Re: Tips for Designer Bridal Wear
Great tips Maham - thanks so much for this! Question - are there certain designers that you really liked while you were shopping? I'm assuming you shopped in Lahore? (taking things like service, good value for money, their designs, satisfaction with the end result etc into account)
:)
Yes i shopped in lahore and i do have my favorite designers but i wl tell you something, there's a diff between a designers work you find the best and a designer you find the best to buy from :) Lol, if you know what i mean. Like I really like Nilofer Shahid's stuff, not all but most i can relate to BUT she's darn expensive so i havent ever bought anything from her. I still remember about 5-6 years ago i really liked this one shalwar kameez she had with velvet kaam done on it and i wanted that so badly but it was for 85k so i didnt buy it esp since i was in my teens then and it would have been stupid to buy something that expensive and heavy which i wudnt have used even a single time more. And this time again, while shopping for my 2nd brother's bride NS was a stop we made and i fell in love with 2 of her bridals but nobody else in the family liked it inluding the bride as they thought it was too multi color and too bold in color and funkiness for them but its something i would have pickd for my bridal. That's why my mom's already pareshan and says that she better keep enough money aside for my funky bridal, lol.
**Mehdi **is a good designer and the best thing about him is that he doesnt copy anyone and has quite a distinct style of his own. He's also very nice with us since we have been his regular customer too BUT yes be careful with order time with him. He can be lazy so give him enough time and if you really want a magical bridal from him and you have an open budget then he wl do wonders for you :).
Kamiyar Rokni is also quite creative but i think he wl take some time to market himself more and perhaps venture out more. He is not a people's person, he is like a true artist. He is someone whose work i totally can relate to, he's bold, funky and creative and that's how i like my clothes to be.
These three designers along with Sehyr Saigol, whose work i havent seen personally but only in mags and luvd it, are the ones i have shortlisted for myself once i need to do bridal shopping :)
But i should definately mention Karma here for trousseau wear and now even you can pick stuff from their store karma pink and its quite affordable too. I wouldnt pick karma for my bridal because i dont find their work very unique, maybe i own too much of karma outfits now and have known them so well to actually find something unique about their work. But def their bridals are in the better price ranges compared to the other designers.
Zara Shahjehan, I liked one of her bridals alot last year. It was in ivory n golds with magents contrast on the lengha. I believe it was her best creations cuz she wore the same on her wedding too.
Lajwanti's work is bead and embellishment based, it wudnt hurt to chk them out either but i am not sure if they would have alot of stuff u had like. Last time i was there i did like a lengha which was in hot pink but it was the only piece that was better otherwise nothing striking at all.
HSY. He's also quite expensive and honestly from what i have heard from around his service isnt good either so i dont know. What i noticed was that one of their work would quote u 5lakhs and next time some other person wud say 3lakhs and that really ticks you off. I think he needs a manager there to properly handle his orders. I was never a hsy fan cuz his work is very traditional in terms of embrioderys. But last time i went there which was last dec i did like 1-2 pieces bt those were his most creatively challenging pieces and a normal bride cant wear them lol. They were tricky outfits to wear and not the normal lengha or bridal.
Khadija Shah, Elan. I would def recommend her stuff for the dialy party wear. A bride should have 5 of those atleast which she can wear when she goes out for lunch or something cuz now u cant wear totally done up clothes all the time.
I would add on more later................and get to rest of the questions in 5 mins :)
hope it helps all the lovely brides :).