BANGKOK – 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 Oct 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, with everyone else asked to dress in black or subdued colours for 90 days.