Choo Lai Ngo outside Hong Lee Tailors

This is a photograph of Choo Lai Ngo outside Hong Lee Tailors, her father’s tailoring shop in Kuala Lumpur, in 1960. She worked for him as a tailor until she married in 1964 and moved to Singapore. Her father gave a sewing machine to each of his daughters for their wedding dowry.After she married, she stopped working but continued to sew. She would sew clothing and household items for her family, and sew zips and trousers for factories to earn extra income in her spare time. She would also make alterations to clothes free of charge for neighbours. It was common for women in Singapore to sew for their families or for extra income during this period.

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Choo Lai Ngo at home

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Black and white photograph of Mr Choo Foo Wah in his Singapore Tailor shop at 241 Jalan Besar