Services

Shipping and delivery

Every order is packed by hand in Bukhara, wrapped in tissue and sent in a strong padded envelope or a box. Gift wrapping is free: leave a note at checkout and we will choose something suitable for the person receiving it.

When your order is dispatched

  • Ready-made pieces — suzani, cushion covers, poufs, ready-to-ship robes, and fabric in stock: dispatched within 24 hours of payment on working days.
  • Custom-size cushion covers and table runners — sewn to the size you give us: dispatched within 2–3 business days.
  • Made-to-order clothing — kaftans, dresses, jackets, trousers and sets, cut and sewn to your measurements by our atelier in Tashkent: dispatched within 18–25 days.

How it travels

Parcels are sent by Uzbekiston Pochtasi, the national postal service of Uzbekistan, as tracked airmail, and are handed to your own postal service for the last part of the journey. Typical transit time after dispatch:

  • USA — 9 to 18 working days
  • Europe and the United Kingdom — 8 to 16 working days
  • Rest of the world — 10 to 20 working days

These are estimates rather than guarantees; customs inspection can add time. Your tracking number is emailed to you as soon as the parcel is scanned.

If you would prefer a courier (DHL or FedEx) or need a delivery date, write to us before paying and we will quote the rate.

Duties and taxes

Import duty, VAT and customs charges raised by your own country are payable by you and are not included in our prices. We declare every parcel accurately and cannot mark an order as a gift or understate its value.

Returns and exchanges

We want you to be pleased with what arrives. You may return an item within 30 days of the purchase date for an exchange or a refund of the merchandise value.

How to return something

  1. Email contact@alesouk.com with your order number and the reason. We reply within one working day with the return address in Uzbekistan.
  2. Send the piece back unused, unwashed and uncut, in the condition it reached you, with the original receipt or gift receipt. Return postage is paid by the customer — please use a tracked service, as we cannot refund a parcel that does not arrive.
  3. Once it reaches us and has been checked, we refund within 7 days to the method you paid with, in the same currency and at the same exchange rate as your original order. There is no restocking or handling fee.

What cannot be returned

  • Fabric that has been cut to length. Our fabrics are cut to order from a longer piece, so a cut length cannot be resold or returned. Whole, uncut pieces and ready-made items can be returned in the normal way. If you are unsure about a colour, ask us for extra photographs before you order — we are happy to send them.
  • Cushion covers, table runners and other pieces sewn to a custom size.
  • Personalised or monogrammed items.
  • Clothing made to your own measurements. Each garment is cut and sewn for one customer by our atelier, so it cannot be resold. Tell us your measurements carefully, and ask us before ordering if you are between sizes.

Handwoven cloth is not factory cloth

Our ikats are woven on wooden looms and our suzanis are embroidered by hand. Small irregularities belong to that process and are described on every listing: motif edges that feather where the warp shifted, a hairline of colour variation along the length, a selvedge that is not perfectly straight, knots on the reverse of an embroidery. These are the marks of handwork, not faults, and they are the reason return postage sits with the customer rather than with us. Vintage suzanis are sold as described, with any wear stated in the listing.

If your parcel arrives damaged

Email us within 3 days of delivery with photographs of the outer packaging and of the item. We will replace the piece or refund it in full, including the postage you paid.

Customers in the EU and the United Kingdom

Nothing on this page limits your statutory rights, including the 14-day right to cancel a distance purchase of non-customised goods.

Payment

Prices are shown in US dollars. At checkout you can pay by:

  • PayPal — sign in and pay from your balance, bank account or card.
  • Visa and Mastercard, credit or debit — processed securely by PayPal. No card details are held on our site.
  • Bank transfer — for designers, shops, retailers, decorators and returning customers placing larger or repeat orders. Write to contact@alesouk.com and we will send an invoice with the account details. Orders are held for 24 hours pending proof of payment.

Working with us on a project or buying to resell? Tell us what you need at contact@alesouk.com — we cut longer lengths, hold cloth from the same dyelot, and quote for trade quantities.

Availability

Every piece is handmade and many are one of a kind, so stock is limited and is not always in step to the minute. If something you have paid for turns out to be unavailable, we tell you within 24 hours and refund in full or offer you an alternative.

Last updated: September 2026. Alesouk, Bukhara, Uzbekistan.