Designer Ethnic Wear, Made to Measure
Bridal, the wedding week, Navratri, Diwali, men and children — every piece designed for one person, cut to one body, and embroidered by hand in our own studio.
Designer ethnic wear, at this studio, means one thing: a garment designed and made for you and for nobody else. Not a label on a rack, not a standard block altered to fit. One designer, one room on Old Padra Road, hand embroidery done at frames in that room, and not a single piece made twice since the studio opened in 2014.
This page is a map of what is made here and for whom. Each line below has its own page, written in full.
Bridal
The house line. Bridal lehengas cut to measure and hand-embroidered over four weeks at most — zardozi, gota patti, aari, mirror and thread — and, for a Gujarati wedding, the panetar worn for the pheras and the gharchola worn after. Two hundred to six hundred hours of hand work in a bridal piece.
Bridal lehengas, in full Panetar & gharchola Custom bridal wear — how ordering works
The wedding week
Almost nobody who comes here is dressing one person for one day. Each occasion asks something different of a garment — a mehendi outfit has to work without hands, a haldi outfit has to survive turmeric, a sangeet outfit has to be danced in, a reception outfit has to hold its shape through two hundred photographs — and each has its own page, for the bride, her sister, the bridesmaids and the men.
The wedding week Mehendi outfitsHaldi outfitsSangeet outfitsReception outfitsEngagement outfitsSister of the brideGujarati wedding outfitsWhat to wear to garbaHow a lehenga is pricedWhat to wear as a guestNRI wedding outfits in India
Navratri, garba and raas
Chaniya cholis built for nine nights of garba and dandiya raas — colour that turns with you, mirror work and bandhani that catch the light, a skirt cut for flare and a blouse that stays put. Made to measure in Vadodara, and couriered to the garba nights of New Jersey, Leicester, Toronto and Melbourne every autumn.
Diwali and festive
Festive wear made to order for the five days of Diwali, Bestu Varas, and the occasions in between — lighter hand work than bridal, in a busy fortnight, for the whole family.
Men and children
Sherwanis, kurta sets, bandhgala-style jackets and Indo-western pieces for the groom, the brothers and the fathers, often coordinated with the bride’s colour or embroidery; and kurtas and chaniya cholis for children. Made in the same studio, to the same standard, as the bridal work.
Heirlooms, rebuilt
A mother’s lehenga, panetar or gharchola, rebuilt to a daughter’s body and taste with the original hand embroidery kept at its heart. Some of the work the studio likes best. Send photographs first and we will say honestly what can be kept.
From the collections Bridal and Navratri
Every collection
The five crafts
Every piece here is built on hand work done in this studio — not sent out to whichever workshop was cheapest that month. Turn real hand work over and the back shows the karigar’s hand.
Custom, not customised
Most “custom” ethnic wear in India is a standard block cut down and a border changed. Ours starts from your measurements and is fitted as it is built — for a bridal piece, three times — because a garment gains weight as the hand work goes on, and weight changes how it sits. Every piece is priced before any work begins, and the price is decided by the hours of hand embroidery in it.
In Vadodara, across India, and overseas
The studio is on Old Padra Road in Vadodara — Baroda, as most people still call it. Brides travel in from Ahmedabad, Surat, Anand, Nadiad, Bharuch and Godhra, usually for one visit and sometimes none. Families in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and the Gulf are measured on a video call of about twenty minutes and the finished piece is couriered, with a customs guide for each country.
From elsewhere in Gujarat Ordering from abroad Brides in United StatesBrides in United KingdomBrides in AustraliaBrides in Canada Shipping & customs
Questions we are asked
What does “designer ethnic wear” mean at this studio?
A garment designed and cut for one person by one designer, with the hand embroidery done in our own studio rather than bought in. Not a label on a rack: nothing here is made in advance, nothing is made twice, and every piece begins after someone asks for it.
What do you make?
Bridal lehengas, panetar and gharchola, outfits for every occasion of the wedding week — engagement, mehendi, haldi, sangeet, reception — Navratri chaniya cholis for garba and raas, Diwali and festive wear, sherwanis and Indo-western pieces for men and children. All made to measure.
Is everything custom made?
Yes. Every piece is cut to one body from your measurements, fitted as it is built, and embroidered by hand. There is no ready-made stock and no online checkout; each order is priced before work begins.
Do you make ethnic wear for men and children?
Yes — sherwanis, kurta sets, bandhgala-style jackets and Indo-western pieces for the groom and the family, and kurtas and chaniya cholis for children, in the same studio as the bridal work.
Can I order just a blouse, without a full outfit?
Yes — bring your own saree or fabric and it is cut and stitched to your measure, the same as anything else here.
Can I order designer ethnic wear from the USA, UK, Canada or Australia?
Yes. Measurements are taken on a WhatsApp video call of about twenty minutes and the finished piece is couriered to you. Families in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and the Gulf order this way every season, and there is a customs guide for each country.
How long does a made-to-measure piece take?
A bridal lehenga runs four weeks at most start to finish and carries roughly 200 to 600 hours of hand embroidery. Lighter occasion and festive pieces take less, but the calendar in wedding season is decided by how many pieces are due on one date, so come to us early.
Where is the studio?
Old Padra Road, Vadodara — Baroda, as most people still call it — in Gujarat, India. By appointment, Monday to Saturday, two to seven. Brides travel in from Ahmedabad, Surat, Anand, Nadiad, Bharuch and Godhra, and are fitted from abroad on a video call.
Begin with the occasion
Tell us what it is for and when. We will tell you plainly what can be made properly in the time — at the studio, or on a call from wherever you are.