Sometimes traditional is the way to go. And boutique ‘Aavaranaa’ for the Indian woman is one store which epitomises tradition!

Aavaranaa is a pet project of the mother-daughters team of Gowri Parvathy, Vijaylakshmi Krishna and Soorya Krishna. Initially started in Coimbatore in the year 2003, Aavaranaa has further expanded by opening an outlet in Chennai in 2006.

It was one woman’s passion for colors and clothes that lead to the establishment of boutique Aavaranaa. Says Vijaylakshmi about her mother Gowri Parvathy, “She used to dabble with embroidery for her friends and then our first boutique was started in Coimbatore. In Chennai we started off slowly by having stalls during exhibitions, which then lead to us opening Aavaranaa here as well.”

Aavaranaa has created a niche for itself in the women’s apparel segment and has on sale, saris and salwar kameez materials catering to a crowd looking for an ethnic touch to their clothes. Bringing into play a blend of cotton and silk, clothes here use materials in the form of crepe, georgette and chiffon. Aavaranaa specialises in handloom silk, and uses in-house designs and weavers located in Kanchipuram.

So what is unique about Aavaranaa? Well, the clothes here definitely speak for themselves! Aavaranaa uses traditional patterns but gives it a contemporary touch which makes it, without doubt, more appealing and an eye-catcher! Mauve, green, red and pink have been used lavishly, making the materials look modern, yet traditional!

The saris have understated pallus and do not have big zari borders either. A combination of silk with kalamkari prints and bandhni styles have also been applied, which definitely makes the materials and the saris stand out! The store is complete with bagalpurs, mutkas and gadwals, which make their very own fashion statements!

Dress materials in Kanchipuram silk thrown in with crepe bottoms give the clothes a more youthful look, which will definitely appeal to the younger crowd. Cotton salwar kameez materials with kalamkari dupattas, hand-painted to perfection, are yet another style which is simple but elegant. Additionally, Aavaranaa also uses Kanchipuram silk with block prints which makes a bold statement, yet maintains grace!

Aavaranaa caters to an exclusive and elite clientele with their focus being on women in the age group of 20 to 45 years, and those who enjoy exclusivity in their wardrobe. The cotton saris are priced from Rs 1200 onwards and the silk saris from Rs 2500. The salwar kameez materials in cotton start from Rs 800 and the ones in silk are ranged from Rs 2850.

According to Managing Partner, Vijaylakshmi, Aavaranaa also plans on expanding further to Hyderabad by the year 2010. If there are words to describe Aavaranaa, it would be simply stated as one which shows grace and elegance to a larger degree.

The store is located at 15, Asoka Street, Alwarpet, Chennai 600018. And can be contacted at 044-24988292.

This is one boutique you should not give a miss! The selection here is worth it!

Rashmi Kumar