[Maro] Trip to the tailor
on M&S Diary (Sierra Leone), 03/Jan/2007 12:26, 34 days ago
I had my first trip to the tailor last week– a regular activity for many Freetown women; indeed I am amazed by just how many outfits my friends and colleagues have. I don’t think I have ever seen Marie – my boss at SWAASL – wear the same thing twice. The same goes for hair. Every Monday morning sees a new array of plaits, extensions,styles and colours. I feel like a right scruff in comparison.I think in an attempt to smarten me up, Auntie Pat brought several metres of yellow-gold fabric back from a trip to the Gambia a few months ago. I was instructed that this was to be made into an African style skirt and top for me and a matching shirt for Simon. My mission was to find a tailor since Pat didn’t know any, having only returned to Salone recently after a decade away.This should have been an easy task given that you can’t walk a hundred yards in Freetown without passing a small shack in which one or two sewing machines are whirring against a backdrop of brightly outfits. The problem is that everyone recommends someone different. In the end I let my most glamorous colleague, Linda – the vivacious secretary at VSO – take me to a tailor she uses round the corner from the office. There I was presented with a pile of posters each of which showed dozens of subtle variations on the classic skirt and top design worn by African women all over the continent. After much discussion and deliberation I picked a picture. The tailor then measured me and we agreed a price.Needless to say the outfit I picked up on Monday bore no resemblance to the design had so carefully selected. But I like it anyway. My next challenge is to get Simon to go and get fitted for a matching shirt!