Clothes

Amethyst, Sundar Mahal, Padmavathi Road, Jeypore Colony, Gopalapuram

Ph - +91 442820 3582

Anokhi, “Chamiers”, Old #47 (new #85), Chamiers Road, R A Puram.

Brass Tacks, 77/13, Corporation Shopping Complex, C.P. Ramaswamy Road, Alwarpet, +91 44

4208 1767. Contemporary clothing from natural fibres for women.

FabIndia.. The Ilford House location at 3 Woods Road is probably the best in terms of choices and selections. This is the place to go for all your natural-dyed, hand loomed and hand made textiles. The prices have been going up the last few years, but FabIndia is the only source for this sort of textile in Chennai at any retail outlet.

Just Casuals, Nungambakkam, 1, Sterling Road, +91 044 28273882. A good place to head if you're in the mood for the Banana Republic/Abercrombie/Old Navy/Gap type stuff. They seem to get all the export rejects or overstocks. You'll find that all the brand tags are cut out due to some agreement with the manufacturer. The quality and prices are good, but unfortunately there's no bargaining possible.

Handloom Exhibitions. Year-round there is always a handloom exhibition profiling the work of one state or the other. These temporary installations (you'll have to check the local papers to find out where they set up) generally have a good selection of interesting fabrics and textile products. And there is always the option to bargain, which makes it a better bet than oft-overpriced retail stores. The Royapettah YMCA (across from Royapettah Hospital) has a regular handloom exhibition.