How expensive is your Eid garment?

- April 15, 2024

Hi Y'all

I hope you are all doing great. Eid came and went, and I am still trying to recuperate from that day.

Eid Mubarak by the way.

Boubou and matching scarf - Sinniature

Shoes - Sandaga market

Jumkha - old from Pune

Bracelet - gift

This year, I will not do an Eid best looks. Instead, I might delect you with tales surrounding Eid outfits. For those who do not know, after fasting for a month, Muslims all over the world celebrate Eid El Fitr. It is the first day we will start eating three times a day after fasting for a month. This day is a day of celebration. It usually begins with a prayer at the Mosque and then ends with feast to be shared with family and friends. For this event, it is recommended to have new clothes. Therefore, Muslims all around the world always try and get their Eid outfit ready even before Ramadan.

That is the case for Senegal as well. We are still a country that rely heavily on tailors. We (almost) all have our outfits custom made. Many women (and men) will spend hours checking pages (on Pinterest) for a trendy and Eid suitable outfit, screenshot the garment, show it to the tailor to ask him to reproduce it to a T. They will also spend hours in the market looking for the trendiest and best fabrics. Senegalese women tend to go for Bazin, which is a high cotton thread fabric essentially made in Europe in several colors. I find the fabric to be stiff but it is a symbol of wealth. The fabric comes in different quality and the highest of them can cost up to 10.000 FCFA (16€ or $17) a yard or more. Then, the other trendy fabric this year is brocade, which prices can vary from 4000 FCF to 10.000 FCA the yard. Men are no different, although most of them would have their wives do the work for them. It is also recommended in Islam to gift something to your spouse for Eid so couples often gift each other their Eid outfits.

The cost of having a tailor make your outfits can range from 4000 FCFA to double or triple that depending on your tailors. If you have one that is working in a small box at the market, prices might be cheap. But if you seek the highly popular designer/tailor, then your outfit is going to cost you a liver and more. Eid outfits have taken such an important space in our lives ever since the rise of social media. It has upped the anti. Now it becomes imperative to post your outfit on social media for the world to see and gawk at. People even have photo shoots in their living rooms or in fancy hotels before posting them. With the ease of aquiring shooting materials such as ring lights and tripods, it is getting easier and easier. Therefore it is a pleasure to sit at the end of the day on Eid and look at thousand of pictures people posted. Some even go so far as to rate them.

For all of these reasons, having an outfit made for Eid is becoming more and more expensive. I made a survey on Twitter and Instagram to have an idea of how much people would spend on their Eid outfits. And many responded that they would probably spend 50.000 FCFA and up. I was shocked. The outfit I plan on wearing for Eid cost me 10.000 FCFA. It is a mixed of two fabrics, one that was gifted to me for Christmas and another bought from the market. I made the design back in december 2023 and asked my tailor to make the Boubou for me and my Aunt who was visiting at the time. It might be too simple compared to the outfits I may see on Eid day, but I was never looking into ostentatious style for Eid. I am alwas super busy on that day, cleaning the house and serving food to our guests. I like to wear something I am at ease with. Plus, in recent years it has been unbearably hot so I like to wear something breezy as well. Last year, I wore a tie dyed maxi dress I bought on sale from a local designer. And I was really comfortable except for the fact that the dress was super long.

But to return to our subject, people do spend a lot of money on Eid outfits. I am not here to judge. My problem is that with social media, it seems tailors and designers have also increased their prices. During Ramadan, many local designers were posting their designs on social media, trying to get customers to purchase them. But the prices you see are unbelievable: 100K CFA for a dress that is not even in Bazin? I guess I am not their target. I support local designers, because I am one myself. I know the time and effort it takes to make a garment and sell it. But prices have to make sense to me. Moreover, most of the time, when the Eid outfit is too ostentatious, I would not wear it twice. Therefore it ends up sleeping in my closet for years until I decide to donate it. Sometimes, if I am lucky I would wear it for a wedding or naming ceremony. But wear such an expensive outfit only twice is what I call money wasted.

I also had Henna done on my hands and feet

To each his own, but for me, we should not spend an undecent amount of money on Eid outfit. Or at least I am not planning to. Ever since I have started paying for my own Eid outfits, I think the most I have spent cost less than 50.000 FCFA. It is not to say that I have never paid more than that for a garment meant for a celebration or a party. I have, most recently last October. However, my experience has shown that the more expensive the garment, the less I wear it. Therefore, I prefer to invest in garment that cost less and have more wears on them, garment that represent me and are comfortable and easy to wear and style. What about you?

Here are my Eid Outfits over the years: