Retail shops across Thailand struggle to meet demand for black mourning outfits and muted wardrobes

Black T-shirts for sale at a clothing market in Bangkok. Photo / Patpicha Tanakasem, Bloomberg via The Washington Post

Retail shops across Thailand are struggling to meet the demand for black outfits and muted wardrobes as people enter into mourning for the death Queen Mother Sirikit.

It’s a result of two converging circumstances: the October 24 passing of Queen Mother Sirikit, the widely venerated consort of Thailand’s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s request for all government workers to wear “mourning attire” for one year.

Everyone else is asked to dress in black or subdued colours for 90 days.

Within a few days, businesses have seen sales of blouses, dresses, polos, shirts and tees in black skyrocket to levels not seen since 2016, when King Bhumibol died after a seven-decade reign and a similar one-year mourning period was observed.

Some vendors have now run out of black clothing to sell.

At Bangkok’s Bobae Market, a hub for the wholesale garment trade, hundreds of vendors put their stocks of black clothing on full display, relegating more colorful pieces to the back.

Thai office workers roamed the stalls during lunch breaks, carrying colourful plastic bags full of new black tops and dresses they would be wearing for the months to come.

In public spaces from streets to sky trains, a majority of Thais have been donning black or darker colours over the past few days.

Large electronic billboards all over the capital Bangkok also displayed black and white portraits of Queen Mother Sirikit, with texts mourning the nation’s loss.

Black attire also dominated business conferences and seminars in the Thai capital.

“There’s no time to sleep, I’ve just been packing and shipping,” said Nuttanun Kongdee.

The 47-year-old vendor said she has been selling about 10,000 black shirts, blouses, and dresses each day since Queen Sirikit’s passing, compared to her usual sales of about 200-300 pieces a day. “This reflects the loyalty of Thai people for the Queen Mother.”

Some 400km from Bangkok, Chanarbhorn - an apparel store in Buriram province - sold out all of its black clothes and couldn’t put in new orders.

“The factory said black T-shirts are out of stock,” Chanarbhorn’s manager, who asked to go by Tukta, said by phone.

In Thailand, the monarch is officially treated as semi-divine.

The kingdom, formerly known as Siam, was ruled by kings who held absolute power for centuries until 1932, when a bloodless revolution ushered in the current era of constitutional monarchy, with the king serving as the head of state. The country also has one of the world’s toughest laws against royal insults.

Back in the Bangkok market, Turnjai Khamkawl, 56, had just run out of her black Chitralada dresses, traditional Thai silk costumes that are normally worn during royal ceremonies.

She said the backlog of orders - which came in from all around the country - now ran for over a week, as many Thais would like to wear the costumes to lay artificial sandalwood flowers as part of the funeral ceremonies.

Revered as the country’s matriarch, Queen Sirikit was the mother of the reigning monarch, King Maha Vajiralongkorn. She died at 93, just months after her August 12 birthday, which is also celebrated as Mother’s Day in Thailand.

“She was the mother of the nation. All Thais are in mourning,” Turnjai said.

- With assistance from Suttinee Yuvejwattana and Jon Herskovitz.

Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.