Custom Clothing Delivered to France

Delivery to France: TVA, customs duty and la douane

Your outfit is shipped from Pakistan to your address in France, and the delivery method and its cost are set out in your written quote. Because the parcel comes from outside the EU, it passes through French customs, la douane (the Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects, or DGDDI), and EU import rules apply.

The European Commission explains that since 1 July 2021 all goods imported into the EU are subject to VAT, known in France as TVA; 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 parcels 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, 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 sizes, centimetres and the words you might search for

French labels run on their own scale: a French 38 is not a UK size, and it is not the same as a German 38 either, so a size tells us very little about how a kameez should sit on you. Measure in centimetres with the size guide and our measuring guide; if your tape is in inches, that works too. Our dress size comparison explains why labels mislead.

In French, made to measure is sur mesure and a dressmaker is a couturière, so people looking for this kind of service in France often search for couture sur mesure or a tenue pakistanaise sur mesure. A kurta is usually sold in French shops as a tunique, while the full outfit may be called a salwar kameez, a shalwar kameez, or simply a tenue pakistanaise or tenue indienne.

From Paris to Marseille: climate, work and Eid

France’s weather varies more than you might expect. Paris and the north have grey, damp winters and summers that can turn properly hot, so a cambric or linen kameez covers most of the year, with khaddar from November (winter fabrics compared). Around the Mediterranean, in Marseille and Nice, summers are long and hot, and loose lawn and cotton do the work (summer outfits for hot weather). Strasbourg and the east have colder winters, closer to Germany’s.

Parisian work dressing tends to be pared back: a few well-cut pieces in quiet colours. A knee-length kurta with slim cigarette trousers, or a plain co-ord, fits in easily, and Western dresses, skirts, tops and trousers can be made to measure too.

We have guides for Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille, and ordering works in the same way from Toulouse, Strasbourg or anywhere else in France. For Eid, start early and tell us your date, because Stitching Only means your fabric travelling to Pakistan and your outfit travelling to France; the Eid outfit timeline helps you plan. Neighbouring Belgium and Germany have their own pages, and when you are ready you can request a quote for France.