Sari Shopping Reinvented – Just Search, Select, and Spend

By Arpita Mehta – Boston University

For us Indian girls all over, receiving an invitation to a wedding makes us extremely excited; however, that excitement soon turns into a state of crisis. Yes, we look forward to our cousin’s wedding with the sangeet, the mehndi on our hands, the countless hours of dancing to Bollywood music, and having the time of our lives with family and friends. However, the most important thing question is “what do I wear”? Most of the Indian clothes in our closet seem as old as the 17^th century, and there is no way in hell that wearing one of your mom’s old-fashioned saris is an option. The opportunity to strut around in a gorgeous sari that compliments us in all the right places only arises every so often! It needs to be taken full advantage of.

Don’t worry though, crisis averted. With these three online Indian fashion websites slowly changing the way us non-resident desis shop for Indian clothes, you will never feel the lack of Indian clothes in your closet.

Remember that time you drooled over Priyanka Chopra’s gold sequined sari in Dostana or Sonam Kapoor’s white and silver lengha from Aisha? That dream of wishing you could buy one of those gorgeous saris you see in Bollywood movies has come true. Get your credit cards out because I can guarantee you are going to need them after going through the collections that Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop, Luxemi, and Exclusively.in have to offer. They are the crème de la crème of the Indian online stores, so move over Asos.com. Indian fashion is here to take over the world of e-commerce.

Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop: Created by Pernia Qureshi, the stylist of the fashionably forward film Aisha and Sonam Kapoor’s BFF, this super fashionista and designer has put together the first website that offers the newest collections from all the leading Indian designers. From Sabyasaachi to my favorite, Anamika Khanna, she has it all. The latest accessories, Indian wear, western clothes – everything you need to spice up your wardrobe. The prices of sari’s range anywhere from $100-$800, but if you keep checking you can always snag a great buy when they have online sales. It’s a must for all fashion lovers. It even has a celebrity corner where you can buy the exact outfit that you saw your favorite actress wearing.

Luxemi: The creators behind Luxemi asked themselves these questions: 1) Are our saris still in fashion? 2) Do they still fit? 3) Can we still wear the salwar that was posted on Facebook for the world to see? (Been there? Done that? I know, me too!) The founders, Swapna and Swathi then took their own dilemma and turned it into what is now Luxemi.com – an innovative platform for women who want stylish clothes and complete access to the latest trends in India. The best part is that you can buy or rent the clothes, so if you want to wear that gorgeous embroidered lengha but it’s way out of your budget, you can just rent it for the week and then ship it right back! Their excellent customer service makes renting and buying a whole new experience.

Exclusively.in: The most reasonably priced out of the three websites, Exclusively.in offers everything from jewelry to kurtas for lower prices, and their sales are mind-blowing! The selection of clothes is wide and there is something for everyone for every occasion. So if you have to attend your first cousin’s aunt’s daughter’s wedding and you don’t want to splurge on buying an expensive sari, Exclusively.in is where you can find an affordable, yet unique outfit. A customer friendly website that will have you addicted to spending all those slow days at work browsing through saris.

Happy Shopping!

P.S. If you are like me and still struggle with the nine-yards of sari fabric that seems to never go where it’s supposed to when you try and drape it, check out this tutorial by Luxemi.