27th March 2015
My most popular blog post of all time is My Mumbai Shopping Guide post. The majority of feedback I’ve had from the post has been incredibly positive. Although I have recently felt the raised eyebrow of a couple of my fellow bloggers who believe that my designer wedding trosseau is not in all brides budgets. Firstly I’ve got to say- I’m from the ‘each to their own’ kinda way of thinking. I don’t think my budget should be judged and as with everything in life its all relative… some people would think I spent a lot on my wedding shopping and others would think I spent peanuts!!! Secondly there’s this notion that Indian designer wear = super duper expensive. I always say if you can afford to shop in the likes of UK designers -Sonas, Mona Vora and Ekta Solanki whose bridal lenghas start at £2k up you can buy from the likes of Manish Malhotra and Sabyasachi.
Ok, so I know the eyebrow raisers will say what if you don’t have £2k to spend…even with half the budget I’d still rather spend my money on designer- the thing is its completely different in India. There are a huge variety of designers all offering different price points. I’d rather buy a £800 Tamanna Punjabi Kapoor wedding lengha then a Sabyasachi knock off from the likes of Kalki, Seasons, Friendship etc in Santa Cruz for the same price….but that’s just me saying what I’d do…each to their own!
So here’s my list of designer stores in Mumbai that are more wallet friendly than the likes of Tarun, Manish, Anamika and Co….
Tamanna Kapoor Punjabi
Remember Cocktail? Diana Penty looks gorgeous in a Tamanna lengha
Tamanna store is small which is the norm for smaller designer stores -there’s maybe room for about 30-odd designs. My sis bought a gorgeous lime green gota work lengha for her Mehndi night for £800 from her. It’s an absolute beauty and I know brides have picked the same piece in hot pinks/red and oranges for their bridal lenghas. Sonaakshi Raaj recommended us Tamanna and we went in three days before we flew back home. In a day and a half she got the blouse made so my sister could have a fitting before she left and six weeks later as promised the lengha was couried over. Tamanna was fantastic and I can’t recommend her and her work enough!
Address: Gurmukh Sagar Bldg, 29th Road, Pali Village, Bandra West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400050, India
We didn’t have an appointment but would advise you to arrange one to make sure Tamanna is in-store.
Chamee and Palak
Again this designer duo’s store is small – maybe forty odd designs in store but they are all very pretty and youthful. They will custom make any of the designs in store and can work with you to design a special piece. We didn’t place an order from them as they were one of the last stores we visited and had already done most of our shopping. My mum’s friend had placed orders with them and has been happy with the service they provide. This store is by appointment only
5,Shubham apartment, Bajaj road,Vile Parle – west,Mumbai. contact: +919930782891 / chameeandpalak@gmail.com BY APPOINTMENT
Shruti Sheth
Another small store- again maybe thirty odd designs, I visited her store but didn’t buy anything but her designs are lovely esp her heavy blouses (a little Jade-esque I might add but without the Jade price tag).
Shruti Sheth– Hill Crest, 10th Road, Opp Absolute Spa, Juhu, Vile Parle West, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 400049
Again we didn’t make an appointment but would advise making an appointment when the designer is in store.
Fuel
Feminine florals of Peppermint Diva are available from Fuel
Fuel is another multi brand designer store and its on my original list. There are three stores across Mumbai and the store in Opera House is the biggest- actually its huge and if you’re short of time this a def a must visit store. Fuel also carries a real mix of price points and styles as well as some really fab accessories. Labels stocked include Sabyasachi, Peppermint Diva, Rina Dhaka & Rohit & Rahul Ghandi.
Prices start at £150
Address: Kantilal Karia & Co.Chowpati View Building, Opp. Sukh Sagar,Opera House
Tel: (+91) 22 23693131
Address: Lakshmi Niwas,Plot no. 450/B, 14th Road, Off Linking Road, Khar West
Tel: (+91) 22 26497878
Address: SV Road, Vile Parle, Juhu, Mumbai – 400049
Aza
Anushree Reddy is stocked at Aza
Aza is my favourite multi brand designer in Mumbai. It’s worth visiting all three stores- for my sis recent wedding shopping trip we picked up pieces by Anushree Reddy, Pankaj & Nidhi, Arpita Mehta and Ridhi Mehra.
Altamount Road 21, Altamount Road, Mumbai – 400026.Ph: +91 22 2353 0212 / +91 98674 51199 Email: altamount@azafashions.com
Shishir, 15-A, near Maneckji Cooper School, Juhu Tara Road, Mumbai – 400049 Ph: +91 22 2661 0091 / +91 98339 51198 Email: juhu@azafashions.com
Bandra, 24, Aza House, Tuner Road, Bandra West, Mumbai – 400050
Prices start at £250
Amara
Another multi brand store worth checking out. They stock the very popular Delhi based designer Dolly J as well as the likes of Namrata Joshipura, Gaurav Gupta and Vineet Bahl,
1/3/5, Kemps Boulevard, Kwality House, Kemps Corner, Mumbai – 400006, Near Crossword Book Store, Above Rudra Spa & Salon View Map
+(91)-22-23872537, 23872538, 23879687, 23875909
+(91)-22-23872538
Vandana
Vandana is a fabric store in Mumbai that I’ve already raved about. It’s my go to store to buy fabrics to make outfits/ saris for smaller occasions- like poojas or friends mehndi nights etc…they have hundreds and hundreds of fabrics and borders so you can be your own designer! Their sales assistants are amazing and will help you combine fabrics to create individual pieces. I had a crop top/high waist pencil skirt, churidaar pants and dupatta outfit made. Cost of fabrics was £100 and my tailor charged £30 for stitching. LOVE this store. Both my sis and I bought our bridesmaid saris from here.
304, 305 Rajdoot Chsl, Linking Road Khar West, Opp Rajkumar Jewellers, Mumbai 40005
I’m going to finish off by saying it’s worth noting that Indian designer shopping is very different to shopping in stores on Green St, Ealing Rd and Southall Broadway. The designer stores don’t carry large ranges (apart from the big designer names), everything is hung up and there’s no sitting in front of a wall of saris that are pulled out to show customers. It is much more time consuming shopping from designer stores but personally I think its worth it for the different pieces you find there.
Hope you guys find the post useful and Happy Shopping!
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