Must visit for the cotton fabric lovers in Chennai

Festival mood is swinging everywhere. People are lining up in bazaars and outlets to pick up their favourite dresses to match up the celebration mood. New trends and fashions are pouring in. Shopping outlets are filled with vibrant colours and heavily crafted fabrics. Still a major section of people are attracted towards cotton outfits, be it bright or mild.

I would like to share about a must visit place in Chennai - The Pantheon street, Paradise of cotton fabric lovers. It is situated in Egmore, near by the Cooptex,Thillaiaadi Valliammai complex. Yes, You heard it right, it is a street side shopping corner, where you can find petty platform type shops with huge bundles of amazing fabrics. People who know about Monday market of Delhi will find it no different, because this street is also similarly famous.

Stunning collections to select upon:
The most striking feature of this street is the collection of fabrics available here are abundant in range. It is famous for pure cotton fabric, at the same time you can witness spun mix too. Varieties range from classical designs like traditional Kalamkari to unique Ikkat patterns, printed polycotton to trendy crushed cotton. Also you can find netted clothes and corba designed fabrics.

The best thing about this place is, we can purchase bottom and dupatta also along with the tops. You can either choose the full set which is matched and readily exhibited or you can mix and match from the available collections and designs according to your taste of fashion. Both plain materials and printed materials are available to match up. Single fabric can be used as a tops material or bottom material as per your choice.

Value for money:
Another major speciality of this place is the price of the fabrics. It starts from around fifty rupees to hundred and fifty to two hundred rupees per meter, depending on the variety and the pattern. You can find all happening trends here, which will cost you in thousands in boutiques, at a very cheap rate. Its very much affordable and worth your money.

Since it is cheap it doesn’t mean that you have to compromise with the quality of the fabric. You can get all finest clothes with long lasting quality which is on par with the showcase dresses of any bigger outlets. Another facility is, you can buy at whatever length you want, so no need to worry about the fitting. Fabrics wider than standard width are also available. Full guarantee can be assured to the expense you spend here.

Ways to style with:
The collections available here are mostly intended to match up with the kurta or salwar tops. It is upto you to choose either plain tops and printed bottom or printed tops and plain bottom. The cotton fabrics are non-transparent that you don’t need to buy lining clothes and it is a matter of choice. You can select dupattas same as that of the bottom fabric or separate dupattas bordered with laces and tassels are also available.

While cotton fabrics can be stitched into straight kurtas, the spun material which is a mix of synthetic flavour in cotton can be used for anarkali tops. The plain and striped fabrics can be used as gathering bottoms while printed and Kalamkari materials can be used as salwar bottoms. Another mind blowing collection available here is the checked fabrics. This can be either used as tops but it is also used to stitch night pants which looks stylish than boring floral or animal designs in ready made night dresses.

Tips for efficient shopping
There are some basic tips to follow. When I referred this place to my friends, the first issue they faced is the very sight of these fabrics. Usually the fabrics are folded into bundles and will be placed one over the other, in both vertical and horizontal arrangements. So it becomes confusing to understand the patterns and colours on randomly seeing it. But no worries, just give a relaxed glance with patience, soon you will get used to it and it becomes easier from the next visit.

The next major tip is to know about from which shop to buy, because every shop will hold mostly the same designs and varieties with few exceptions. So don’t hurry to buy as you see a design instead visit every shop and try to know the unique designs and prices of similar designs. Now choose the shop based on the uniqueness of the design or the best price for the same design, because it may vary from shop to shop.

There is no doubt that this place is really affordable but don’t forget that it is still a business corner, so the shopkeepers tend to label thrice the original price. If you are a master in the art of bargaining then your purchase will be really worth enough. Another trick to convince the shopkeeper to accept to your bid is to visit the place in the evenings and try to buy at the closing time of the shops, then you will find yourself really lucky.

Extra stuffs to know
Most of the shops are selling unstitched materials which you can get in meters or kilograms as per your need. The first two shops are the exceptions where you can find stitched western outfits again at the affordable rates at different sizes. One more speciality is this place is dedicated to women because you cannot find any stuffs for men. One thing men can do here is to pay the bills as your women finish their shopping.

Yes, there are other few things available that men can shop like curtains, pillow covers and bedspreads. Jokes apart, this place is to groom the ladies and to satisfy the exploration of fashion designers present in every girl. Best thing about this is, you can mix and match the tops and bottoms of your choice rather than compromising with the ready sets where you may not like a particular part of the set but still have no choice of avoiding it.

You have one more option of matching up the same tops with different bottoms or the vice versa which saves your expenses even more. So Pantheon street becomes the one point shopping spot for all your cotton love, amazing quality, cost effective and fits well with all occasions. So what is still stopping you? Just rush to the Pantheon street and do joyful shopping in line with today’s trend and celebrate the festivals like never before.

WRITTEN BY SOCIAL AUTHOR: PRABHA KATHAMUTHU

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