Almari Couture

Just received my second parcel from Almari and my custom outfit is an amazing fit and the quality is just as good as it was the first time I ordered from them. The first outfit I ordered from them was a little loose but I got it tightened for $ 10 so no big deal. This time they got my fitting perfect. yay!”(relieved sigh lol) I was referred to this company by my impressed cousin who got all her wedding outfits created by them. I’m unusually skinny and nothing readymade in the indian stores seems to fit me right, so I decided to custom order from these ladies and give it a try, glad I did. Looking forward to wearing both my custom outfits to my cousins destination wedding, in love with both my designs!

I spotted Almari Couture on Instagram and what seemed to be a reputable business, capable of delivering what it claimed to, actually turned out to be my worst nightmare! I needed outfits for my sister’s upcoming wedding. Bal, the owner, didn’t initially call me as per agreed upon but once we did connect, payment was taken electronically straight away. And so it began! Bal had stated that she would be preparing a «Purchase Agreement», that her «buyers» were swiftly going to be sourcing the fabrics, that she would share embroidery swatches, that she would nail down the construction design patterns, and that she would have sketches for me to look at by the weekend. Of course, these all turned out to be false promises, and I would learn this the hard way! There came a point where I was in too deep and there was no turning back.
The excuses were endless and came in all shapes and forms! At various moments in time along this terrible journey, Bal insisted that she had to take an emergency last-​minute short trip (certainly no excuse to abandon your customers), that she was sure she had shared the so-​called Purchase Agreements with me on the «G-​drive» (a channel which she supposedly uses to share all documents with clients), that she was «on the line» getting more updates from her «team», that further emails with details were coming (yet they would never be sent), that she had a sudden medical procedure performed over the weekend (of which there was no prior mention), that there had been power outages in the design studio, that the time difference in India was proving problematic, as was the fact that it was Ramadan season and so she had no control over who was and wasn’t turning up to the workshop in India! From a customer perspective, the excuses are the worst things to hear. Although disappointing to learn that they were behind schedule, being honest speaks volumes!
I had no choice but to chase Bal on the phone, especially after she would refuse to call me upon request, even though it was warranted on her part! I certainly raised my voice at her so that I could make myself «heard». My tone was equally abrupt and I was very direct with her — I had no other choice! She had my money and I had a deadline! Unfortunately, my outfits were not started upon until very late in the game! I was on the losing end of this game and I knew that rectifying at this late stage was near impossible.
Since I needed to fly from the USA to the UK for this wedding, I had no choice but to change my flight once it was certain that Bal was not going to meet our agreed upon deadline. To my further dismay, she missed the next deadline promised to me too! The one after that too! There was never an apologetic tone to her «civil» emails, yet excuses galore! In turn, my emails became more abrupt and direct — I was fighting to communicate in a crystal-​clear manner and if that entailed for my tone to turn sour, then so be it!
In the end, Bal had to ship to the UK as I couldn’t wait for the outfits any longer. I had very low expectations. One was an absolute monstrosity and I told Bal that I did not want it and for her to refund me. I was clear in that it should not be shipped to me. Of course, it was shipped to me but was a complete «off-​brief» disaster! Workmanship on the embroidery was of a very poor standard — this is true of all three outfits as you could see white threads within. Bra pads were off-​point — proportion, as ladies would all agree, needs to be on-​point! The other two outfits also did not turn out to my liking and fittings were off. Needless to say, I did not wear the outfits but was forced to buy three NEW outfits to replace these! YES, I had to spend twice, not forgetting the extra charges incurred in changing our flight!
To say I am not happy would be an understatement! After the poor level of service, untimely responses, multiple deadlines missed, no returned calls, not being able to match jewelry, having to change our flight for no reason, and ultimately receiving three disappointing outfits, I would conclude that I kept my end of the deal — always very responsive — but Bal did not keep hers! She never did me the courtesy of keeping the lines of communication open. There were no signs of any after-​sales service — she did not even bother following-​up upon delivery of the orders. I sent an email conveying my disappointment and requesting a partial refund. She chose to ignore me. I followed-​up upon returning to the USA more than a month later — she still ignored me. This review is way over-​due but important to share nonetheless. I hope that what happened to me, NEVER happens to anyone! There are many ways I could have worded this review and so many more details I could have shared. The final message would be the same. Ladies, think twice before entrusting Almari Couture with your custom orders — the tailoring is poorly outsourced and their service is nothing short of disappointing!

In a nutshell… if you could envision your dream wedding dress, Bal has skill and means to bring your dream to reality.
If you are unaware, most wedding dresses are built for ‘ideal’ body types… meaning if you are not a tall-​skinny-​stick-​figure, you will have to alter an expensive off-​the-​rack dress to meet your standards (which can also cost a ton of money). Bal removes this process by constructing a custom dress that is made just for you!
I have had the privilege of knowing Bal for many years and I have discovered that her talent far exceeds many wedding fashion designers out there. I have personally been witness to her beautiful, detailed South Asian wedding wear (both men and women outfits) and, even before I was engaged, I told her that one day she would be making my (Western style) wedding dress. Today, that dream has become a reality.
After trying on many high end wedding dresses, I had come to a decision of what I wanted… and it was TWO dresses «p I have lived in Vancouver and New York, and presently reside in California, and in this time I have developed a taste for fashion. My want list was an email over two pages long! Bal gave me her honest feedback about things from her experience and we made decisions to bring these dresses to life.
Another important factor was budget. I was VERY honest with Bal about how much I could spend on these dresses and she worked with me to make changes to preserve the original concept of the dresses and while working with what I could afford.
Throughout the whole process, Bal kept me in the loop. Since I lived in California, a lot of our communication was through email. She kept me up to date on the process of the dresses by sending me many emails with photos. She allowed for my input and suggestions which made me feel like I had an active hand in creating these beautiful pieces =)
Finally, Bal was there to make sure the dresses were to their full potential for the wedding. Just prior to the wedding, Bal met with my MOHs to teach them to how to corset the dress. Also, the day of the wedding she was present (i.e. there to tie up the dress before my MOHs were photographed doing it, re-​tightening the corset after photos and before the ceremony, and helping during the change to second look get me out of my first dress and into my second one).
But what are words… you want to SEE THE DRESSES, right???
Here is a youtube clip of a preview of our wedding photos:
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Professional photos will be arriving in less than two weeks from the date this comment was posted and will be visible either here and/​or on the Almari Couture website.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me on