If you are on of those people who have serious issues with your tailor then Aakriti might be the answer to your problems.
The two-month-old store in Panampilly Nagar stocks a range of saris from handlooms to silks. There are mangalagiri saris, silk kotas, designer crepes and silks. Kurtis, salwar kurta sets, dupattas are also available. Ethnic earrings (read jhumkas, rings etc) are also available.
But what sets the store apart from similar stores is its collection of ready-to-wear blouses. Simi’s blouses are the kind that will tempt you to bring out all those saris you have put away because you have no blouse to go with them.
Simi Roy, the brain behind the store, hit upon the idea after years of mixing and matching saris and blouses. If you have a Kanchipuram sari or a dressy sari that needs a blouse you are likely to find one that matches. The blouses stick to Simi’s concept of mixing and matching. A combination blouse of brocade and net, for instance, works perfectly with a kanchipuram sari or crepe silk or chiffon. In fact a dressy blouse gives a contemporary twist to traditional saris.
It is also, literally, a one-stop-shop for those looking for an ensemble. Pick up a sari and match/contrast it with a blouse. Team a cotton handloom sari, a mangalagiri for instance, with a blouse that is a combination of kalamkari and handloom. The idea seems to be ‘so what if the blouses are not a perfect match,’ these will turn heads. The blouses do not stick to any particular pattern. Sleeves - full, half or none at all, halter necks, strappy - it is creative free flow. Kalamkari fabrics, handloom, silks, embroidered patches, net fabric, contrast piping etc come together in these blouses.
The blouses are not stitched in-house. Simi has designers in various parts of country like Delhi, Ahmedabad etc who send in their creations. The ‘fusion’ blouses are essentially strappy blouses which have many takers in Kochi says Simi. “Women are more experimental these days. What was traditionally thought to be a ‘north-Indian’ sensibility is now very in. Nothing is too flashy!”
The prices for the blouses start at Rs. 600. The silk blouses come in sizes 34”, 36”, 38” and 40”. The cotton blouses are of free size, the alterations will not be done at the store. Aakriti is located in Panampilly Nagar at plot no: G-274, first floor on 11th Cross Road.
