Going to a Bollywood themed party this coming Tuesday, so decided to find authentic clothes to wear. This shop happened to be a block from another shop that was on my list. Glad we stopped in. We spent some time perusing all the options (men and women) and finally settled on two outfits consisting of tunic, pants, scarf for $49.99 each. (Pics forthcoming.)
Before choosing outfits: The owner measured each of our chests before helping us. He recommended a few selections and urged us to try them on. Note: only one dressing room.
Sizing: The tunics are supposed to be roomy and comfortable but....
He picked out a tunic for J that was too large (sleeves past his fingertips and shoulder line past shoulder) and insisted that it was "normal". We disagreed and found a tunic that was 2 sizes smaller and fit J perfectly, so we bought that one.
Price: Prices are not written on the tags, which I find a bit suspicious. However, if you ask the owner, he will tell you. I told him up front that we were looking for costumes for a Bollywood themed party and didn't want to spend too much money. Most of the things we tried on were either $49.99 or $59.99. The owner told me that the tunic J tried on last (not the one suggested) was $59.99. I asked him why it was $10 more than the other one (since no noticeable difference in quality or design) and he said, for us, first time discount, $10 off. Towards the end, when I told the owner that we wanted to buy the outfit for J but I would think about mine (translation = go to other shops), the owner, had quoted me $59.99 for my outfit, told me, "I can not let you go out of this store without an outfit. For you, even though we won't make any money, $10 off as well, so $49.99).
Hints: inspect the fabric carefully before buying - I saw stains on the inside of J's pants. At first the owner, said, that is the inside of the pants and I turned the pants over and I could still see the stain, so the owner switched them for another pair. Also, on J's tunic, there are black marks near the buttons but when the tunic is buttoned up, you can't see them. There was a slight smudge on my fuchsia tunic and all the owner said was "indian manufacturing - what can you do?" You can see the stitching where the sleeves were sewn to the back (that's one cool thing, you can get sleeves sewn on if desired) and on the pants, you can see the stitching around the hips). Plus, my scarf has a "rough" unfinished edge and the owner told me that it was b/c it was already stitched, but if so, then why is the end fraying?
Visual impact: the embroidery/jewels on the tunics are eye catching. In the future, we could wear these outfits to an Indian wedding or party.
Did we get a good deal? At Gap on Bay Street, an indian patterned cotton tunic was selling for $39 or $49, so yes, I believe we got a deal pending how they do over time. read more