The Blouse House, for perfectly fitted blouses
Launched in September 2022, The Blouse House has become one of the popular clothing brands in the country offering custom-made designer blouses
There was a time when Bangalee women would wear sharis without blouses. It was not considered indecent or anything, it was simply a part of the culture.
With time, when fashion icons such as Gyanadanandini Devi of the Tagore family popularised chemises and jackets, women began to wear them with sharis.
She also changed the way shari was worn and gave it a modern look.
Once considered as only a complementary piece with shari, blouses now have become an inseparable part of traditional wear.
Women wear them with skirts or ghagras, and even pants. Those who love wearing shari also love experimenting with designs, colours and cuts.
"Blouse is always the game changer and that is why we all stress so much on its fitting.
"For instance, if you go to a holud wearing the shari every other bridesmaid is wearing, a perfectly fitted designer blouse can help you stand out from the crowd without going overboard," said Tasnuva, one of the co-founders of The Blouse House.
Launched in September 2022, The Blouse House has become one of the popular clothing brands in the country offering custom-made designer blouses.
The brand is the brainchild of Tasnuva and her friend Mukul Alam. Tasnuva, a business graduate from North South University, faced difficulties in making her blouses the way she wanted.
Hours would be wasted in explaining the tailor the perfect design and the perfect fit.
"Given our hectic schedules, it is quite tough for us to accommodate with personal tailors to get the desired alterations done. Several online-based platforms are offering custom-made blouses nowadays, but due to the lack of expertise in cutting and consultancy, the standard remains questionable," she opined.
Women usually go to male tailors, which might be uncomfortable for some. Usually regular tailoring shops in Bangladesh do not have trial rooms.
Tasnuva encourages her clients to visit her outlet at least twice, one for the design consultancy and another for trial.
The brand provides its own range of fabrics and design samples from which a customer can choose and order. There are options for different add-ons like tassels, lace, pads etc.
Moreover, a customer can also provide her fabric and get the tailoring service only.
The Blouse House promises to build unique designs according to one's personality and body type. The brand has developed a process for an innovative order sheet through which the client's measurements are stored in its system for future reference. The sheets are updated whenever necessary.
For expensive fabrics and bridal wear, before cutting the provided fabric by the customer, The Blouse House makes a demo blouse with regular fabric to ensure the perfect fitting and design.
This process, which might sound like double work, saves the original material from getting ruined.
"No matter how stunning a shari you wear, an ill-fitted blouse is enough to ruin everything. Blouses certainly add new dimensions to sharis and complete the look," added Tasnuva.
As of now, The Blouse House has a team of 12 people, including an in-house designer. The outlet is located at Tahoor Lifestyle, a multi-vendor shop in Banani.
"One of the reasons why we chose our outlet at Tahoor Lifestyle is because they are also in the fabric business and complement the products we make," she concluded.
Price
Fabric: Tk600 -Tk1,500 per yard
Regular blouse (With customer's fabric): Tk2,500
Designer blouse: Starts from Tk3,500