Classic Shopping

Last week I went with my NRI guest to a private fashion designer to see her new range of private collection. She had suits, kurtis and saris, all artistically embroidered with colorful stones, crystals and gold/silver cords and lace. The workmanship was quite neat, so was her price. Each suit was not less than seven grand and some as high as twenty to thirty grand. She showed us the collection of about ten different items, of which my guest bought one sari, one suit and one embroidered blouse. She spent total of forty-five grand.

This week I went with another NRI guest for shopping. We went to Palliadium, the new mall at Pheonix mills at Parel. The mall reeks of luxury, shiny floors and sparkling windows. But where are the shoppers? This is the new mall which will house branded fashion designers. Should I quote the price? Ah! I entered one store and liked one sari but after seeing the price tag, I decided I don’t like it. I would never be able to afford two hundred grand for a sari/suit which I would not have an occasion to wear more than once. Who has spoilt our Indian market? Blame it on NRI’s. Only women with Dollars/Euros will be able to afford such luxury. But wait a minute; I did see few Indians too. They went into the stores, studied the designs and I presumed that they were the fashion designers who would clone these designs and sell it at cheaper price from their private garage.

In Mumbai, there are many such women who work from home. All they need is good tailors, good collection of fashion catalogues, a nice camera to capture the designs when the salesman is not watching and few friends who can spread the word around for them. My friend tells me that latest trends can be copied from popular TV serials. But, to my knowledge, all the clothes that are worn by actors in TV serials are freely available in those common markets at Santa Cruz, Bandra, Breach Candy and Dadar.

But real trendy and latest designs can only be found in designer studios or in private homes.

This week we went to many designer studios and my guest splurges at every store and spends ninety grand in one day! Her shopping included just one sari, few suits, footwear, and two branded purses. Wow!

I blessed my stars for not having such expensive taste. Actually, expensive stuff doesn’t suit me.

I just wear a smile.