While drinking a very disappointing (truly awful) iced red velvet hot chocolate at Coffee Bean (Rs 600) and staring out of the window to distract ourselves from how much we were being ripped off we noticed Aashkii the rather striking high-end saree shop next door. My companion was excited by the large Satya Paul poster prominently displayed outside the store front. I scoffed- branded Saree’s who needs those? What’s wrong with cooptex or Kumaran’s in Chennai or like Orchard Shopping Complex in Wellawatte?
Minutes later though I found myself pretending to be knowledgeable on the matter of crepe vs chiffon and trying to comment helpfully on color schemes. While I doubt my feedback was of any real use to my saree selecting partner I did manage to notice that the designs were actually rather nice and that the prices – Rs 10,000 – 20,000 were really fine. For some really striking designs and something beautiful and distinctive to wear that doesn’t seem too steep, especially as I’ve seen prices in Pettah that come close and don’t come with a fancy brand, a well laid out store and air-conditioning. Crucially she who was actually doing the saree browsing seemed very pleased with the selection on offer and resolved to come back with a fatter wallet next time.
So for high-end but not unaffordable Sarees check out Aashkii. There are also dresses and random bits of home-wear available in the split level premise on top of Maitland Crescent though these didnt seem as promising as the Sarees.
