Custom Clothing Delivered to Belgium

Delivery to Belgium: TVA or btw, customs duty and courier fees

Your outfit is shipped from Pakistan to your address in Belgium, and production time, the delivery method and its cost are set out in your written quote before you approve anything. Because the parcel comes from outside the EU, it is cleared by Belgian customs: the Customs and Excise administration of the FPS Finance, known in French as Douane et Accises and in Dutch as Douane en Accijnzen.

The European Commission explains that since 1 July 2021 all goods imported into the EU are subject to VAT, which in Belgium is TVA in French and btw in Dutch; it is paid either through the seller’s registration in the EU’s Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) or when the parcel is imported. From 1 July 2026 the EU also applies a temporary €3 customs duty for each category of goods on low-value consignments worth up to €150 from outside the EU, until 1 July 2028, and the previous €150 duty exemption has been abolished, as the Council of the EU confirmed. The courier that clears the parcel may add a handling fee of its own.

That is what applies to any parcel from outside the EU, and with us it is already included: your quote covers delivery to your address plus any TVA or btw, customs duty and courier handling fees, so there is nothing extra to pay when your parcel arrives. If a courier ever asks you for payment on delivery, contact us before paying anything. The Europe overview and our guide to ordering from Europe cover the same rules across the EU.

French, Dutch and the sizes on Belgian labels

Belgium runs on two main languages, Dutch in Flanders and French in Wallonia, with Brussels officially bilingual and German spoken in a small area in the east, so people look for this kind of service in both. In French, made to measure is sur mesure, a dressmaker is a couturière, and a kurta is often sold as a tunique; in Dutch, it is kleding op maat, made by a naaister or a kleermaker. The outfit itself is still a shalwar kameez, or salwar kameez, whichever spelling you grew up with: a kameez, trousers and usually a dupatta.

Belgian shops usually label women’s clothes on the French numbering, so a 38 in Brussels can be a size away from a 38 in a Dutch or German shop just over the border, and neither is a UK size. That is why we never work from a label. Measure yourself in centimetres with the size guide and our measuring guide; if your tape is in inches, that works too. Our comparison of UK, EU and US dress sizes explains why labels mislead.

From the European Quarter to the Ardennes

Ordering works the same way anywhere in Belgium. Our Brussels guide covers office wear for the European Quarter and dressing for evening receptions, Antwerp and Ghent have guides of their own, and the same process applies in Liège, Leuven or Charleroi.

The Belgian climate is mild, grey and often wet, with summers that are warm rather than hot and damp winters that turn colder and snowier in the Ardennes. Mid-weight cambric, linen and cotton blends cover most of the year, a lined kameez or a khaddar suit helps through the winter months, and lawn is for the warmer weeks. Our winter fabrics guide compares the warmer options.

For Eid, start early and tell us your date, particularly with Stitching Only, where your fabric travels to Pakistan before the finished outfit travels to you; the Eid outfit timeline helps you plan. Neighbouring France and the Netherlands have their own pages, and when you are ready you can request a quote for Belgium.

Abayas and kaftans for Antwerp, Brussels and Liège

Abayas are made to measure for every part of Belgium, from Antwerp and Brussels to Liège, Ghent and Charleroi. Choose one of our abaya designs, which come with a matching scarf, or send a photo of your own style, then pick nida, crepe or chiffon and any colour. In French it is une abaya and in Dutch een abaya, and the measurements you send are the same in both.

Kaftans are cut to your measurements from a photo or one of our designs; how to measure kaftan width explains the number people most often miss. We also make maxi and evening dresses, from a floor-length dress for an evening reception to a long-sleeved maxi for a family wedding, with the fabric, lining and embroidery agreed in writing first.