After seeing the Arinder Bhullar collection on the catwalk at the Asiana Fashion Show in Birmingham, and visiting their exhibition stand, one outfit caught my eye and I decided to visit the shop in hope of finding my perfect wedding outfit. It also helped that when visiting them at the Asiana Show they gave were giving interested customers a 10% off voucher to use in store!
The shop itself is on Belgrave Road, which is a road full of asian clothes shops (a list of all the shops on Belgrave Road can be found here)
After finding the shop, we went in and mentioned we'd see an outfit at the Asiana Show, and the next thing you know there it was in front of us. I tried it on even though it was a size 14 and far too big for me! The sales assistant pinned it in place though, gave me a pair of heels to try it on with and then (as cheesy as this may sound) I had that moment where you think "wow...this IS the outfit".
I tried a few other outfits on, in different colours and styles but I'd already decided which one I liked best.
So I'd picked the outfit, what next??
The assistant called "aunty" over to take my measurements and discuss technical details. Did I want sleeves? How long did I want the top? Did I want a netted underskirt?
It was all pretty standard although one major change I made was to have more embroidery on the dupatta. Most of the outfits from Arinder Bhullar tend to have quite light/plain dupattas (you can see for youself by checking out photos I took from Arinder Bhullar catwalk show)
After my order had been written up, they took my contact details and I paid a 50% deposit. I was told the outfit would be ready in 4 weeks, but if there was any delay they'd contact me to let me know.
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2 weeks later I got a phone call from the store to let me know the outfit would be delayed by 2 weeks. Luckily I wasn't on a tight time schedule, so the extra 2 weeks didn't cause a problem.
When the outfit was ready I made an appointment to go in on a day when the instore tailor was available to make any tiny adjustments.
I must admit I was a bit nervous about how the outfit would turn out, I hadn't made too many changes compared to the original version but there was that little worry that it wouldn't be as amazing.
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Thankfully there was no need to worry :) the outfit looked every bit as amazing as the one I'd initially tried on. It fitted almost perfectly and there was only one tiny adjustment to the sleeves which was done in store there and then for me.
My only complaint was that they hadn't ordered a netted skirt for me. I could probably easily have ordered one from any English bridal shop, but as Arinder Bhullar had my measurements and could get me one in the exact same shade as my bridal outfit, I ordered it from them and had it posted it out to me.
All in all, I was pretty pleased with the service I received, they were professional every step of the way - ringing me with important updates, they even rang to let me know when they'd posted out the netted skirt :)
I didn't get a chance to check out the non-bridal outfits in store, but they had some great accessories (my sister ended up buying a handbag too)
Hey,
ReplyDeleteQuestion: What is the skirt netting about?
Is that where net is added under the skirt to give it a little more shape?
I cannot say my experience with arinder was very professional. my outfit was left incomplete due to their lack of resource. On buying a sales item I requested that the product to to be finished meaning that all or at least most of the stones were replaced.On paying for this item I was told that outfit would be finished properly however that was not the case.What I received was a piece that had stones missing at the most obvious part of the outrfit. I was told they had run out of the stones. Odd stones were used to make up for the lost stones. On challenging this I was told that refund would not be given despite the fact that they had not fulfilled their end of the contract. Be sure to to check that you read the posters and be clear about what they can provide or they cannot. Far from it this lady was far from professional. I was given choice of selecting the stones to complete the missing gaps on the outfit. I cannot understand how a designer cannot comprehend the importance of perfection. If buying a sale item you certainly will not be getting the same quality of customer service.
ReplyDeleteI certainly will not be shopping there again.
Went to visit Arinder Bhuller for my Sagai outfit last weekend and have to say the whole experience left me so devastated that I immediately booked a flight to India so I didnt have to go to any more so called "designer". On entering the shop the assistant was very helpful and showed me outfits that would match my requirements, however when I went to try on a few pieces noticed that the hems were torn, blouses ripped, crystals missing from everywhere, skirts soiled, and yet I was about to fork out over £1500 on an outfit?!! I think not!! On the other hand, Ekta Solanki though crazily overpriced (for a whole load of swarovski crystals!) had excellent finish and fabrics and I would pay the thousands for her outfit. Luckily I have a choice so Im off to the desh to get myself some authentic, traditional (none of this contemporary indo-western crap!) outfits...Wish me luck!
ReplyDeleteanonymous - thanks for sharing :) I think it's worth remembering that a lot of stores like Arinder Bhullar order each outfit in for you rather than selling the "display" versions they have in store. Of course they should try and keep their instore stock looking fabulous too - as that's what sells the outfit!
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