Karol Bagh is one of the larger markets of Delhi, and is a must-visit wedding- shopping destination. I did not have much history with Karol Bagh. I didn’t really visit it in my university days, and hardly ever went there in my childhood. I did, however, make a bunch of trips there for the wedding, and so that is how it is imprinted in my brain.
For the Sagan ceremony, I had my heart set on the famous Katrina lehenga. I even loved the colours that it originally came in – shell pink with cream and silver.
I had conveyed this request to the in-laws because they were the ones who were getting me the outfit. However, I was a wee bit disappointed to see just how famous that lehenga had gotten!! Replicas were everywhere, and so the originality factor was zero.
So I made up my mind to have a look at what was out there. The family took me out shopping last week on Navmi: A, Mom-in-law, Dad-in-law and me, their “to-be daughter in law”, and off we went to Karol Bagh. At this point, I was thinking about one-piece dresses, but continued to keep the Katrina lehenga as a back—up.
The first few stores we visited had only lehengas and saris – no dresses, and so we walked out. After leaving the 3rd shop empty handed I started to feel a little conscious of the fact that I had my in-laws with me, and I really didn’t want to seem like a demanding girl. However, I really didn’t want to compromise on the dress either!
We stopped my shopping for a bit because we came across Gujrals. A’s and my father-in law’s Sagan outfits were selected here. As we left the shop and were walking around, the clouds gathered, and it started raining, quite heavily. We ran to the nearest store – guided by A, and it turned out to be Frontier (smiles, smiles).
Here I found what I was looking for! And it was not the Katrina lehenga. After trying on about 6 – 7 dresses, I finally chose a beautiful, floaty net one in rose pink. It had delicate antique work all over the bodice reaching down, and had a huge ‘ghera’. I felt like a princess wearing it!
Since it was being made-to-order, I got the colour changed to red. The wedding lehenga is a riot of colours but has fuchsia as it’s base, so I did not want to repeat the pink factor here. Stonework changes to red from pink, and everything else remains the same.
When they heard that I needed the delivery in just about 3 weeks, the shop assistants balked and said the delivery could not be completed on time. Thankfully, a bit (or rather quite a lot) of coaxing changed their minds, and my measurements were taken.
The delivery date is set for 2 days before the Sagan – can’t wait to see how it turns out! Shopping for this outfit turned out to be a memorable experience – the romance of the rainy weather was perfect, and it was like Frontier just beckoned – thankfully, I heeded!
P.S – shopping with your in-laws is the best way to break the ice and get more comfortable! Bonding over kulfi at Roshans’ really helped me settle down 🙂
thevowsandbeyond 