Eid is always a time we looked forward to growing up in my home and neighborhood. I lived in a Muslim dominated neighborhood and we lived in peace and harmony most of the time so Ileya was a time when we'd have new clothes made for us and we'd get our hair cut so we'd look nice. It was also a time when we'd be given money and nice things. I had grown up with this mindset and it had always worked well for me.

Last Ramadan, when I had recently been married and my first child had just turned 1, I remember my wife reminding me to collect our new Ileya clothes from the local tailor who we had contracted to make the clothes over three weeks ago. We went to get it but it was always last minute and when we brought it home, the outfits for my wife and myself were too short and my son’s clothes were too tight! This was a few days before Eid.

I tried to get it fixed but the tailors were swamped and there was no time. I was almost at a point of panicking and when I told my wife, I could hear her voice start to crack over the phone like she had started crying, thinking my siblings and their wives would give her funny looks at our awkward outfits.
In a frenzied state, I went online to see if I could find a remedy to this terrible situation. I googled Ileya Outfits and the EthnikCity.com site came up, curious and downright desperate at this point, I clicked on the link and I can honestly say I have never made a wiser decision in my life. The site was everything I needed and more.

They provide tailoring services for traditional attires and even ready to wear if you wanted one on the go. This was heaven for me at this point. I browsed through their gallery of really unique designs and picked a design and fabrics for my family. I uploaded our measurements and made payment. I was a bit skeptical about them but after doing a little research on social media, I was put to rest after seeing accolades from happy customers. They have a 7-10 working days maximum delivery date within Lagos, this was good.

Then I had a fresh idea and I thought to myself: "Perhaps I could buy a few ready to wear outfits for the less privileged people in the spirit of Ramadan."
I shared the idea with my wife and she said: "Who says that's a bad idea? If the people are poor and can't afford it, we should do that. It's why you have to say 'Alhamdulillah' - 'thanks to God' - for having the means and finding this great platform." I also wondered why we don't give the old ones to the needy instead of throwing them away. And so we ordered quite a number of outfits for males, females and children in different sizes.

Anyways, we received our outfits the day before Eid at our home in Anthony and they were perfect fits! Well packaged and delivered by courteous individuals. My wife did not feel ashamed but she felt very proud as we stepped out as a family in the best attires.
I am grateful to Allah for this platform and from now on EthnikCity is my go to for tailoring and ready to wear traditional outfits.