Hey everyone!
I’m back after a month of shopping in Khi. The purpose was to prepare for my wedding. It was a huge task and I’m not completely finished but luckily I’ve got an awesome cousin in KHi who’ll wrap things up.
Here are a few tips taht may help future shoppers:
Everything is VERY expensive. Example- an 80 gram raw silk shalwar is 1000 rps so go figure what the minmum would be for a semiformal.
Tailors in Khi are extremely over priced. My tailor in Bahadrabad charges Rps 700 for a simple suit. An outfit with a bit of designng is between 1200 and 1500. That’s insane, IMO.
It’s rare that you’ll find a vendor who will completete your order on the date promissed. Therefore allow extra time for everything.
Best place for semi-formals- Bareeze
Best place for artificial jewellery-
Silver Trends, Bahadrabad
Gulf
Zamzama
Park Towers
Shoes- shockingly, I didn’t find one place that carried decent shoes.
Clutches-
Bareeze
A shop in Dollman mall, main floor, a few shops away from tha Lakhani store, had good quality crystal clutches. I ended up getting my bridal clutch from there.
Gold Jewellers I visited-
Chotanis at Forum- amazing jewellery, one of a kind pieces. Very pricey.
Tanishq at Gulf- average designs, nothing special
Naurattan at Tariq Road- Nice traditional designs, bridal sets were 20 toals and up—I didn’t know that people still wore such heavy sets!
Real jewellers at Tariq Road- nice contemporary designs
AK Motiwala at Tariq Road- I got 2 sets from there. They do have some nice designs but most of their stuff is pretty ordinary. They said they work with difference karigars and specific designs belong to specific karigars. Some pieces did stand out. My sets were customized and I was very pleased with the result. We started off with one set and then broke it into 2 so that I can get more wear out of them. I’ll be wearing them together on the wedding day for a fuller look but they can be used separately. I got separate pair of earrings for the second set. The first is a choker with emeralds, rubies, and pink tourmalines. The second is very large pendant with emeralds and amathysts, hanging from 5 strings of multi-coloured tourmalines.
Hussain Sons, Tariq Road- biought 2 karas from here. We dealt with Bilal, such a professional guy and went above and beyond for us. Would advise everyone to pay him a visit.
That’s all for now…will get back to you guys regarding clothes
Sorry if I sound stupid, I got these questions in my mind, as I am also planning to go to Karachi for shopping.
Please mention the price range of formal clothes, wedding clothes, shoes, bags, clutches etc. needed for the preparation of wedding.
Also mention names of shopping malls in karachi with good variety and shops and affordable stuff which others can visit.
Can we get good non-designer clothes (especially wedding lehengas) so that these are within our budget? Which shopping malls/ shops offer good non-designer dresses?
Please also mention the latest trends in bridal lehengas?
Also what styles did you get your formal clothes stitched? Did you make many formal clothes as loose trousers (as these are in fashion these days)? Do you think this fashion will continue for the next year or so (as we usually have loads of clothes stitched for the bride).
Mahi, when I got there I saw so many awesome things that I forgot about that formal or anything else I had saved on my computer for YEARS. I had a booklet of 200 designs I had seen on the internet but to my own surprise, I only referred to it once or twice. So the lesson I learned is that it's good to do research over the internet to find your likes and dislikes but go to Paksitan with an open mind. I went to a few designer outlets i.e. Nickie Nina, Asifa and Nabeel, Aiesha Varsey and PFDC in Park Towers but nothing blew me away.
With regards to the bridal outfit...I had planned to visit several different designers and then make my decision. When I got to Khi my cousin told me about a gharara that she had seen at a boutique at Tariq Road called Samson's. Her immediate family has been going to them for bridals and formals for the past 6 years. She explained the kaam and convinced me to give it consideration. When I saw the kaam I was blown away. I didn’t expect to find something that neat and eye-catching at TR. I had found what I was looking for and looked no further. Here is a brief explanation of what it looks like-
Fabric- Shirt and dupatta are chiffon, the gharara is jamavaar
Cut- Long shirt with a farshi gharara, elbow length sleeves
Colours- Shirt and dupatta are double-layered chiffon, deep red over cherry pink...ends up looking like e rich red with a hint of pink. I was trying to go for the colour of pomegranate seeds. The finishings are in sea green and cherry pink.
Kaam Placement- Heavy border on dupatta with motifs, booti, chun. Heavy work on sleeves and daaman. Motifs, booti and chun on the front of the shirt. 1.5 inch border on round neckline, front and back. Gharara has 2 different jamavaars, top has small motifs embossed in the fabric and will have booti chun. 2 inch border on the 'goat'. The bottom is jamavaar with medium sized motifs. Kaam is filled in the motifs.
If I was to compare it to a designer’s work I’d say that the cut and placement of the kaam is like Bunto and the kaam itself looks closest to Rouge and Aiesha Varsey work.
Please advise the price of the gharara u found on TR. It will give us a rough idea... after all many of us would like to go for non-designer dresses according to our budget...
Mahi, when I got there I saw so many awesome things that I forgot about that formal or anything else I had saved on my computer for YEARS. I had a booklet of 200 designs I had seen on the internet but to my own surprise, I only referred to it once or twice. So the lesson I learned is that it's good to do research over the internet to find your likes and dislikes but go to Paksitan with an open mind. I went to a few designer outlets i.e. Nickie Nina, Asifa and Nabeel, Aiesha Varsey and PFDC in Park Towers but nothing blew me away.
With regards to the bridal outfit...I had planned to visit several different designers and then make my decision. When I got to Khi my cousin told me about a gharara that she had seen at a boutique at Tariq Road called Samson's. Her immediate family has been going to them for bridals and formals for the past 6 years. She explained the kaam and convinced me to give it consideration. When I saw the kaam I was blown away. I didn’t expect to find something that neat and eye-catching at TR. I had found what I was looking for and looked no further. Here is a brief explanation of what it looks like-
Fabric- Shirt and dupatta are chiffon, the gharara is jamavaar
Cut- Long shirt with a farshi gharara, elbow length sleeves
Colours- Shirt and dupatta are double-layered chiffon, deep red over cherry pink...ends up looking like e rich red with a hint of pink. I was trying to go for the colour of pomegranate seeds. The finishings are in sea green and cherry pink.
Kaam Placement- Heavy border on dupatta with motifs, booti, chun. Heavy work on sleeves and daaman. Motifs, booti and chun on the front of the shirt. 1.5 inch border on round neckline, front and back. Gharara has 2 different jamavaars, top has small motifs embossed in the fabric and will have booti chun. 2 inch border on the 'goat'. The bottom is jamavaar with medium sized motifs. Kaam is filled in the motifs.
If I was to compare it to a designer’s work I’d say that the cut and placement of the kaam is like Bunto and the kaam itself looks closest to Rouge and Aiesha Varsey work.
everything sounds amazing naqsa! and I totally agree with you about forgetting all the pictures you save....when I went to Pakistan, the things and vendors I chose just caught my eye or impressed me rather than being the result of long thought planning.
Thanks everyone! I'A, I'll post a few pictures after the wedding.
Yes Mahi, that's the one.
Ashy the price will vary depepndng on the amount and quality of the kaam. From what I noticed, boutiques start at about Rps 70,000 for bridal wear. If a vendor has known you for years, you are likely to get a better deal (which is what happened in my case).
With regards to formals... I got about 7 or 8. Some were from Jabeens. I'm getting kaam done from Kehkashan on the remaining. I got about 15-20 semi-formals...mainly from Bareeze, T&M, and NI. The price range was Rps. 10,000 to 30,000.
That sounds amazing, Naqsa! A great find and thanks for the recommendations. I LOVE that color to -- I've always wanted that color in a formal. Sounds lovely.
Best wishes for your wedding and a happy marriage!
Thanks ladies! I almost gave up on that colour. I went to at least 10 banarsi stores in Tariq Road, Clifton, Zamzama but didn't find the right shade. They'd show me jamavaar for up to 1500 rps per yard, look at my face and say, you don't like it??? Then I'd explain the exact shade and I was always told that I'd be extremely lucky if I found it becasue it cannot be dyed. It can only be found in a double-shaded fabric. I almost went to a banarsi karkhana to find the right shade. Then one day we went to Samson's and I was looking at sample chiffon fabrics and suddenly remembered that it will be double layered so I started putting shades of red and pink together until I came up with the colour. The jamavaar was dyed based on that. It's a little bit darker than the chiffon but I like the variation. It makes the outfit more interesting. We contemplated putting cherry pink jamavaar below the 'goat' but I was so afraid of it ending up like a 'golla gunda' so I chose to stick with red. I did add cherry pink and sea green as accent colours.
