The months of July & August are a shopaholic’s delight, since there is a sale going on in almost every other shop! Pothys, RmKV, Chennai Silks, Mokshaa, Pantaloons, Westside to even Jute Emporium, Metro, Woodland, etc. etc.! Seeing the newspapers filled with all the ads announcing the sales, it’s hard not to be bitten by the shopping bug! 😉 And the result of that is the shopping I did in Rekha’s Boutique last month and in RmKV yesterday.
Rekha’s Boutique
Rekha’s Boutique is in Mookambika Complex, Alwarpet. Their anniversary sale is in the month of July. I went there for the first time last year and liked the collection of salwar-kameezs so much that I had decided last year itself that I would go there the next year too. Cotton & silk salwar kameezs form a major part of their collection along with kurtas, skirts & a few sarees and there is a good mix of casual, everyday wear and a bit grand ones which you can reserve for special occasions. The stitching is also excellent there. In fact, of all the tailors I have tried till date, theirs has been the best! But like most of the boutiques, they stitch only the materials bought from there. With almost all the dresses being a bit expensive, price might be the only thing that might make you think twice before you buy a dress. So, going there during the sale would be a better option.
Usman Road
If we want to go for shopping in T.Nagar, we usually make it a point to not to go on a Sunday and even when we go, irrespective of whether it’s a weekday or weekend, we go there by 10 am or so, since that’s when there will be less crowd. But this time, we went on a Sunday and that too at 12 noon! Entire Usman Road was very crowded! One should have seen the crowd that was there in and outside Saravana Stores, which is near RmKV! I wonder how people managed to actually go into the shop through the crowd! Before the introduction of Aadi sale by Pothys a few years back, Usman Road used to be crowded like this only during Diwali…
With the flyover already taking up so much space in South Usman Road, there is only a little space on both sides of the road below the flyover. I wish vehicles hadn’t been allowed through those little spaces too, atleast on a Sunday when the crowd is too much. Walking on the narrow lane surrounded by people all around and adding to it, having cars and two-wheelers honking, is so irritating!
RmKV
Though RmKV was also crowded, the crowd there was bearable. There is a huge collection of salwar-kameez in RmKV and I loved the collection there! There were just too many to choose from! It took a lot of time to just take a look at all the salwars. The best part was, irrespective of whether the price was 300 or 3000 Rs., almost all the dresses were good! And the best part to me personally was that I could find readymade salwars of my size. The one problem of being tall is that most of the readymade salwars in many shops turn out to be small for me!
The only complaint I had with RmkV was the poor organization of the crowd at the bill payment counter. There was just one counter and only one person was in charge of it. But that’s fine. What caused a chaos there was all the people pushing each other in a hurry to pay first. Shouldn’t they have asked a queue to be formed? I asked a couple of salespersons near the counter about it, only to be met with no response whatsoever.
Despite happily doing so much shopping, the ads continue to lure me. So, who knows, I might go on a shopping spree again and write about it here too. 😉 Let’s see. Happy Shopping to all you shopaholics out there! 🙂
God this post made me feel soo nostalgic! Rekhas and Kamini’s are my aasthana tailors for salwar kameezes. Kamini’s next door will stitch stuff bought anywhere..check it out..I used to love it that the Kamini anniversary sale was always timed perfectly with my birthday in August!
Excellent write-up.. Will surely drop in to Rekha boutique.. 🙂
Have been shopping like crazy since the weekend..and the lure is not the Aadi sale..its ,getting a paycheck ,like,after two years :-))
But my biggest woe is finding a good reasonably priced shoe shop in Chennai.Bata is boring,Durable has no variety and Metro is way too pricey,though good..
Any suggestions for the middle class ?
I’ve always wondered what the aadi sale was like in chennai… Interesting to know! 🙂 Was always a bit lost on whr to shop….so would invariably end up at Naidu hall and buy over priced, not so good ones and rant about cloth collection in chennai! 🙂
I’ve take up suggestions…will chk out these places the next time! 🙂
Dandilsa,
Oh! 🙂 I’ll check out Kamini’s. Thanks. I have been in search for a good tailor for quite sometime now.
Btw, when is your birthday? Wishing you a very happy birthday in advance, assuming, of course, that it’s not yet over. 😉
Vg,
Thanks. Do check it out.
Sangs,
Enjoy! 🙂
Don’t get me started about shoe shops! 🙁 I used to be a loyal customer of Bata till a few years back. None of the slippers I got there or in any other shop lasted for more than a couple of months (or even less!). So, nowadays, I don’t spend more than 200-250 bucks and I buy only from some random shop in Ranganathan St or from Bata itself, if I am able to find good ones that suit my budget.
Nandhini,
🙂 Next time, leave Naidu Hall and try one shop after another in Usman Road & Pondy Bazaar. Will be a good timepass too 😛
Hi.,
Usman bridge is the joke on planning. when r u trying sundari silks?
by the way, u hv not told how much u spent there…. based on which u must decide whether to see confessions of shopaholic movie or not 🙂
Yes, not yet over..27th 😀
Thanks for the wishes!
Vijay Ganesh,
I didn’t spend much 😛
Dandilsa,
You are welcome! 😉
Hey Aparna,
I will definitely not comment abt this aadi sale, I am having real tough staying in T.nagar.
In the month of aadi all T.nagar vasigal just have one prayer when they step out of the house, Oh!!! GOD LESS TRAFFIC PLEASE. And the most ironical part, staying near usman road i didn’t even purchase a hanky in adi sale 🙁
Jayashree,
Welcome to my blog! Traffic is the worst thing about T.Nagar! Diwali shopping will soon start & T.Nagar is again going to be crowded like how it was in Aadi!
hi aparna,
ur blog is good remebering the t.nagar shopping when i go to chennai..
now i am at U.S ,so i would like to go for online shopping,can u post
some rekha boutiques sarees and salwars pictures recently in sale…..how much do they
charge for stitching……..and how many days they take……………
Meenu,
Welcome to my blog! I don’t have any pictures to put. I think they will take a minimum of 2 weeks to stitch. The charge was 200 or 250 last year. I don’t remember exactly.
Can you suggest any good tailor or botiques near venkatnarayana road in tnagar ? I will be there only for 3 days and I will need salwars stitched by then.
Raji,
Welcome to my blog! I am not aware of any good tailors in that area. Except for the ones in Ranganathan Street, I am not sure if any tailor stitches and gives within 3 days..
Hi Aparna,
Where can I find a good tailor to sew salwar kameez? I will be coming to Chennai on the 20th Feb.
Hi aparna, planning to shop at rekha’ s botique next month, my budget for a salwar material ranges from 1500 to 3000 , (being a doctor I spend more on sarees, ) so any stuff available in that range? What about their kurtis, how are they priced?