The studio is here
Not a showroom with a workshop somewhere else. One designer, one room, and the embroidery frames in it — which in your own city means you can stand in front of your piece while it is still being made.
Nirali Amin Designer Studio is on Old Padra Road in Vadodara, near Manisha Char Rasta, open Monday to Saturday from 2 to 7 pm by appointment. Bridal lehengas, panetar and gharchola, chaniya cholis and occasion wear are cut from your own measurements and hand-embroidered in the studio in four weeks at most. There is one studio and no branches.
It has been open since October 2014 — 11 years of this city’s weddings — and more than 3,700 customers have been dressed out of that room.
वडोदरा की दुल्हनों के लिए: निराली अमीन डिज़ाइनर स्टूडियो ओल्ड पादरा रोड, मनीषा चार रास्ता के पास है — सोमवार से शनिवार, दोपहर 2 से शाम 7 बजे तक, अपॉइंटमेंट से। ब्राइडल लहंगा, पानेतर, घरचोळू और शादी के सभी कपड़े आपकी नाप पर बनते हैं और हाथ की कढ़ाई से सजाए जाते हैं; एक ब्राइडल लहंगा ज़्यादा से ज़्यादा चार हफ़्ते में तैयार होता है।
વડોદરાની દુલ્હનો માટે: નિરાલી અમીન ડિઝાઇનર સ્ટુડિયો ઓલ્ડ પાદરા રોડ પર, મનીષા ચાર રસ્તા પાસે છે — સોમવારથી શનિવાર, બપોરે 2 થી સાંજે 7 સુધી, એપોઇન્ટમેન્ટથી. બ્રાઇડલ લહેંગા, પાનેતર, ઘરચોળું અને લગ્નના બધા કપડાં તમારા માપ પ્રમાણે બને છે અને હાથના ભરતકામથી શણગારાય છે; બ્રાઇડલ લહેંગા વધુમાં વધુ ચાર અઠવાડિયામાં તૈયાર થાય છે.
What being in the same city actually gets you
Most of what this studio does for a bride in Ahmedabad or in New Jersey is done at a distance, and it works: the measurements are taken together on a video call, the progress comes back as photographs, the piece is couriered. Nothing about the garment is different.
What is different for a bride in Vadodara is the part nobody can send. A bridal lehenga is fitted three times as it is built — once early, once with the embroidery in place, and once near the end when a few millimetres either way is all that is left to decide. The reason for three rather than one is weight. A piece gains real weight as the hand work goes on, and weight changes how a garment sits, where it pulls and how the skirt falls when you turn. A lehenga fitted before the embroidery and never again is how a piece ends up beautiful on a hanger and wrong on a body.
From anywhere in this city, all three of those are an afternoon. So is changing your mind in week two, which is worth more than it sounds.
Ask to see the frames
There are a lot of places in Vadodara that will sell you a bridal lehenga, and this page is not going to tell you that this one is the best. It is a claim every shop makes and none of them can prove, and a bride deciding where to spend a large amount of money deserves something she can check instead.
Three questions separate a garment made for you from a garment altered to fit you, and in a city where you can walk in, all three are checkable with your own eyes rather than taken on trust:
Is the hand embroidery worked in this studio, or bought in from a workshop and stitched on? Is the garment cut from your measurements, or is a standard block being taken in at the seams? And how many times will it be fitted while it is still changeable?
A studio that embroiders its own work can answer the first by showing you somebody else’s piece on a frame with a karigar sitting at it. One that does not will show you a catalogue. Ask in every studio you visit, including this one — the answers will sort the city out faster than any photograph will.
How a piece is made, start to finish The five crafts, worked by hand
What gets made here
Bridal lehengas, and panetar and gharchola for the ceremony itself. The whole wedding week around it — engagement, mehendi, haldi, sangeet and reception — for the bride, her sister, the bridesmaids, the mothers and the men. Chaniya cholis for Navratri and garba, and festive wear for Diwali.
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 her embroidery — both made in the same room, which is the only way that coordination is anything more than a hope. Kurtas and chaniya cholis for children.
Five crafts, all worked by hand in the studio: Zardozi, Gota Patti, Bandhani, Aari, Mirror & Thread. Nothing is made in advance, nothing is made twice, and every piece is priced before the work begins.
Bridal Panetar & gharchola The wedding week Navratri Everything the studio makes
Coming in
The studio is at 16, Manisha Soc, 1st floor, MSA House, Old Padra Rd, near Manisha Char Rasta, Vadodara 390007. Mon–Sat, 2–7 pm, by appointment. First floor, so look up rather than for a shopfront — it is a working studio, not a shop.
The appointment is not a formality. The room is small and it is kept that way on purpose, so that a family can take its time without being hurried; the cost of that is that somebody who arrives unannounced may find it busy with another bride’s fitting. A message on WhatsApp settles a time in a minute.
Bring the shoes you intend to wear, because the floor length of a lehenga depends entirely on the heel. Bring any jewellery you have inherited and plan to wear, so the neckline and the weight of the work can be judged against it. And bring whoever tells you the truth in a mirror.
Find it on the map If you are travelling in Write to the studio
When to start
Four weeks at most for a bridal order, start to finish, carrying roughly two hundred to six hundred hours of hand embroidery. Six to eight weeks before the wedding is comfortable. From November to February the studio is booked months ahead, and for Navratri the season is a fixed date that does not move for anybody.
Living ten minutes away is not a reason to leave it late. The calendar is set by how many pieces are due on one date, not by how far anyone has to travel — so the honest answer to “can you still do it” depends on the month you ask, and you will get the honest answer.
Made in this room
Every collection
What Vadodara brides say
I highly recommend Nirali Amin from Baroda-Gujarat, India! This was my first time ordering a chaniya choli and kurta for myself and my fiancé (from New York), and working with Nirali was a superb, wonderful experience.
Had a wonderful experience at Nirali Amin Studio! Nirali is incredibly talented and her designs are absolutely beautiful, elegant, and unique. The attention to detail, finishing, and quality of every outfit is truly impressive.
Excellent collection and beautiful cloth designs. The quality of the fabric is very good, and the designs are stylish and unique. The staff is also friendly and helpful. Highly recommended for anyone looking for good-quality clothes and attractive designs!
Amazing experience with Nirali Amin. She is polite and prompt. Did exact work I wanted and my cholis turned out so beautiful. Thank you so much.
The designs are so beautiful and the quality is amazing. Everything looked elegant and well made, and the details are intriguing. Definitely recommend this studio!
Had a wonderful experience at Nirali Amin Designer Studio! The designs are absolutely beautiful, elegant, and beautifully detailed.
Questions from Vadodara
Who is a fashion designer in Vadodara for bridal and ethnic wear?
Nirali Amin Designer Studio is a fashion designer and boutique at 16, Manisha Soc, 1st floor, MSA House, Old Padra Rd, near Manisha Char Rasta, Vadodara 390007 — Old Padra Road, in Vadodara, which many people still call Baroda. There is one designer and one studio, open since 2014, and every bridal lehenga, chaniya choli and festive piece is cut to measure and hand-embroidered there. By appointment only.
Where is the studio in Vadodara?
16, Manisha Soc, 1st floor, MSA House, Old Padra Rd, near Manisha Char Rasta, Vadodara 390007. Mon–Sat, 2–7 pm, by appointment. There is one studio and one designer — every piece that carries this name is cut in that room and embroidered at a frame in it.
Do you make bridal lehengas in Vadodara?
Yes, and they are made here rather than bought in. A bridal order is cut from your own measurements and hand-embroidered in the studio in four weeks at most, carrying roughly two hundred to six hundred hours of work. Panetar and gharchola for the ceremony, and the wedding week around it.
How do I choose a designer in Vadodara?
Ask to see the frames. In a city where you can walk in, the three questions that matter are all checkable in person: is the hand embroidery worked in this studio or bought in from a workshop, is the garment cut from your measurements or is a standard block being altered to fit you, and how many fittings are there as it is built? A studio that embroiders its own work will show you somebody else’s piece on a frame. One that does not will show you a catalogue.
Can I visit without an appointment?
Please do not. The studio is small and works by appointment precisely so that a family can take its time without being hurried, which also means an unannounced visit may find it busy with another bride’s fitting. Message on WhatsApp and we will fix a time.
How many fittings will I have?
Three for a bridal order: once early, once with the embroidery in place, and once near the end. The reason is weight — a piece gains real weight as the hand work goes on, and weight changes how it sits, where it pulls and how the skirt falls when you turn. Living in the city means none of the three is an inconvenience.
Do you make chaniya cholis for Navratri in Vadodara?
Yes — made to measure, with mirror work, bandhani and hand embroidery. Come well before the season. Navratri pieces are booked through the weeks before it and the studio is working to a fixed date that does not move.
Do you make for men and children?
Yes. 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 — in the same studio as the bridal work.
Is the studio in Baroda or Vadodara?
The same place. The city was renamed and half of it still says Baroda, as do most of the families who order from abroad. Old Padra Road, near Manisha Char Rasta, either way.
How far ahead should I order?
Six to eight weeks before the wedding is comfortable, because the making itself is four weeks at most. From November to February the studio is booked months ahead. Being in the city is not a reason to start late — the calendar is set by how many pieces are due on one date, not by how far anyone travels.
From elsewhere
The studio makes for the whole state and couriers anywhere. If you are reading this from further out, the page for where you are says what the distance actually changes:
Across Gujarat Travelling in for a fitting Ordering from abroad
Come and see the work
Tell us the occasion and the date. If it can be made properly in the time you have, we will say so; if it cannot, we will say that instead. Either way you are welcome to come and look at what is on the frames.