The best fashion and gift stores Senegal

Cotton clothes, bags, cushions, sculptures and jams, this fair trade shop is worth a visit for its many handicraft products, made by the villagers of Ndem, 120 km east of Dakar. In order to improve their living environment, they have organized themselves into an NGO which groups together a total of 16 surrounding villages. This shop is one of their showcases to make their products known. Maam Samba also offers comfortable guest rooms and has a restaurant with simple and authentic cuisine. A good address.

Rama Diaw is a fashion designer who has been spotted on the Senegalese and international scene. She has participated in several European shows (Labo Ethnic in Paris, Festival landshut in Germany, Fashion-Week in Vienna), and opened this show-room, where you can find little wonders. Clothes (mainly for women), bags, shoes and accessories, Senegalese fashion is revisited with taste and elegance by this passionate Saint-Louisienne. Don't hesitate to take a look around, there are really beautiful items in this fashionable and chic shop!

Located in the Lodge Hotel in Almadies, the Florence de la Peschardiere CRÉATION or BIJOU PASSION store is a little paradise of wonder. Readers of Le Petit Futé are warmly welcomed to discover the creations of handmade jewelry in natural materials. Ethnic or classic jewelry. From lapis lazuli to terra cotta, amber to amazonite, the designer offers a unique encounter of material and jewel, seductive in its originality and elegance.

At the corner of Avenue Lamine-Guèye and Avenue Emile-Badiane. The most famous market of Dakar, the most touristic one too. You can find fruits, vegetables, pearls, fabric... All around, it is the Ali Baba's cave. Shopkeepers offer everything you can imagine, and more: cameras, electronic devices, all kinds of imported products most of the time and at low prices. Agitation, animation, smells inside the meat and fish department, Sandaga leaves no sense asleep. Be careful, you have to know how to negotiate.

The best bookstore in Dakar! A maze of culture that reveals its secrets along its shelves. There's no need to be in a hurry when you visit this generalist bookshop, which is basically very comprehensive. You come for one thing, you leave with another. What's more, the organisation is professional and the welcome is very pleasant. Another even more spacious premises in the Ouakam district, where dedications, meetings with authors, exhibitions and conferences are regularly organised. To be discovered.

On Rue Assane Ndoye, this little store with its black-and-white facade is a paradise for dressing children. Colorful clothes, with their trademark finish (right down to the dolls' hair, carefully braided by Delphyne and the store's braiders), will dress your newborns and young children. Hélène, the ever-available owner, also sells plush toys, African dolls and handbags. Some woven adult clothes are also on sale. Quality guaranteed!

Maï Diop, creator of the Tësss brand, heads up this showroom workshop. You'll find locally produced fabrics in the Mandjak tradition, including loincloths, cushions, bags and table runners. Tësss aims to rediscover the forgotten motifs of traditional loincloths, still appreciated today. Maï Diop, with the help of her craftsmen, also creates made-to-measure fabrics for her customers. A stone's throw from the boutique is the weavers' workshop, where you can appreciate their delicate work on an imposing loom.

Mourad, a Moroccan stylist who used to work for Maison Singer, has opened his own small boutique where he creates unique and beautiful pieces. Here, everything is handmade until the last finishing touches. There are jackets, loincloths, coats and bags, among other items. In addition to Mourad's creations, the store has a plethora of high quality sub-Saharan fabrics, making it even more difficult to choose. Custom-made clothes can also be made.

Diapalante is a vocational training and integration centre for young people in difficulty, mainly in the environmental and sustainable development professions. In order to generate income to finance its activities, a solidarity shop has been set up with a strong emphasis on local craftsmanship. Paintings, jewelry, batik fabrics, lamps and other decorative objects, you will have a choice of quality. The centre also offers two guest rooms, in a bioclimatic building, which offer basic but pleasant comfort.

Born in 1984, the Centre d'Etudes Recherche-Action pour le Développement de la zone Soudano-Sahélienne (CERADS) is a French NGO helping the development of populations through local initiatives. The association thus had the idea of transforming typha, an invasive plant from the Senegal River, into papyrus according to the traditional Egyptian method. These leaves are then painted by artists, becoming real works of art. The low-concentration soda used in the papyrus manufacturing process is recycled into soaps and soaps.

Already as a child, Meïssa Fall, when he helped his father in his work as a bicycle repairman, imagined sculptures with bicycle parts. He took up the torch by opening his own repair shop, while adding his own touch of creativity. Here bicycle parts get a second life and take on the appearance of characters, musical instruments or animals. Unique works of art for which he was elected best artist designer in Saint-Louis in 2017. Take a look at his workshop, you'll be surprised by his imagination!

In addition to the construction of wells and a mill in the area, the Spanish association Bassari also helped to create this workshop, at the entrance of the Tako Mayo camp. Here, about 20 girls, aged 14 to 25, are trained in sewing. You will be able to appreciate their work on the spot and leave with one of their creations, the welcome is also very warm! Batik fabrics are also sold there. They come from another workshop set up by the association in Dindéfello where about ten young girls are trained.

A jeweller like his father, who passed on the trade to him, Ameth Thiam has travelled a lot and his creations are affected by it. You will find in his small shop, located in front of the Ambush, earrings of Tuareg origin, Mauritanian bracelets, pocket knives in warthog horn or silver filigree rings. Come in at least to have a look, his creations are worth the detour. If you stay in town for a few days, you can also order custom-made jewellery. Very friendly welcome.

It is here, at the entrance to the Cape Verde peninsula, that the Studio Wudé brand has established its workshop. Created by Cécile and Mbor Ndiaye in 2008, it offers high quality fashion accessories in leather and textile "made in Senegal". As West Africa has a tradition of leather working, the designer is inspired by different African know-how. She also exploits other materials such as wax, which are mixed with leather, for remarkable results. Stop by the workshop to appreciate the skilful work of the craftsmen and discuss with the designer.

Next to the famous Saint-Louis butcher shop, the small boutique of Mamadou, an adopted Saint-Louisian, offers a range of souvenirs to take home: sand paintings, batik fabrics, Senegalese clothing and leather sandals. He also sells beautiful bogolans, traditional Malian loincloths, which can be used as quilts or bedspreads. If you like a fabric and want a custom-made garment, Mamadou can put you in touch with one of his tailor friends, who will make your outfit in no time, for a small fee.

Gilles has returned to his first love, his bookstore with a wealth of rare books, second-hand novels of Western literature, African sculptures, newspapers from the end of the last century, limited edition postcards and books on African culture. One comes to stroll, perhaps to find the rare pearl, in this cultural place which also hosts exhibitions. And if you go even further, in the inner courtyard, you'll discover singular wrought-iron sculptures, works by Meïssa Fall. A place not to be missed!

Quality shopping centre offering you services as varied as a supermarket, a bookshop, a restaurant, an art gallery, a clothing store, a pharmacy and parapharmacy, a hairdresser, an eyewear optician, a real estate development agency, a children's playground, etc. It is also home to the Eden center, a health and beauty care establishment. The place is ideal for your hair care, anti-wrinkle, hammam, scrubs, massages, hair removal, manicure, facials, shiatsu... The staff is pleasant and qualified.

Known as Princesse des Arts, Feurimata Diouf is a versatile artist who is also a stylist, model-maker, seamstress, visual artist and decorator. You'll find her in her little gallery, near the Chez Poulo restaurant, where she's sure to be whipping up some pretty wax outfits. Bring your own fabric - you won't be disappointed! You'll also find some of her works at fixed prices, such as portraits of women, painted masks and coaster paintings.

Clothes, gifts for birth and other souvenirs for the small, this is what you will find at Les Petit Peas Est Rouge. The models are chewable and finishing, flawless. Cherry on the cake: The customization of the pieces with the first name of the child. From sarouel to bath sortie with a touch of coloured wax. On order only.

Africa Batik is barely east of the roundabout Jean Paul II. Here, Mamadou Chérif Diallo sells clothes, paintings, fabrics and accessories and offers the possibility to understand the technique of making the batik. Workshops in the day around 15 000 FCFA, including equipment.