I just went to the tailor's for the first time to get a grand bou bou (formal Senegalese outfit) made. The experience was so intense, I had to share it.
Deep in the market place of my town lives a building with 10 small rooms, each with 5-6 tailors feverishly working with loud sewing machines, only half of which are electric machines. Each machine rumbles and knocks loudly, each room blares different music blasted through broken tape players, and everyone tries to shout above this noise to "communicate." To top it off, the air is foggy with the smoke of burning plastic and overused machines.
Thousands of piles of fabric are stacked high on the shelves. Scraps of this same fabric make a comfy lining of tissue on the tiled floors.
My sister and I head to the back room to visit our tailor, Pappa Sek. After rapidly speaking to negotiate a fair price, I point to a picture of what I want my outfit to look like, and he takes less than 5 measurements before finished.
These tailors work their magic without any solid patterns or sewing plans. I watched a guy free handedly embroider the most gorgeous flowers on a woman's complet. Before busting out a tape measure, my tailor had me sized up and had enough information in his memory to custom build a formal outfit for me.
Price: It cost about 1,500cfa/meter of fabric and 5,000cfa for the tailor to build it. That totals about $25 in conversion.
WWU costume shop, I love you ladies, but you seriousy got nothin' on these guys. Sorry.
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Byron Yee
Peace Corps Trainee - Senegal, 2009
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