Trousseau Destination: Anita Dongre, Mumbai

Exactly a year ago…

…I was on a project in Mumbai. I had gone to Phoenix Mills in Lower Parel for an early bachelorette of sorts with my girlfriends from college. Don’t ask for the details, because you’ll never get them 🙂

Just when we entered the mall complex, the Anita Dongre bridal wear store caught my eye. And since I had started trousseau shopping already, I went in for a quick peek. 15 minutes later, I was on the phone with my mother convincing her that she needed to fly into Mumbai to have a look at the gorgeous lehenga heaven I had discovered.

Unfortunately, I never did quite get back to Mumbai after that trip, and my dreams of owning an Anita Dongre trousseau piece remained just that – a dream.

So this time around…

…when I was planning my Mumbai trip (my first one to my favourite city since I got married), I decided that I *needed* to visit the Anita Dongre store again.

I went with bride-to-be Supriya, and needless to say, by the end of the visit she was feeling like quite the bride! We started off with the lighter lehengas (and we never reached the seriously heavy ones because, well, they were too heavy!) – there were rows of outfits in elegant whites, with blouses in bright raw silk reds and fuschia pinks adding the much-needed pop of colour to the ensemble. And then there were rows of outfits in pastel hues – soft peaches interspersed with baby pinks and gold. Once again, I was sure I had come to the right place – it was trousseau heaven.

Reema, who met us at the store, was really helpful with suggesting outfits to try on. Unfortunely, they keep only sizes 8-12 at the store, and our bride was not able to try on as many outfits as she would’ve liked. But that didn’t stop us from trying on as many as we possibly could!

What bride Supriya had to say about the collection –

“There were lehengas with chikankari bootis, scalloped hems with beautifuly embroidered motifs and gota patti work on the blouses. Ideal for a day time pre-wedding function. Riding high on understated elegance.”

And I think that sums it up perfectly. If you’re looking for a day-time wedding outfit, or for a pre-wedding function, this is the place to go. But you have to be thesubtlebride type. There are hardly any loud colours here, but if you’re a sucker for soft peaches and self-work (which I am!), this is your place. I also fell in love with some anarkalis, and if it were my own wedding, I would’ve walked out with atleast 5 buys from here. Everything is just so *pretty pretty pretty* But of course, since it’s designer wear, it comes with a hefty price tag. A simple (I say simple because you Delhi girls will scoff at wearing some of these on a wedding function!) mehendi, sangeet or reception lehenga from here could cost you anywhere between 1-2.5 lakh.

My honest opinion –

I would’ve loved to buy my mehendi and sangeet outfits from here (only downside being the price). I’m not a heavy bling girl and the soft pretty shades here totally stole my heart. This was the first store I fell in love with while trousseau shopping. It was the first place that gave me confidence that what I wanted for my trousseau was out there, it was possible to find beautiful trousseau outfits that weren’t all loud colours and bling (as much as I love bright shades!).

Final verdict –

Still crushing on the Anita Dongre bridal wear store!

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And now for some pictures.

Enjoy the visual candy!

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{{For the complete photo album, go here}}

You can buy Anita Dongre designer wear online on their website, and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Photography Team: Satrajit Basu & Swetha Sarpamalay

Models: Ayesha Chowdhury & Sarah Harekrishna