Skip to content
The Gilded Seam: Custom Women’s Stitching

Delivered to the Netherlands

Custom Clothing Delivered to the Netherlands

If you live in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague or Utrecht and want a shalwar kameez, kurta or co-ord that actually fits, The Gilded Seam makes women’s clothing to your own measurements in Pakistan and ships it to your address in the Netherlands. There is no shop or studio here: you order online, agree every detail in writing, and choose whether we supply the fabric or you send your own. This page covers what is specific to ordering from the Netherlands, from sending fabric and EU import charges to Dutch sizing and a climate that rarely makes up its mind.

  • Made in Pakistan, shipped to the Netherlands
  • Minimum order: one suit
  • Quote in EUR, USD or GBP
A folded navy block-print cotton kurta on an ivory sheet with earrings and fabric flowersInspiration

Quick answers

Ordering from the Netherlands

The questions customers ask before their first order, answered for your country.

What can I order?

Made-to-measure women’s clothing, cut and stitched to your own measurements. That covers three-piece and two-piece shalwar kameez, kurtas and kameez, co-ords, Eid outfits, casual party wear and Western pieces such as dresses, skirts, tops and trousers. For everyday Dutch life, a straight kurta or a co-ord cut with room to cycle is a practical choice, so tell us if you ride a bike in your clothes.

Can I order just one suit?

Yes. Our minimum order is one suit, made to your agreed measurements and design. There are no free samples, so the fabric, cut and finishing are agreed through your photos, notes and written quote before anything is made. A single suit for Eid, delivered to one address in the Netherlands, is a perfectly normal order.

Can you provide the fabric?

Yes. With Fabric + Stitching, we supply the agreed fabric and make the outfit for you. Tell us the colours, weight and feel you want, perhaps a mid-weight cotton that copes with Dutch drizzle, and the fabric is confirmed in your quote. Nothing then has to be sent from the Netherlands: the only parcel is your finished outfit.

Can I send my own fabric?

Yes, subject to fabric suitability and sufficient quantity. This is our Stitching Only service, and sending your fabric from the Netherlands to Pakistan and receiving the finished garment are two separate shipping stages. Please contact us to confirm the fabric, the quantity and the arrangements before you send anything, then use a tracked international service with an accurate customs declaration.

How do I submit my measurements?

Enter them on the quote form, in centimetres or inches. Centimetres suit a Dutch tape measure, though inches are accepted too. If you are tall, as so many people in the Netherlands are, your own sleeve, kameez and trouser lengths matter far more than an EU size such as 38 or 40.

How are the design and fit agreed?

In writing, before any cutting starts. We confirm the design details and your measurements with you in writing, and nothing is cut until you have agreed them. There are no in-person appointments or try-ons in the Netherlands, so photos of a kameez that already fits you well, and notes such as whether you cycle in it, are genuinely useful.

Where is the clothing made?

Our garments are made in Pakistan and shipped internationally. We have no shop, studio or workroom anywhere in the Netherlands; everything is arranged online, and your finished outfit is shipped to your address.

How are production time and shipping costs confirmed?

Both are confirmed in your written quote. Production time and the cost of shipping to the Netherlands depend on the garments, the service option and the delivery method, so we set them out for your order rather than publishing a standard figure. If you are planning for Eid or another date, mention it when you ask for a quote.

Who handles import charges?

We do. Your written quote includes delivery to your address in the Netherlands and any import duties, taxes and customs fees, so there is nothing extra to pay when your parcel arrives. The Netherlands is in the EU, where VAT (btw) applies to all imported goods and a new temporary flat customs duty applies to low-value parcels from outside the EU, and both are covered in your quote.

How do I request a quote?

Use the Request a Custom Quote form at /quote; if you start from this page, the Netherlands is already selected as your country. Add your city, the garment, quantity, service option, measurements, design images and notes, and we reply with a written quote. Your full delivery address is only needed once the order goes ahead.

Two ways to order

Our fabric, or yours

Both are made to your measurements. The minimum order is one suit, and we don’t offer free samples.

  • Fabric + Stitching

    We supply the agreed fabric and make your outfit to your measurements. One parcel: the finished outfit shipped to you.

    • Fabric agreed with you before cutting
    • Minimum order one suit
    • No need to send anything
  • Stitching Only

    You supply suitable fabric, such as an unstitched suit, and we cut, stitch and finish it.

    • Two shipping stages: your fabric to us in Pakistan, then the outfit to you
    • Confirm suitability and quantity before sending
    • Minimum order one suit

Sending fabric from the Netherlands for Stitching Only

Amsterdam’s Albert Cuyp market in De Pijp has stalls selling fabric by the metre, and an unstitched three-piece from a Pakistani brand, bought on a family trip or ordered online, works just as well. Both are what our unstitched suit stitching service is for.

Before you post anything, send us daylight photos of each piece so we can confirm the fabric is suitable and that there is enough of it for your design; our guide to photographing fabric for a quote shows what helps. Once the arrangements are agreed, send it to Pakistan by a tracked international service and describe the contents accurately on the customs declaration. How to post your fabric for stitching walks through the paperwork.

That is the first of two shipping stages. Your finished outfit travels to you as a separate international shipment, and that is the parcel that goes through Dutch customs; its delivery and import charges are already included in your quote. If you would rather skip the first stage entirely, choose Fabric + Stitching and we supply the fabric.

Delivery to the Netherlands and EU import charges

Your outfit is shipped from Pakistan to your address. Production time, the delivery method and the shipping cost are all confirmed in your written quote before you approve anything.

Because the parcel comes from outside the EU, EU import rules apply. Since 1 July 2021 all goods imported into the EU are subject to VAT, and it is paid either through the seller’s registration in the EU’s IOSS scheme or when the parcel is imported, as the European Commission’s guidance on low-value consignments explains. From 1 July 2026, the EU also applies a temporary customs duty of €3 for each category of goods on low-value consignments (up to €150) from outside the EU, until 1 July 2028, and the previous €150 duty exemption has been abolished; see the Commission’s announcement and the Council’s decision.

In the Netherlands, imports are handled by Dutch Customs, the Douane, and VAT goes by its Dutch name, btw. 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 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. Our guide to ordering from Europe covers the same rules across the EU.

Dutch sizes, height and the words you will see

Dutch shops use continental EU sizes, so a 38 or 40 on a label is not a UK size, and it says nothing about the length of your arms. The Netherlands also has some of the tallest people in the world, which is exactly why off-the-peg kameez lengths and sleeves so often fall short. Measure yourself in centimetres with the size guide and our measuring guide, and give us the lengths you actually want. UK, EU and US dress sizes for a kameez explains why a label is never enough.

In Dutch, clothing made to measure is maatkleding or kleding op maat, and a seamstress is a naaister. Whether you write salwar kameez or shalwar kameez, it is the same outfit: a kameez, trousers and usually a dupatta.

Rain, wind and a bike to ride

The Dutch climate is mild, damp and windy all year, rarely very hot and rarely very cold. Mid-weight cambric, linen and cotton blends earn their keep for most of it, lawn covers the warmer weeks, and a lined kameez helps from autumn to spring. Our winter fabrics guide compares the warmer options.

If you cycle, say so in your notes. Side slits high enough to get on the bike, a kameez length that does not catch on the saddle and straight trousers that stay clear of the chain all make a difference, and darker or printed fabrics forgive splashes from wet cycle lanes far better than pale plain ones.

Ordering works the same way anywhere in the country, and Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht have their own guides; Eindhoven or a village in Friesland is no different. Neighbouring Belgium has its own page, and the Europe overview covers other destinations. When you are ready, request a quote.

FAQ

More questions from the Netherlands

Measuring guide: how to measure. The whole process: how ordering works.

Do you have a shop or studio in Amsterdam?

No. We have no shop, studio or measuring service in Amsterdam or anywhere else in the Netherlands. Everything is ordered online, made in Pakistan to the measurements you send, and delivered to your address.

Can I just give you my Dutch size?

Please send measurements instead. Dutch labels use the continental EU scale, and brands vary, so a size cannot tell us your sleeve length or where a kameez should fall. Measure in centimetres using the size guide and enter the numbers on the quote form.

Can you make a kameez I can cycle in?

Yes. Tell us you cycle and we suggest straight or cigarette trousers, or a shalwar with a narrower hem, plus side slits at a height that lets you ride comfortably. The design is agreed with you in writing before cutting.

Softly wrinkled white cotton fabric in natural light

Ready when you are

Made to measure, delivered to the Netherlands

Tell us the garment, the service option and your city in the Netherlands, and add a photo if you have one. We reply with a written quote in euros, US dollars or pounds, whichever you choose, including delivery and import charges.

No commitment until you approve your written quote.