Our plainest abaya and the one we make most, in a soft matte crepe that hangs straight and does not come out of the taxi creased. Long sleeve, no cuff, one seam either side and nothing else going on. Give us your height when you order and the hem is cut to it before it leaves the shop. Black and stone are always on the rail; the other colours come and go with whatever the mill has run.
R780.00Choose a size
Washed linen off the same mill we have used for six years, cut loose through the body with a full button front so you can wear it open over trousers or closed on its own. It softens every time it is washed and it is the one thing customers come back for in January. Linen creases. That is what linen does, and we are not going to iron it out of the description.
R1 150.00Choose a size
An open-front abaya with a deep sleeve, made up in the heavier crepe so it holds its line while you walk instead of wrapping around you. Good over trousers on a work day and good over anything on an Eid morning. No fastening at all, which people either love or bring straight back — try it on before you decide, and there is a press stud we can put in for nothing if you want one.
R980.00Choose a size
Wide through the leg on a proper covered elastic waist, in the same crepe as the abayas so the two sit right together and do not fight each other for shine. We hem these in the shop, so tell us whether you wear a flat shoe or a heel and we will cut for the one you actually wear. They wash at thirty and hang dry in an hour.
R520.00Choose a size
A long tunic that finishes below the knee, split at both sides so it moves with a wide trouser rather than sitting on it. It is what we put in front of anyone who wants to start dressing modestly without replacing a whole cupboard in one Saturday. Comes in the crepe and, when we have the roll, in the linen — say which in the order note.
R590.00Choose a size
Six panels of washed linen, floor length, flat across the front and softly gathered at the back so it never pulls across the hip when you sit. It is cut deliberately long and shortened to your height before you take it home. Pockets are set into the side seams, deep enough for a phone, and they are the reason most people buy a second one.
R640.00Choose a size
Our wedding-season abaya in a satin-back crepe, with tonal cording worked along the cuff and down the front edge by hand. The cording is the slow part and it is most of what you are paying for — two of us on it for the better part of a day. Allow a week if you need it for a date, three days if we are only changing the length. Bring the shoes to the fitting.
R2 150.00Choose a size
A long-sleeved jersey dress you pull on and go, knitted thick enough that it does not cling and does not need anything under it. It is the cheapest thing to look after on this page: cold wash, hang flat, no iron. Most people end up with two, usually one black and one stone, and we sell more of these in June than everything else put together.
R720.00Choose a size
The crepe comes off a mill in Ladysmith and the washed linen through a wholesaler four blocks up Mint Road. We buy both by the roll and cut everything in the room behind the shop, on one table, so what you are looking at was made about six metres from where you are standing. Nothing leaves here at a standard length. Tell us your height when you order and the hem is cut to it before the garment goes in the bag. If something you already own is wrong, bring it in — alterations take three days, and there is nothing to pay for a hem on anything we made.
Shop 4, 14 Mint Road, Fordsburg. Tuesday to Saturday, 09h00 to 17h00. Send your height and your usual length to 071 486 3320 on WhatsApp and we will tell you what to order.
