Kanjivaram Saree Shopping in Chennai: Ask IMBB

Ask IMBB Gang

Ushma asks:

Dear IMBB team,

I am soon going to visit Chennai and plan on doing lots of shopping, especially sarees for me and my mom πŸ˜€ Can anyone please tell me some good, reliable shops for purchasing Kanjivaram sarees and other south silk sarees in Chennai? (also let me know if the shop is a fixed price shop or a bargain one).
How do you check, non-destructively, if its an original kanjivaram or not?

I will be visiting Kancheepuram also, is purchasing sarees from there a good idea?

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26 thoughts on “Kanjivaram Saree Shopping in Chennai: Ask IMBB

  1. Hi ushma
    i can answer this, i have seen and heard Nalli, pothy’s and rmkv here in chennai from my neighbors *haan ji* personally i have a ton of nalli sarees

    1. yeshh neha..u r right!! nalli is the best. i have shopped from their delhi south ex store many times.
      ushma – nalli is fixed price shop and u dont have to worry abt purity or authenicity….they will tell u all truth πŸ™‚

    2. *thankyou* Neha and Jyoti!
      Someone told me about Nalli a few days back and now I am sure I am gonna raid there πŸ˜€
      So many options *happy dance*

  2. *hifive* *hifive* agree with Neha completely, would like to add one more store, Sri Kumaran Silks (near Pothys, usman road, t.nagar)

  3. Hi ushma.. If u r looking for real society pattu (silk saree) , Go to co-optex.. Then theres one shop in tnagar called Sundari Silks.. It is pricey but they have different collections. Rather than pothys or chennai silks, I liked new Kumaran silks which is next to chennai silks better… Variety of choices and the SAs are very patient and helpful..

  4. hi ushma.. you can get good silk sarees frm nalli and pothys in t nagar… rmkv is costly but the quality is the best… i heard kalaniketan has good collections…

  5. hi ushma,all the above said shops are fixed rates…i personally love nalli *announce* i always go to nalli for silk sarees here in madurai..they have trendy designs..lovely service too,love them. *happydance* .i have heard that we can get authentic silk sarees directly from weavers in kancheepuram and yes to bargaining there πŸ™‚ though i am not sure of the area name *headbang*
    i have seen how they show the authenticity while i got my wedding saree,they rubbed the zari on a black stone and colour was gold,while for a mixed variety it was a bronze colour..but,i dont think they will show this in nalli *hifive*

    1. Yeah I also read somewhere about this test but then thought which shopkeeper will rub zari on a stone πŸ˜›
      Gonna check out Nalli first!

  6. Nalli is usually considered to be slightly on the higher side. I would also recommend Kumarans. I have also heard about Sundari Silks but have not really shopped there. They all are fixed price shops.

    Personally I have found that it depends on the day. There are days when I have just visited Nalli and finished all my shopping while there are days when I go around and around all the shops and not get a single sari !

  7. I will suggest you check Nalli & PalamSilks..both are likesis concerns and thye have good collection..Anothr option can be sundari silks..all these shops have trendy designs and good service..ipersonally pickmy sarees frmPalam Silks..Its in Pondy Bazar

    1. Haha my mom is going to be shocked with the list of shops I have right now!
      Thanks for the suggestion Rama *puchhi*

  8. Hey, If you are visiting kancheepuram, then Prakash and Babu Shah are the best ones among the lot. There are a lot of weavers there, but i never found any of them to be authentic silks.

    Once you visit these two shops, you can find the silk and the border of the sari uncomparable to others.
    Both the above mentioned shops have FIXED prices, but when you purchase stuff for like 4-5L, they offer a 2% discount.

    Personally, these are the only two shops i found worth buying from in the entire kancheepuram. my mom has brought sarees from them since last 12 years πŸ˜€

    P.S: the Deepam silks (pretty famous in bangalore) have the same sarees which you find there, but with a higher price ( A 12k saree there would cost you anywhere between 18k -20k here)

    1. Whoa…I thought kancheepuram must be loaded with authentic silk weavers!
      Prakash and Babu Shah noted!! *hifive*

  9. Go to Kancheevaram only if you have some trusted source there. Otherwise, what you see and what you get might not be same all time. I know this cos we purchased sarees for my sis wedding there and we had some influential people, who made us talk to the weavers trustee there.

    Better option would be Nalli silks, Kumaran Silks, Sundari silks, Rasi Silks, RMKV and Palam silks (though I feel except for Rasi and Kumaran silks, all others are lil bit expensive but you get what you pay for).

    All the best. πŸ™‚

  10. Kumaran Silks and Nalli are the best and Authentic as well. Other shops do sell sarees with β€˜Authentic Kachipuram silk Stamp’ on it. But i found few shops where the length was pretty less and quality to be bad.

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