Re: My personal experience with Xenab's atelier =)
H CO, thanks hun, I'm not giving up hope just yet (only cuz i'm a stubborn moo) but deep down i think i know its lost. Yaar, part of me wishes i'd gone with the pricey delivery option but i really couldnt justify anybody having to pay out £80 for postage :(
No it was a "band wala" collar, without a zip, the neck hole was just a bit to tight.
Yep Stoppit, you were right but the other options were wayyyyyy to pricey, so i took the cheaper option and lost out
The whole post thing is a complete nightmare, I know alot of people do use Royal mail to send stuff successfully back to pakistan but in my case it just wasnt meant to be :(
Re: My personal experience with Xenab's atelier =)
Xenab, the tracking number was on the receipt i sent you but the parcel is only tracked until it leaves England. According to the tracking number, the parcel left the UK, arrived in pakistan and is out for delivery. At the moment they cant give me any further information until i fill out the missing parcel form. Its just a complete nightmare, i have no outfit for the wedding i am attending and god only knows if i'll even get my money back :(
Re: My personal experience with Xenab's atelier =)
Was it insured brummie??..how stupid to just track an item until it leaves the country (or RM just covering their own backs here). I can't believe ..or maybe I can...that you can't check on it's progress in Pakland.
Don't lose hope dear...you never know.It may surface somewhere...wish you had just posted it to Xenab while she was still here..:(
Re: My personal experience with Xenab’s atelier =)
hey everyone, i have not been on here for a while but thought i’d let you all know about my experience with xenab so far…i have actually ordered a total of 5 outfits from her in the last few months. the stitching has been lovely and the kaam is beautiful BUT i have had so many mistakes with my outfits though, for example my first two outfits which i needed for a event in july arrived after the event and therefore i did not get to wear them and they were very expensive too! i had asked for a churidar pyjama with one and wide legged trousers with the other but both trousers were Capri trousers which is a big no no for me! so i contacted xenab and she was extremely apologetic for the mistake and the fact that the outfits were late too and agreed to rectify the mistake by making me new trousers and sending them with the further three outfits i had ordered from her.
Ok so the next three outfits arrived in time and they had a few mistakes with them again! for example again i had asked for churidar pyjama with one outfit and got wide legged trousers and two outfits i had asked that there is no collar put on the galla and yes you guessed it i got collars on the galla(these two outfits were for my sister who is exremely picky but we agreed to leave it be so that she could wear the outfits for the event we needed them for). with these three outfits i recieved my two extra trousers that xenab had sent to me for the original two outfits i needed in July, the trousers were completely the wrong colour and were of cheap material too.
I again contacted xenab to inform her of the further mistakes and again she apologised and assured me that the issue would be rectified if i sent the trousers back at my own cost which i really wasnt prepared to do given that so many mistakes had been made with my outfits previously. so she agreed to make me new trousers again and would send them in time for the event i required, i have emailed her since this date and recieved no response so i have given up on this issue.
So in summary xenab is a very nice person and i have nothing against her at all, but i do feel that if she paid closer attention to what the customer has requested then the mistakes would not have been made. i now have two very expensive outfits with two pairs of trousers for each outfit which are completely wrong and i am currently being ignored by xenab
Re: My personal experience with Xenab's atelier =)
brummie bird i hope you manage to sort your issue out too, i can understand the disappointment you are experiencing especially after having paid so much xx
Re: My personal experience with Xenab's atelier =)
brummie bird i hope you manage to sort your issue out too, i can understand the disappointment you are experiencing especially after having paid so much xx
I was thinking about ordering from Xenab too.....
the problem....there isn;t much room for error with foreign orders....its not like we we are in the same town and if ther is a mistake you easily go and rectify.......we definitely need these designers but PLEASE try to pay close attention to orders because shipping is extremely costly.......i was told the same thing.....ship to them at my cost and they will ship back corrected with Brand New Order.....
does Xenab have a order form.....in which details are there for :
measurement details
and details like type of bottoms...
these could avoid alot of mistakes...I hope the designers cross check with these order forms before dispatching orders......
I have had same problem with a designer/vendor whom I have ordered numerous times in the last year......the last order there were some major measurement mistakes....outfits were lovely but they don't fit....mine were too small (and I didn't gain weight) and my daughter were too big....managed to sell most of them but it is frustrating when the designers doesn't respond even though it was their mistake and they know......because of this reason I had to try to sell stuff thru paklinks....and it is not easy to sell anything online......
Re: My personal experience with Xenab's atelier =)
I'm so sorry to hear about your experience Hina, it really is so depressing when you finally get the outfits in your hand and they arent what you expected or in your case not what you ordered either :(
I dont think there is a hope in hell that my outfit is going to ever get to Xenab. The postage costs for returning outfits to pakistan via reliable couriers like DHl are absolutely sky high but using the cheaper option isnt any better either. To be honest as foreign buyers of outfits are hands are pretty much tied if the outfit dont fit. I've ordered loads of stuff via our HB girls and this is the first time i've been in this predicament and to be honest it aint a nice feeling but i havent got any solutions to the problem either :(
keep us posted Hina.
Re: My personal experience with Xenab’s atelier =)
off topic, once I was naive, put a 50 Euro note in a eid card for some kids in pakistan, and posted it, the card reached the people but without the note… never again.
I did have a postive experience, I once sent proto a kameez, that reached her, i didn’t even even register it.. so it can work but its risky.
Re: My personal experience with Xenab’s atelier =)
@brummiebird…was it possible to get this problem fixed with a local seamstress? it seems that it is really very risky to mail anything to pakistan especially since it was a dress of some value…I have heard of lots of horror stories of stuff being looted thru pakistan postal service…
whenever I have had issues with dresses mostly measurementwise I have sold those dresses at cost or below my cost…but mailing it back seems like the most riskist thing to do…
HB or otherwise please kindly send some good quality pics before dispatching dresses to avoid potential problems…sending dresses back for alteration is costly for both parties.
@hina_afzal…if you didn’t get the bottoms of your choice…my suggestion was to sell to that dress and inform the designers…again HB designer please pay extra attention to these things bc mailing back and forth is not a great choice
Re: My personal experience with Xenab's atelier =)
hey all, not been on here for a while but reading the comments, it looks like you guys have not had a good time!
Brummiebird - any news on your parcel?
I had ordered two outfits, both were for events in July. Zainab had brought one with her when she came over for her exhibition in London and she posted it
out to me which i got just in time for the wedding i wanted to wear for. The other dress wasnt ready and could not be posted from karachi due to the situation
in karachi at that time.
The dress was exactly how i wanted it. The colour was exactly what i had asked for. It was really nice.
Xenab did ring me whilst she was over here to apologize for the delay and she called when she got back to pakistan.
The second outfit she said hadn't come out right so she was starting that one again, but i told her i'd rather she take her time and get it perfect than to rush it and it come out not nice.
That was beautiful when i recieved it and i wore it on Eid. Had loads of compliments. I could definatley see a difference between the two suits. This one was soo much neater and refined. She had put litte crochet flowers hanging off the edges of the dupatta which was soo much nicer than just having the usual banarsi pattis they put on the edges of everything. And fitting was perfect.
Both my outfits i am happy with, they are far nicer than any other HB designers that i have ordered from, the only problem is the time it takes from ordering to recieving the outfits. Zainab is very nice to talk to and very nice to deal with. Very professional. She let me know of all the delays and at what stage they were at, but she is super busy now, that it takes around 3 months for a suit to be made.
I would order from her again because i like her style of clothes and the kaam and fabric is very nice.
Just a suggestion - maybe before the clothes get posted out abroad, i think it might be helpful if Zainab mailed the reciever and confirmed what each outfit consists of. Just a quick description. That way if there is a mistake, it can get rectified before posting and save both parties alot of headache. It might mean adding an extra couple of days to the order but think its worth it.
Re: My personal experience with Xenab's atelier =)
^ That is awesome... wish I had a similar experience, but unfortunately the two dresses that I got from Zainab were anything but beautiful. Well, actually to be fair, one of them was okay, but the second one was literally unwearable.
The first dress was a velvet pishwaaz, with kaam around the neckline, back, and daamun... Fitting is alright, the color is what we had asked for, the quality of the kaam is anything but good... not to mention the fact that the pants and dupatta are of not only two different colors but of extremely poor quality as well!
The second dress was supposed to be a copy of the Manish Malhotra dress that Shilpa Shetty wore (long white gown with the blue velvet patti - if anyone remembers) with a few changes... anyway, as far as this particular outfit is concerned, we pretty much had to chuck it out because it couldn't be worn in the state that it came in (horrible fitting, poor-quality material, horrible kaam... there wasn't a single good thing about this dress to make us want to keep or wear it).
Like someone said, Zainab seems like a reallly nice person... and she was fairly quick in responding to my emails (though I must say that our order arrived waaay after the promised date) but I wish she paid a little more attention to the details and tried to follow the instructions/details a little more carefully.
I personally wouldn't order from her again, but I wish her all the very best!
Re: My personal experience with Xenab's atelier =)
hey all, not been on here for a while but reading the comments, it looks like you guys have not had a good time!
Brummiebird - any news on your parcel?
I had ordered two outfits, both were for events in July. Zainab had brought one with her when she came over for her exhibition in London and she posted it
out to me which i got just in time for the wedding i wanted to wear for. The other dress wasnt ready and could not be posted from karachi due to the situation
in karachi at that time.
The dress was exactly how i wanted it. The colour was exactly what i had asked for. It was really nice.
Xenab did ring me whilst she was over here to apologize for the delay and she called when she got back to pakistan.
The second outfit she said hadn't come out right so she was starting that one again, but i told her i'd rather she take her time and get it perfect than to rush it and it come out not nice.
That was beautiful when i recieved it and i wore it on Eid. Had loads of compliments. I could definatley see a difference between the two suits. This one was soo much neater and refined. She had put litte crochet flowers hanging off the edges of the dupatta which was soo much nicer than just having the usual banarsi pattis they put on the edges of everything. And fitting was perfect.
Both my outfits i am happy with, they are far nicer than any other HB designers that i have ordered from, the only problem is the time it takes from ordering to recieving the outfits. Zainab is very nice to talk to and very nice to deal with. Very professional. She let me know of all the delays and at what stage they were at, but she is super busy now, that it takes around 3 months for a suit to be made.
I would order from her again because i like her style of clothes and the kaam and fabric is very nice.
Just a suggestion - maybe before the clothes get posted out abroad, i think it might be helpful if Zainab mailed the reciever and confirmed what each outfit consists of. Just a quick description. That way if there is a mistake, it can get rectified before posting and save both parties alot of headache. It might mean adding an extra couple of days to the order but think its worth it.
Re: My personal experience with Xenab’s atelier =)
@smart girl: I’ve started giving photoupdates to clients, sending them a photo of the outfit before I send it. That way if someone has an issue somewhere I can rectify it on time, I hope that helps
@Afsoon : I wont make any excuses there, the second outfit did come out bad, but in my defence the situation in Karachi is crazy and it was my mistake that I took the order on a short notice as well. I would like to remake that outfit for you if you like, an offer I gave to you when you e-mailed me about the outfit as well. It was that outfit that actually inspired me to create the lime green outfit I wore on the London exhibition:
However the dupatta and trousers were both of pure camel carte chiffon and pure dull silk respectively, and thats what I’ve been using for all clients without complaint. I had also mentioned that the color of the silk will never match the color of the velvet as it were two different fabrics altogether, and that was also just before sending your outfits if you remember, where I was willing to change it to another color beforehand, and you changed it to royal blue against purple when I asked you if we could avoid that as well. As for the quality of the embroidery, if I know what you are expecting, I will definitely work towards making that sort of embroidery for you:) Sometimes clients do have issues with the quality of embroidery as well, and it is because they’re expecting style of embroidery may above the price range offered, but again that was my fault for not communicating what to expect out of a certain price range as well. I do hope that this issue would not come up with another client in the future. A photo of the embroidery closeup of Afsoon’s purple outfit has been added here:
I always look for ways to increase the quality of work coming out of my workshop, and if you can tell me what you are expecting, I can always make our work better. I had a client a few months ago who did not like the pearls I was using on my medium range outfits, where I did tell her that the pearls used in the higher range are better, which they are. However she still did not like them even after purchasing a high end outfit, but it didn’t stop me from trying to procure better pearls. I know the fabrics I use are the best in the market as well, but I have had at least two complaints in this thread alone on the material of the trousers as well, which is 80grms dull silk, which I chose over raw silk 80gms as it doesn’t tear if you wear skinny fitted trousers. As buyers, I would request you to let me know which fabrics are most preferred and I will change from what I am using currently to what you think is better. It not only makes us better, but secures your money spent on our outfits.
@brummiebird : Dont worry about the shipment, I’m making another piece for you. You’ve spent enough money on this outfit and it wont be fair if you have nothing in your hands. If we’re lucky and the situation here can be a little more comfortable, we might make it in time for your event Inshallah!
Re: My personal experience with Xenab's atelier =)
I don't think $300/outfit is a small amount of money... and I honestly don't think that the quality of the outfits or the workmanship reflected the amount that was wired to you.
Like I said in my first post, you seems like a nice person and I am sure you have tons of clients who are extremely satisfied with your level of work, but unfortunately my experience with you was anything but great.
(P.s. The lime-green dress sure looks nice, but you have to admit that the one you sent me was a COMPLETE disaster!)
Re: My personal experience with Xenab’s atelier =)
hey everyone, just to follow on from my previous post, xenab has now been in touch regarding my trousers, the reason she did not respond was because she was closed for a couple of weeks for the eid holidays . she has now remade the trousers for me and sent me a pics of them and they seem a lot better then the origianl two pairs i have recieved. so should recieve them soon (fingers crossed)
@Hidayah thank you for your suggestion. However i did not want to sell the outfits because firstly they were both quite expensive and secondly the kameez and duppatta for both outfits are beautiful and i really want to wear them! so hopefully now that my trousers are ont he way i may get to wear them for some other event.
Hope everthying works out for the rest of you who have had problems too
Re: My personal experience with Xenab's atelier =)
Hi, sorry not been on for a while, just had a round of flu!
pac cola - if u pm me i can mail u pics.
thats good that xenab is trying to sort out the issues above. this is what makes customers go back. good customer service.
I think the other problem that we have here, is that our knowledge (or mine) is not upto scratch on materials, what might be an expensive fabric might look cheap to me, because it rips easily etc, its more delicate. and what might be a cheaper fabric i think is better because its more durable.
I think it would be good if we had a thread, listing all the different types of fabric and grades eg: 80grams dull silk.. with a little description.
Might make it a bit more clearer what we are ordering then.
Re: My personal experience with Xenab's atelier =)
HI Guys,
just thought i'd give a quick update of my whole suit drama. As you may recall i ordered an outfit from Xenab last year, She bought the suit over with her when she came to London for her exhibition in June (i think it was june), the outfit didnt fit me as the neckline of the and the chrudhaar pyjama were too tight. I sent the outfit back to her in July via Royal mail. The outfit left the UK but never reached Xenab in pakistan. She kindly offered to redo the outfit and send me it across. I thought that was exceptional customer service as I'm sure this isnt the norm. I actually kinda felt a bit guilty about it her making me a completely new outfit (yeah, i'm a bit soft, what can i say!), i sent my measurements through again just to make double sure and didnt really harrass her about it too much. She sent me a message at eid time to say the outfit was ready but the duputta needed doing. Again, i just went with the flow. The shadee i originally needed the outfit for was long gone so it didnt make a difference when i got it. Didnt hear anything for ages until i sent another message asking how it was going ( honestly guys i did feel like a bit of a dheet doing this) but my outfit finally arrived 2 weeks ago!
The fitting of the shirt is lovely but unfortunately the churidhaar is still tight but i'll get it fixed from my local tailor here.
The suit is really gorgeous and i'm sure my experience is just a one off, I'm not here to slate Xenab at all and i'm sure she'll admit herself that the whole process could have gone alot sm,oother but at the end of the day I've ended up with a really lovely suit, its taken a while but she did try and resolve the proble so Kudos to her. Wouild i order from her again? to be honest i probably would:)
will post up pics soon
Re: My personal experience with Xenab's atelier =)
Hey guys ,
i'm currently in the process of 'designing' my barat outfit with Xenab and so far she has been so amazing, so helpful and spent a lot of time making personalised sketched for me (as i am so fussy :P ) . I was actually set to go with a different designer but then i met Xenab and her professional approach gave me the confidence to trust her .... Although we are still in the early stages i will keep you guys posted with how it goes which i'm already confident will be amazing inshallah!
Re: My personal experience with Xenab's atelier =)
you can add me to the list too :)
its a pleasant experience and bridals are arrghhh to sort out but the kind of patience i have seen in xenab's attitude calms me down a lot!
woot woots to her and her team :)
i wis i had the money to cover my entire trousseau with her but still pondering on how much money id have to spend =| .. anyways .. so far ... amazing!
. she has now remade the trousers for me and sent me a pics of them and they seem a lot better then the origianl two pairs i have recieved. so should recieve them soon (fingers crossed)