How Picking Out A Sherwani Opened My Eyes To A Whole New World!

The wedding date had been finalised and while there was so much activity around me, I was not perturbed, because as the groom to be, there was little that was coming to me. I mean, of course, I was helping out with all the wedding preparations – talking to the caterers, ensuring that all the right flowers were being ordered and in ample quantities and sending out invitations. However, in comparison to my fiancée, I had little to do, because she was literally turning into a bridezilla trying to get her trousseau in order. My main job during this time was to talk to her and tell her that it would all be ready in time and every time she sent me a photo of her dressed up in some outfit, I had to tell her that she looked wonderful!

It was during one of those conversations that she suddenly asked me where I was with my wedding wardrobe. I told her that a few days before the wedding, I would just head to some superstore and pick out all the clothes I needed. I can assure you that the way she screamed over the phone, I could have heard her all the way from home, without the phone too! She was furious because she felt that I was being too callous about my clothes. If she was looking wonderful for the wedding, it was imperative that I looked just as good too. She immediately mailed me more than a dozen different types of sherwani designs and one look at them was enough to leave my head reeling. All of a sudden, I realised that I was probably leaving an important task to the last minute. 

I immediately called my best friend to come over and help me out with, what suddenly seemed like a mammoth task. For the next few hours, we were poring over all the designs that my fiancée had sent over and were also browsing fashion websites to get an idea of what is currently trending. The more I read, the more I realised how deep trouble I was in. If I was ready to wear something off the rack, I would probably find a sherwani quite easily, but if I was looking for something special, I would need at least a month in hand. My friend, in the meantime, had already started making phone calls to designers and boutiques that specialised in sherwanis and men’s fashion. The information he got for me was that if wanted an exclusive sherwani from a reputed designer, I needed to get their appointment well in advance and for me to get my outfit in hand, it would take anywhere between one to two months. 

Now, I was worried, because my wedding was in less than a month and if I was not wearing something exclusive and unique, my fiancée would throw a fit that no one would want to see. I was ready to hit the panic button, when my best friend came to my rescue, yet again! He told me that I could explore the online option, and while I am someone who is net savvy, I was not sure about doing my wedding shopping there. I mean, I have picked up plenty of shirts and jeans and shoes online, but this was my wedding we were talking about. I needed something that was special and would let me stand along with my bride to be, who was going all out couture!  

It was then that my best friend introduced me to a world where I could get latest sherwani design for marriage and that too the easy way. This was the world of IndiaEmporium – a magical place where you could get your clothes designed, stitched and then delivered to your doorstep, without you having to move an inch! We immediately logged onto the website and I have to tell you – it was nothing short of a revelation! There was simply so much to choose from, even for men and what my best friend had told me was true – I could get my clothes designed. 

Within minutes, I was having a chat with a designer, who was asking me all the right questions – when my wedding was, what colour outfit was my bride going to wear, was there a colour theme to the wedding, whether the wedding would be out in the open or would it be indoors. Although at first, I wondered why there were so many questions, I eventually realised that all these were details that would help the designer choose the perfect design for my sherwani. The fact that mine was a winter wedding and that some of the ceremonies would happen outdoors meant that my sherwani had to help me stay warm. So, we went with a combination of velvet and silk in a combination of cream and maroon colours, because those would work perfectly with what my fiancée was planning to wear. I sent them my measurements and two days later, I had a sketch of what my sherwani would look like. A week later, they sent me a swatch of the embroidery work and 15 days later, my sherwani was in my hands. I had actually created my wedding sherwani online and it was just as perfect as I could have imagined! 

Going Beyond The Traditional Indian Men’s Clothing

Whenever someone tells me that fashion is only for women, I get seriously irritated – I mean, just because I am a man, does it mean that I am not concerned about how I look, when I step out. I am a modern man, and I have no qualms in being called a metrosexual, because I do spend a reasonable amount of time, in making sure that I look good. So obviously, when my best friend’s wedding came knocking, I knew that there was quite a bit of shopping in my near future.

What surprised me was that when I asked for what were the latest wedding dresses for men at my local market stores, most of them looked up at me in surprise. Normally, it is women who walk in and out of stores that offer wedding clothes, but it is rarely that men walk into such stores asking for clothes for a special occasion; which would probably explain why these store owners looked a little bewildered. However, when you wander into slightly more upmarket and posh areas, the stores there are a little more equipped to help the modern, fashion-forward man like me.

  

I realised that my local market would not be able to cater to the kind of fashion tastes that I have developed in the past few years and I knew, without a doubt, that I needed to venture a little further out. So, I decided to head to the more upmarket areas of my city, venturing into the stores of renowned designers. Not only was I pleasantly surprised to see so many modern takes on traditional Indian men’s clothing. While there were the traditional and typical sherwanis and kurtas on display, there were also so many fusion outfits – so a formal looking jacket, which could be teamed with a pair of Jodhpuri pants or a really snazzy kurta could be teamed with a pair of a really well-tailored pair of pants.

I decided that the best way to go was to grab my friends, including my best friend, the groom to be (henceforth to be addressed as GTB), and head to one of the superstores, which have all the major brands, including the famous designers. I mean, if I needed to shop for my friend’s wedding, wouldn’t he have to shop too; after all, it was his wedding. As we headed to this fashion superstore, I got talking to the GTB about all the events that would be held before the wedding, and pretty soon I realised that this was going to be one of those typical big fat Indian weddings, with a mehndi, a sangeet, which would also be the cocktail party, the actual wedding and a reception post that. A quick mental calculation and I knew that I needed about four outfits and so would my three other friends and of course, the GTB and I knew that each one would have to be different from the other.

Now, I have to tell you, outfits that would be considered under the umbrella of Indo western for men in 2018 has changed drastically, and there are so many more options now, as opposed to what would have been the case a few years back. At this fashion superstore, we were in for a treat – it was like walking into a winter wonderland. I mean, I am no diva types, but I do like being well dressed and more importantly, aptly dressed for the occasion at all times!

During our conversation, we had decided to keep the outfits really light and summery for the mehndi, because one it was going to be during the day and two, you really don’t want to be dressed up too much in the summers. While my friends and I decided to stick to plain pastel shaded kurtas, which we could team up with either pajamas or jeans, the GTB choose a khadi silk kurta with embroidery and a little bit of embellishment. The sangeet/cocktail party was going to be a glamourous affair, which is why we choose to go with silk kurtas and Jodhpuri pants. Our GTB choose to team a plain silk kurta with a heavily embellished Nehru jacket.

And then it was time to pick out the most important outfit, mainly for the GTB – the outfit he would wear for his wedding. What surprised me was that my best friend was planning to stick to his roots for the wedding day – being a south Indian he was planning to wear the traditional off white shirt and veshti for the wedding. And while I was all for his honouring his traditions, I knew that me and my other friends needed something to wear. Fortunately for us, while looking through the selections of men’s Indian outfits for weddings, we came across some simpler looking sherwanis, which we knew would be perfect for us. What was truly wonderful was that we were able to get our hands on exactly the same design of the sherwani, just in different colours, making it the perfect choice for us ‘groomsmen’!

And finally, the reception – the GTB had decided that he wanted to stick to a well tailored suit for the occasion and we decided to follow ‘suit’ (pun intended!), because it seemed like the most sensible choice. However, while he chose to go completely formal with the bowtie and all, we decided to keep it cool and opted for open collared shirts, along with the dinner jackets.

What was truly wonderful was that we were able to do all our shopping from just one place, where we not only got all our outfits, but also enjoyed some truly great discounts. Didn’t I tell you where this ‘fashion superstore’ was located? Just pick up your laptop and type in www.indiaemporium.com and you are there!