How to order an abaya from a reference photograph

Two routes: one of our designs, or your own picture

Before sending a photo from elsewhere, it is worth a look through our abaya designs. Each one has a design code, comes with a matching scarf and can be made in nida, crepe or chiffon, with hand, machine or mixed embroidery, in sizes S to XL or to your own measurements. The images there are labelled as design previews rather than photographs of finished pieces, which is worth remembering when you judge the details. If one is close to your photo, choosing it and asking for a change or two is often the quickest path.

If nothing there matches, use Send Your Design and attach your own picture. You can also mix the two: pick a collection design for the shape and send a photo of the sleeve or embroidery you would rather have. Tell us clearly which parts come from which image.

What we look for in your photograph

When a reference photo arrives, we read it in roughly this order, because each point affects the next.

• Silhouette: is it straight, A-line, a wide butterfly shape or a kimono cut with the sleeve and body in one? This decides how the fabric is laid out and how much is needed.
• Front opening: closed, fully open over an inner layer, or a wrap held by a belt or tie. Open styles change what you wear underneath.
• Sleeves: set-in or cut in one with the body, narrow or flared, and how the cuff is finished.
• Length and hem: where the hem falls on the model, and whether it is level, curved or longer at the back.
• Embroidery: where it sits, how dense it looks, and whether it looks like hand work, machine work, zari, beadwork or sequins.
• Fabric behaviour: whether it hangs heavily, floats, shines or is slightly sheer in the light.

What a photograph cannot tell us

Photos are good at showing shape and poor at showing almost everything else. Colour shifts with lighting, editing and your screen, so the shade you see may not be the shade of the cloth, and colours can look slightly different between our photos and the finished piece too. A styled shoot may hide clips at the back that pull a loose abaya in. The model may be much taller than you, which makes a hem look longer than it is. And there is rarely a clear view of the back, the lining or the inside finish.

That is why we never promise an exact replica of a photograph. The fabric in the picture may not be available, a heavily edited image may show drape no real cloth gives, and a design from a large brand is theirs, not ours to copy line for line. What we make follows the fabric, construction, measurements and design details written in your quote. If you want to judge a photo yourself first, the article on recreating a dress from a picture goes through the same reading process for any garment.

Questions we are likely to ask you

Expect a short exchange before your quote. Answering these in your first message saves a round of emails.

• What do you usually wear underneath: a long dress, trousers and a top, or something lighter?
• Which shoes will you wear with it most, and how far above the floor do you want the hem?
• Do you like a roomy, relaxed shape or something a little closer to the body?
• Should the sleeve stop at the wrist bone or reach further over the hand?
• Is the embroidery in the photo the part you love most, or would you be happy with a lighter version?
• Do you need a scarf, inner dress or trousers with it? For our collection designs the scarf is included; for other custom abayas these are quoted only if you ask.

How the picture becomes a written quote

Once we understand the design, your written quote sets it all down: the silhouette, sleeves, length, opening, fabric, embroidery and its placement, your measurements, the total cost, and delivery to your address with any import duties, taxes and customs or courier fees already included, so there is nothing to pay when the parcel arrives. Read it with your photo beside you. This is the moment to change anything, because the design approval step is what we cut from.

When you approve the quote and pay in full by bank transfer, Wise or a card payment link, we make your abaya in 5 to 7 working days. Courier transit is extra and depends on where you live, whether that is Dubai, London or anywhere else we deliver. If you cancel before cutting starts, you are refunded minus any fabric already bought for your order; once cutting has started, the order can no longer be cancelled.