In 2023 when first coming to Nigeria, I was introduced to the beauty that is getting custom made clothing Nigerian tailors. In the market the walls are piled to the ceiling with holland prints, antique sewing machines fill the parlors, and your measurements are taken in a minute.
On my first return to Nigeria I had three outfits made for me. A formal outfit for my grandmother’s ceremonial burial and a party outfit for the affairs after. My aunt, who introduced us to this world told my cousin and I to have at it! So I only experimented with a two piece patterned set for my spring Marbella vacation. I kept it light. But on my second journey here I was amped up to add many more pieces to my wardrobe. Aside from from reuniting with extended family, relaxing, and learning more about culture, making clothes is a big part of my excitement for coming to Nigeria.
The Onitscha Main Market is the largest market in all of West Africa. The place is like a maze with hundreds of stalls, back alleys, food carts, and vendors hissing at you to stop by their area “What are you looking for?” “Sister come take a look”. Each tight booth is stacked to the ceiling with linen, cotton, lace, sequin, Indian sarees, holland prints, tie-dye, denim, geles, etc… And that doesn’t even cover the ready made clothes, jewelry, shoes, and Asian and American products.
So to start, I gathered a Pinterest board full of the styles that had caught my eye lately. In December I’d been watching fashion videos on how to style clothing, be creative with what you already own, and how to layer color/texture/pattern for more interesting looks. I really wanted tops and bottoms with character, because for some reason since graduating college I always gravitate towards a beige, white, grey, and black clothing. (Probably because of the trifling return of formal wear/office-siren trend that rotted my brain.)
I have so many goals for my wardrobe. Be cute but comfortable at work, be environmentally conscious and not over consume, all that stuff. So pieces that I can wear multiple times in multiple different ways are important to me to not waste. But sometimes It’s so hard to block out noise and pay attention to what really interests me stylistically, because there are so many advertisements and microtrends whose goal is to sway me into believing that what they’re feeding me is what I really want.
Here are some of the pieces I had made: Two black tops, striped linen pants, another linen set, and a tradition print set. I have two other tragic pieces that aren’t in the photos.
While the process is sooo fun the results aren’t always on point. There’s usually something a little off with the final piece. What makes them miss the mark are:
-some strange buttons you didn’t ask for,
-an extra plunging neckline,
-random pockets,
-frayed thread or unfinished hems,
-overall style just being the complete opposite from the inspiration photo ( I respect taking artistic liberties, I really do. And I wouldn’t want to pay someone to rip off a artist’s whole design, but it gets to a point… It’s like when you’re getting your hair done as a little girl and your mom has CLEAR instructions from you, but she does what she wants anyway. Like yea I’m grateful my hair is done, but girl this isn’t what I asked for!)
I only feel confident wearing about half of the pieces. From this trip the winners are definitely the black top worn above, the striped linen pants, and the patterned two piece. I love wearing the orange fit the most!
The solution probably lies within getting a new seamstress. Someone that specializes in modern designs.
But the plan is to bring some of them to a tailor to fit them more comfortably, and gift the ones that aren’t my style..