FAQ

Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it - Y. Saint Laurent                                                                         

Sewing a custom-made traditional African dress or shirt for your special occasion often leads to weeks of planning ahead of time. We have compiled below a set of frequently asked questions we get from our clients - especially, first time clients.

Q. Where can I buy African fabric from?

A: Look through the classified ads in Ethnic Newspapers such as the Ghanaian News and the Nigerian Canadianews. These two newspapers are found at most African Grocery stores in the GTA.

Q. How long does it take to sew a dress?

A: The usual turn around time is between 7-10 days, based on first-come-first serve basis. Depending on how busy our workshop is, it is however possible to finish your dress within a week or earlier. We however ask that if you know the date of your event in advance, you should call your Traditional African Dressmaker about 3-4 wks before event, to be measured. You will then be able to use her expertise helpto select the style you desire for your custom-made dress.

Q: How about if I want my dress EXPRESS?

A: Express jobs take 48 hours to turn-around. This will mean you will be jumping to the front of the line. Express jobs attract an extra fee of $20.00 per job on top of the regular fee.



Q. What criteria do you use to charge your customers?

A: It depends. Our fees are broken into two parts. Service charge and cost of goods to sew the dress. For a popular request like Kaba & Slit and Lace dresses, the service charge to sew the dress is $60.00 and the cost of goods to sew the dress is $20.00, making the overall cost of the dress to be $80.00.



Q: Can I negotiate the total service charge?

A: No! But you can bring your own lining, thread, hooks, buttons, zips, stiff and any other accessories and pay only the service charge component of the total fees. If you choose to do this, let us know ahead of time. It will, however, be your responsibility to bring all the components needed to sew your dress.



Q. Is your place accessible by public transportation?                  

A: Yes. Call and we will give you directions.



Q: How much experience do you have. Can I trust you?

A: I have over 18 years experience sewing African attires for satisfied customers in Africa and Canada. Most of our customers are repeat customers and over 80% of our business in the Greater Toronto Area is obtained through referrals from satisfied clients.

We have available, album portfolio of satisfied customers, if you desire to see.



Q: I'm not sure what style to sew. Can you help?

A: Yes. We have a wide selection of styles and magazines for you to choose from. Give us your ideas, and we will help you select a style. And the rest will be up to us.



Q. After you finish sewing my dress, can I send someone to pick it up for me? 

A: Clients are expected to try all finished custom-made dresses on in our studio so that any adjustments can be made to fit the finished material to your satisfaction.

We don't encourage customers to send others to collect their finished products for them. Any customer who refuses to try on their dress in our studio and takes it away does so with the understanding that, should anything be structurally wrong with the dress, we are not to be held liable. We give every customer the opportunity to try on their dress in our studio so that any adjustments can be made. In fact, we stand by our motto: "We Customize to Fit You."

Q: Are you able to create a dress or shirt by just looking at a picture?

A: Yes.

Q: Do I need an appointment?

A: We encourage our clients to call in advance to book an appointment. It will give us the opportunity to give you a more personal service experience. We will help you to determine the type of dress your desire to wear. Then we will take your measurements and custom fit you and discuss fabric, colours, or any other ideas you may have to get the type of dress you desire to wear on the day of your event.

Q: Do you sew for out-of-town clients?

A: Generally not. Except when the client is in the Greater Toronto Area at the time of the appointment and they desire to have the custom-made dress sewn before they return to their out-of-town location.