Casual and classy

"They come in to buy one, go out buying three,” says Jaipur’s Behroze Singh, talking about customers frequenting her recently opened shop Cottons on Chow­patty Sea Face in Bombay. "Our prices are reasonable, we give good value for money.”

With emphasis on the ethnic, Cottons stocks a variety of long and short kurtas, salwars, kurtis, dupattas, patialas, tops, crushed skirts, etc for ladies and kurtas, pyjamas, churidars for gents. While 90 percent of the thrust is on cotton, chiffon dupattas and a few items in georgette or silk are available, says Singh. "We cater for the complete look — silver jewelry, jootis, ghoong­roos, scarves, stoles, cloth bags. You can mix and match the way you like — traditional or fun­ky, ca­­s­ual or chic, de­pends on your choice. Small embellishments like beadwork, sequins or embroidery add a touch of class, without going over the top. We are hoping to do saris in the near future,” she adds.

Singh and the Cottons store in Bombay

Singh began her business (see "Cool in Cottons,” Parsia­na, August 2002) with children’s clothes. "The market for child­ren’s clothing is limited and people wanted me to go into apparel for adults. We catered to a niche market in Jaipur when we opened five years ago. There were high-end boutiques or run of the mill bazaar stuff, nothing in between for the middle class. Our pro­duct, with its simple cut and good finish, appeals to the discern­ing shopper,” she remarks.

Cottons does not use either plastic or paper bags at the delivery counter. Outfits are handed over to the customer in cloth bags made from leftover material by women in Jaipur. With a popular outlet in the Greater Kailash area in Delhi, "Cottons ka thela (delivery bags of Cottons) are quite well-known in Delhi,” she laughs. Clients include celebrities like Rajmata Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, film stars, socialites and upcoming stars from the television world too. Garments are tailored and dispatched to the three retail stores (Jaipur, Delhi and Bombay) from their India­wear manufacturing base in Jaipur. Managing the Bombay store is Mahrukh Irani. "She’s great with customers,” commends Singh. "The response from the young as well as older people has been encour­aging. We have received excellent feedback. Customers tell us that our designs are well appreciated, with acquaintances inquir­ing ‘where have you bought this outfit from?’” observes Irani.