Notes from a plus-size atelier in Istanbul

Four new wool-touch coats lead our autumn–winter range, next to wool-blend, trench and leather-look styles in plus sizes from 44 up to 58. Here is what is new, what each coat family is for, and how boutiques order them from Istanbul.

Latin America's plus-size demand is real and badly served. This guide walks a Spanish-speaking boutique through buying directly from an Istanbul manufacturer — in Spanish, from the first click to the carton at your door.

Turkish fashion already sells in Casablanca, Algiers, Tunis and Cairo. This guide explains how a boutique in the Maghreb or Egypt buys plus-size directly from the manufacturer — in Arabic or French, with the right documents and a realistic timeline.

Not every boutique buys 44⁠–⁠60. Our small-sizes section covers 34⁠–⁠44 with the same viscose basics, sold in full size sets — and from 50 pieces of one style the price starts to drop.

Istanbul is one of the largest garment wholesale hubs in the world, and three names come up in every buyer's first search: Laleli, Osmanbey and Merter. Here is what each district is for, how a trip actually runs, what goes wrong for plus-size buyers — and how the same goods reach you without a plane ticket.

Two suppliers can show you the same photo of the same dress at very different prices — and neither is lying. The difference is their place in the chain. Here is what a manufacturer, a wholesaler, an agent and an export trader actually do, what each changes for your store, and how to find out which one is on the other end of the WhatsApp.

Two buyers can both say "modest" and mean garments that would not sell in each other's shops. Neckline, sleeve, hem, opacity, ease, slits and layering are all measurable — and the moment they are written down, the sample comes back right the first time. Here is the vocabulary, the numbers we use, and a brief you can copy.

The catalogue is the visible part. Behind it is a production house that has patterned, cut and sewn womenswear in Istanbul since 1998. This is a plain statement of what it can make for you, on what terms.

Importing clothing from Turkey is a sequence of eight decisions, most of them made before any money moves. This guide walks a first-time buyer through them in order, from choosing a supplier to the day the boxes arrive.

Sizes 44 to 62 are the least well served demand in the French and Belgian market. Here is how to source directly from Turkey rather than through an intermediary.

Istanbul is two to five road days from most Balkan capitals. This guide covers the paperwork, the pricing logic and the tactics that keep small boutique orders moving.

Turkey and China solve different problems for a boutique. This comparison sets out where each one wins, with the scenarios where China is the better answer stated honestly.

Autumn/winter is the highest-value buying decision a boutique makes: higher unit costs, a narrower window, and less room for fit error. What to prioritise, when to order, and how deep to go on sizes.

Occasionwear gets the attention, but co-ords and daily wear are what most plus-size boutiques actually live on. Why the category turns fastest — and how to buy it so that speed becomes margin.

Strong, year-round demand for modest silhouettes in sizes most European brands stop making — and a supplier three flight-hours away. How to build a Gulf assortment from Istanbul, step by step.

Turkey sits inside a customs union with the EU and a short road corridor from Central Europe — which changes the arithmetic of importing. What that means in practice for a German, Austrian, Dutch or French boutique.

"Hi, price?" gets you a slow answer or none. A message with model codes, quantities and a destination city gets you a proforma the same day. Here is the difference, written out.

Two buyers order the same dress. In Riyadh it sells out; in Lagos it sits. The difference is rarely the design — it is sleeve length, hem length, fabric weight and colour. Here are the specifics.

"Can you make it with my label?" has three completely different answers, with MOQs ranging from a handful of pieces to several hundred. Here is which level you need, what it costs and how long it takes.

The proforma is not a receipt, the 70/30 split is not a favour, and the amount your supplier receives is not always the amount you sent. Here is how wholesale payment actually works.

Most boutiques lose more money to being out of stock on winners than to buying losers. Here is a simple reorder system built around sell-through, lead time and a repeating order rhythm.

The same $2,800 order can land at $25 a piece in Santiago and $29 in Mexico City. On this lane the freight is the easy part — the duty rates, registrations and labelling rules are what decide your margin.

Four routes leave Istanbul for Moscow, Almaty and Tashkent, and they differ by weeks and by dollars per kilo. Here is how to choose, what customs will want, and how to calculate real landed cost.

A Turkish supplier quotes you "$16, 6-piece seri." That is not a price for one dress — and misreading it is how buyers accidentally order three times what they planned. Here is the whole logic.

Occasionwear carries the best margins in a plus-size boutique and the highest risk of dead stock. This guide covers what sells where, how deep to buy by size, and how to time the order.

Most buyers of Turkish wholesale never meet their supplier. This guide shows exactly what to ask, which answers signal a real manufacturer, and the payment checks that matter most.

In wholesale you pay before you touch the goods. This checklist shows what to inspect in photos, which numbers to request on WhatsApp, and how to run a fast incoming inspection when the cartons arrive.

Everything a first-time buyer needs to know before ordering plus-size fashion from Istanbul — sizes 34⁠–⁠60, size sets, minimum orders, payment by proforma invoice and shipping options, explained step by step.

Turkish size 50 is not a guess — it is a defined set of body measurements. Here is the full 34⁠–⁠60 conversion to EU, UK and US, plus the ease, tolerance and size-curve logic that keeps your returns low.

The difference between a profitable order and a stuck one is rarely the supplier — it is the 80 kg carton sitting at Murtala Muhammed while your paperwork catches up. Here is what Istanbul to Lagos really costs, takes and requires.

$1,000 is enough to open a plus-size boutique properly — if you spend it on six models with depth instead of thirty models with one piece each. Here is the arithmetic, the mix and the four-week plan.

A $14 dress is not a $14 dress once it lands in Lagos or Mexico City. Here are realistic 2026 wholesale price bands from Istanbul, the cost drivers behind them, and how to calculate your true landed cost before you commit.