for me, he confirms – we part ways.
I leave slightly ashamed of my ill-fitting t-shirt and slightly torn trousers.
