Found a handloom wholesaler

In Anna Nagar, (2nd avenue, near Santosh) I found  a wholesaler selling fabric from Chirala, AP. Huge but unassuming godown, loads of fabric from soft clothing material to curtain and upholstry material. Great range of Kalamkari and "daboos" fabric that is lovely for making the kind of clothes I wear. There are nice soft, chanderi and raw silk varieties too.

I find that for retail customers who walk in, the pricing is a bit arbitrary - I got the feeling that they just randomly quoted a number. Price ranges from 85 - 100 bucks per  meter on an average, with expensive fabric retailing at Rs.120.

The range is great, the fabric quality is exceptional, and while I don't know if the price is a steal, buying 2.5 meters and having a kurti made will still work out to about 40% cheaper than buying at fabindia, which is the only readymade store where I've seen sensibly stitched kurtis in these fabrics.

I have a vague memory of Madarsha (Purasawakkam) having really cheap kalamkari fabric (I am talking about rs. 60 / meter), but not sure if it was the same fabric quality. Must walk into fabric stores in T Nagar too, and take a lookie.

There is also the good old pantheon road with its streetside fabric merchants, but again, must check t see how the quality compares.

Anyway, back to the wholesaler I found, a couple of my friends raided the place really well, while I remained true to my no-more-new-clothes mandate, didn't buy any. Bought some curtain material for MIL though, upon her request.

A propos the dress shopping embargo, the 40 kurta thing is still bugging me. I'm gonna give away at least 10. They are all well used, but still perfectly usable. Might as well give it now when someone can still use it. And if I pare my wardrobe down, later in the year I can eventually pick up some fabric for myself too, maybe  ;-B

The Red Tapes did it.

I am really not much of an accumulator of things. Or so I thought. I have always worn simple, comfortable clothes, almost no jewellery. My slippers and shoes are comfortable, sturdy.

I look around me at girls who seem to live on retail binging, and I snort in derision and feel superior.

I only wear cotton, and the kind that doesn't need starching. The fabric softens with every wash, becoming incredibly comfortable, if worn down, over time. I shop in Fabindia. My delhi frinds tell me it is awefully overpriced, but it seems ok for Madras, and the fit is perfect. Ingenious too, with pockets everywhere, even in salwars!

Speaking of which, I have salwars in black, white and every shade of beige from ivory to sandalwood, adn I mix-match these with all my kurtis.

And then, upon a whim, I counted the clothing articles I have, an here's my shame list:

50 kurtis of various sizes,

10 salwars,

8 trousers (I have two pairs of jeans, two formal(ish) pants, two cotton pants and 2 capris)

12 assorted stoles

1 silk salwar set

Saris from my wedding that I will never wear.

Footwear:

2 pairs of leather workwear sandals

2 joothies 9from jaipur trip)

2 pairs of black leather shoes

1 pair of adidas sneakers

1 pair of red tape casual shoes.

Too much you say? agree with you.

Not so bad, you say? thanks for being kind.

I think it was finally the red tape shoes that woke me up.

For two years now, I realize I've been on autopilot, buying kurti after comfortable kurti, flats after flats, till I simply have too many clothes and shoes.

I realized I dont need to buy clothes for at least a year. The salwars will probably shred, and if they do, I'll think about replacing them. As for footwear, I don't even need to replace any yet. Ihave two of every kind of footwear I need, and that is that.

On second thoughts, there must be much cheaper ways of getting my kurtis than coughing up the cash in fabindia. The fabric I like is the honest desi weaves that I should find in the open market, and I simply need a tailor to copy my best fitting kurtis and salwars, pockets and all. Thankfully, tailoring is cheap in India.

Bizarrely, the decision to quit shopping actually flooded me with relief. This is not like a diet, requiring discipline and focus. After I quit, i realized that it was the shopping that felt strained and unnatural.