This is part two of a series of blog entries titled The Sari Experience – cheesy title I know, but I couldn’t come up with a better name at the time.

My good friend, Sabrina is having an Indian wedding ceremony and I get to wear a sari to the event. I’ll be writing a series of blog entries about my sari experience; shopping for it, the fitting and finally the wedding. I hope you enjoy reading these entries and come away with a few pointers should you have to get your own sari.

** Related blog entry – The sari experience, part one: the preview

Shopping for and choosing my sari

First, when buying a sari be advised to have a budget; how much you’re willing to spend in total, this includes the sari, jewellery, tailoring, etc. Originally, my budget was approximately $200 for the sari alone but after speaking with a few people realized that was too much money. Good saris could be had for less even as little as $75 depending on what you choose, the type of fabric and how well you haggle the price.                                        

Sabrina accompanied me on my very first sari shopping trip and needless to say I was glad to have her guide me through the process; venturing into unknown fashion territory can be a little intimidating. We met at a shopping mall called, GTA Square Mall.

As luck would have it the first store we went into had a ton of saris to choose from. It was a little daunting at first, because there were so many designs and colours. Not to get overwhelmed I quickly grazed over the stock and picked out saris which instantly caught my eye - mostly by colour. I chose saris in jewel tones and debated between, fuschia and blue for several minutes. Ultimately, I decided on a royal blue sari with white gold sequin and circular designs all over. The process took around 20 to 30 minutes.

To complete the entire sari outfit I bought a petticoat to be worn under the sari and fabric to create the choli (blouse), all from MJS Fashions. We continued the same colour scheme (royal blue) into my jewellery choices purchasing a necklace, earrings, bangles and bindi from Ambiha Silk.

Some sari shopping tips:

• Have a budget in mind
• Know what colours look good on you
• Don’t be afraid to haggle the price
• Silk saris are expensive and don’t always create soft folders when you wear it, they’re harder to pleat so opt for polyester material
• Commit to the look from head to toe; jewellery, bindi and all. It may be more elaborate that what you’re used to wearing but as they say, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

Location: GTA Square Mall, 5215 Finch Ave East, Toronto, Ontario M1C 02C

• MJS Fashion, Suite 113, (416) 299-1630
• Ambiha Silk, Suite 122, (416) 297-5261

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