Indian Ethnic Wear
The Indian wardrobe,
cut properly.
Sherwanis, bandhgalas, kurtas, achkans and Jodhpuri suits, made from your measurements in silk, brocade, velvet and heavier cloth. A badly fitted wedding sherwani shows from across the hall, so we treat it exactly like a suit. Adyar, since 1997.
Garment Guides
Indian Ethnic WearThe Sherwani.The most formal thing a man wears in India, and the garment where a made-to-measure fit shows up fastest.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearThe Bandhgala.The Indian formal jacket: precise, hard-working, and quite possibly the smartest thing most men own.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearThe Nehru Jacket.The Indian jacket the rest of the world recognises, and probably the most useful thing in a modern wardrobe.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearThe Bandi Waistcoat.The layer that turns a kurta into an outfit, for weddings, family functions and festive evenings.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearThe Bespoke Kurta.The garment you wear most often, so it is worth getting right once instead of replacing it every year.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearThe Pathani Suit.Loose, easy and dignified. The formal outfit you can wear all day without thinking about it.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearThe Achkan.The tailored long coat. Longer than a bandhgala, quieter than a sherwani, and harder to get right than either.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearThe Jodhpuri Suit.Western structure, Indian collar. The most useful formal outfit a man can own in this country.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearIndo-Western Dressing.Two traditions in one outfit, and how to do it deliberately instead of accidentally.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearThe Churidar.The fitted Indian trouser that finishes a sherwani, a bandhgala or a kurta, and the one people always leave until last.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearThe Silk Kurta.The festive foundation. The garment that lifts every occasion you wear it to.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearThe Cotton Kurta.The one you will actually wear every week, so it is worth spending the time to make it fit.Read more →
Fabric Guides
Fabric GuidesSilk for Indian Ethnic Wear.The cloth of Indian celebration, and the one decision that shapes everything else about the outfit.Read more →Fabric GuidesBrocade for Indian Ethnic Wear.The richest cloth in the Indian wardrobe, and the one people most often choose badly. Here is how not to.Read more →Fabric GuidesVelvet for the Sherwani.Deep colour and exceptional drape for evening and winter, and too much cloth for an afternoon in May.Read more →Fabric GuidesChanderi Fabric.Light, lustrous and cool to wear. Possibly the most sensible festive cloth for a city like Chennai.Read more →Fabric GuidesRaw Silk.Textured, natural and less shiny than mulberry. The right silk for a man who wants character rather than glitter.Read more →Fabric GuidesDupion Silk.Silk with a rib and a bit of backbone, and the best of them all for a structured jacket.Read more →
By Occasion
Wedding Ethnic WearThe Wedding Sherwani, Made in Chennai.Worn once, looked at forever. Start it early and you'll never have to rush the part that matters.Read more →Wedding Ethnic WearThe Reception Bandhgala.Reception, sangeet, mehendi, family dinner. One jacket shape, four quite different evenings.Read more →Festive WearThe Festive Kurta.For Diwali, Eid, Onam, and every occasion that deserves better than a panic purchase.Read more →Professional Ethnic WearThe Corporate Bandhgala.Indian formal dress for the boardroom, the courtroom and the conference platform, and how to get it right.Read more →Wedding Ethnic WearThe Sangeet Outfit.The one wedding function where colour is welcome and you have to be able to move.Read more →Wedding Ethnic WearGroom's Sherwani for South Indian Weddings.What a Tamil, Telugu, Kannada or Malayali wedding actually calls for, as opposed to what the wedding magazines show you.Read more →Wedding Ethnic WearGroom's Sherwani for North Indian Weddings.Brocade, embroidery, the weight of the cloth, and the fit underneath that has to hold it all up.Read more →Festive WearFestival Ethnic Wear.Dressing for India's festivals, one occasion and one tradition at a time.Read more →Professional Ethnic WearEthnic Wear for the Office.The kurta and the bandhgala at work, done so nobody mistakes it for a day off.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearModern Indian Ethnic Wear.Old garments, new handling. Where Indian menswear has got to, and what that asks of the tailor.Read more →
Comparisons & Heritage
Indian Ethnic WearSherwani vs Bandhgala.Two of the most important garments in Indian formal dress, and exactly where they part company.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearBandhgala vs Nehru Jacket.They look almost the same on a hanger. They behave completely differently once you are in a room full of people.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearSherwani vs Achkan.Both are long coats. They are not the same garment, and they don't do the same job.Read more →Indian Ethnic WearTraditional or Western: How to Decide.Indian, Western or Indo-Western, and how to pick between them for a given evening.Read more →Wedding Dress GuideEthnic Wear vs Western Suit for Weddings.The question every groom, and about half the guest list, ends up asking us across the counter.Read more →Indian Textile HeritageA History of Indian Tailoring.From the Mughal karkhanas to the shops on Sardar Patel Road, and how the trade got here.Read more →
Come and pick your cloth.
Sherwanis, bandhgalas, kurtas and more. First visit is free. 3 Sardar Patel Road, Adyar, Chennai.