Desi Designer Wear: Lehengas, Sarees, Suits and More, Made to Measure

Desi designer wear is a wide phrase. For one person it means a bridal lehenga; for another, a saree for a cousin's sangeet, a sharara for Eid or a cape set for a cocktail night. What ties it together is the word designer: a piece that someone has actually designed, rather than one of hundreds cut from the same pattern. House of Daisy is an independent Indian designer label from Gurugram, and everything we make is made to measure.

What makes desi clothes designer clothes

Plenty of Indian clothing is pretty. Desi designer clothes go further in a few specific ways:

• A design that starts with you: the occasion, the time of day, how much you want to move and dance, and what you love.

• A sketch: a drawing of the outfit you approve before anything is cut.

• Embroidery that is planned: where the work sits, how dense it is and which technique, from zardozi and gota to phulkari and chikankari.

• Fit to your measurements: the blouse, kurta or bodice made for your body, not adjusted from a standard size.

The pieces in a desi designer wardrobe

Most wedding seasons need more than one outfit. These are the shapes we design and make:

• Lehengas: bridal and non-bridal, from heavy ceremony pieces to light crop-top lehengas for the mehndi or sangeet.

• Sarees: customised sarees whose embroidery and border are planned with you, with the blouse stitched to your measurements. We can also rework a saree you already own.

• Anarkalis and suits: floor-length or shorter, with a dupatta to match. See our guide to a customised anarkali suit.

• Shararas and ghararas: for a nikah, a mehndi or a festive dinner. Our customised sharara set post explains the options.

• Indo-western: gowns long and short, co-ords, cape sets, dhoti-style sets and short cocktail dresses. Read more on Indo-western dresses for women.

Choosing a desi designer dress for each function

A desi designer dress that works at a daytime haldi will feel out of place at a formal reception, and the reverse. Ask yourself four questions for each function:

1. Day or night? Lighter colours and fabrics often suit the day; richer colours, velvet and metal-thread work often suit the evening.

2. How much will you move? A sangeet with choreographed dancing needs a lighter skirt and a secure dupatta.

3. Indoors or outdoors? Grass, sand and wind all change the hem length and fabric.

4. Will you wear it again? A sharara, an anarkali or a saree is easy to wear again for festivals and family weddings.

For a function-by-function plan, see our guide to a dress for every wedding function.

Designing for the whole family

Desi weddings are family affairs, and many brides want their mother, sisters and closest friends dressed in a shared colour story. Because every piece is made to measure, each woman's outfit can be different in shape while still matching the bride's palette: a lehenga for a sister, a saree for a mother, anarkalis for cousins. If you are planning outfits for a group, our group order page explains how it works.

Ordering from anywhere

You can visit our Golf Course Road store in Gurugram, or work with us entirely on video call and WhatsApp video. Our designer, Bhumika Sehgal, guides you through your measurements on video. If you are coming to India, you can have a trial at the store with alterations; either way, we leave extra margin in the seams so a tailor near you can make final adjustments. We ship worldwide, and you pay your own country's customs duty and import taxes on arrival. Our guide to Indian designer wedding outfits goes further into planning a full wedding wardrobe.

How it works

1. Free consultation: in our store or on video call or WhatsApp video. Book on WhatsApp +91 92896 79666 and send the pictures you love.

2. Sketch: Bhumika Sehgal sketches each outfit for your approval before anything is cut.

3. Cost: you see the price before anything is cut. Payment is in full in advance.

4. Making: our karigars embroider it to your measurements, and you get a delivery date once the design is approved.

5. Trial or shipping: a trial at the store, or we ship it to you.