Tabarruj

By far one of the WORST stores that is on DEVON!!! Not only are they rude and have NO customer service skills but NOTHING comes in on time… NEVER EVER CUSTOMIZE anythign there if u see it and u like it buy it… negotiate first… but NEVER customize they do it wrong and then they make u pay for it… no refund policy… My wedding dress is still NOT here and its been over 4 months since we placed the order. we were promised it within 4 weeks of ordering it.

I bought outfits from here. they have good collection. but be very careful. 90% of their clothes have defects in them (stains, rip etc).
Order and get your colothes altered way ahead of your event. (5 months in advance).
Never pay in full if it needs alteration or if they promise to remove stains.
Always give half a deposit and when done give them the full amount.
Devon shops don’t believe in unhappy customers and refunds. They are there to make money and rip you off. NO wonder I respect Americans when it comes to refunds and good customer services.

Let me start by saying that I am not Indian. That said, I have been to may different ethnic weddings and events, and I humbly insist that I do have a keen eye for quality and style and I know the value of the Dollar! Tabarruj was one of my last stops on Devon while searching for a party Lengha. Each store I went to insisted that they had «Designer» Lenghas unlike the stores I had previously visited and a basic (read: cheap and ugly) Lengha would run about $ 450-​$ 600. I knew I would be taken for a ride because of my obvious lack of experience and idea of what I wanted. Certainly I understand that you pay more for quality, however, I know a cheap material and poor handiwork when I see it. I had done my research and consulted friends and knew that it should be possible to find one within my budget of $ 200, seeing as I would need minimal (if any) alterations. Instead, Renu and Najala helped me select a number of saris that would work for me. Each one was about $ 150.00 and they promised me a price of $ 30 would include the petticoat and petticoat/​blouse alterations for both saris. Overcoming my hesitation to wear a sari and therefore my need to understand how to wrap, pleat, and secure it properly, I agreed. Even in the poorly-​lit space of the store, I noticed almost immediately a spot on one of the saris and pointed it out to the helpful ladies. They told me that when I came back to get the petticoat and sari blouse in two weeks, they would remove the spot for me. I returned to the store as agreed, two weeks later, and showed them the spot again. In better lighting, it was obvious the spot was a huge greasy food spot that had seeped through multiple layers of the folded fabric. They offered to exchange it for another Sari and led me to an area of the store that had the least attractive and lowest quality items. Instead, I hand-​picked an item in a similar color-​scheme, but not pre-​pleated like my original item. Additionally, the second sari I had purchased weeks before had spotting and streaking around the beadwork accross the bust and neckline. This sari was my favorite and I was hesitant to let it go! The ladies assured me that if I were unable to get the spots out at a dry-​cleaner, they would exchange that one as well.
All in all, once my final selections were made, the games started. The once helpful sales ladies suddenly became strategic. They informed me that the replacement sari I had selected was «Designer» and much more expensive than the original, even though it was in the same folded pile of saris where I had pulled the original one from! It was a similar material to my favorite one with similar amounts of beadwork, saving one difference in the skirt (different colored panels on the sides). The asked me for $ 200 extra to change the Sari! Of course, I refused, and asked them to make it an even exchange since it was similar and I had been through a lot of trouble. Likewise, I still had a 2^nd sari from them which would need to be stain-​treated with no guarantee of success! After much arguing, they finally agreed to release the new selection to me for $ 80 (including two petticoats and alterations on one sari blouse). Overall result looked fine but at the 1^st event, zipper broke and was irreparable. At 2^nd event, the second sari started loosing gems and decorations. Overall, poor quality and poor customer service.

I will never shop here again. Last week I bought a dress here and they said they would have the alterations done and ready by the next Friday. They told me to call before to coming in. I called all day Wednesday but nobody answered the phone. I called again on Thursday but couldn’t reach until I tried about ten times. When I spoke to the lady she said she can’t have it ready till late Sunday. I told her I can’t come by on Sunday and then she asked me of she can give me a different colored bottom and in different material. I said no and told her I needed the dress on Friday. I went to pick it up and the dress was altered terribly, they totally ruined the shape of te dress and would not listen to my concerns. The bottom was made of terrible material and was ill fitting. To top it all the dress was filled with wrinkles and they just stuffed it in a plastic bag and gave it to me. I feel ripped off and will never visit this place again.

I’ve been back a few times since my first review, and the clothes are just not up to par. I was really dissapointed and kept hoping for things to get better, but I finally brought myself to update this review. I’d stick with this place only for the amazing custom design orders, but probably not for a last minute sari or lengha.

For South Asian men’s suits, (sherwani, kurta) we’ve been pretty much limited to Sahil, across the street and down the block on Devon. Sahil is an oddly dysfunctional combination of Oriental (barter for final price, no larger sizes, there isn’t much room in the store, as if you’re in a Delhi baazaar karna chowk), and Occidental (they don’t really trust customers so the merchandise is all put away in the back, they bring it out to you one at a time, the customer service is stunted, inadequate and insincere), all in all, a less than satisfactory experience. But now they have competition.
Tabarruj displays their men’s suits out on a rack, so you can easily look through them. They probably have less of an off the rack selection than Sahil, but since they hide the men’s suits at Sahil, it’s so much easier to shop at Tabarruj. They’ve got the latest Desi men’s fashions, finally, in Chicago! They didn’t have much in my size off the rack, and the suits were all the really dressy wedding styles, but they are very helpful and friendly about custom ordering.
You need to do some Indian style bartering, so the best is to come with your aunti-​ji who grew up negotiating hard for vegetable prices back in the motherland. If you’re on your own, and American-​born like me, do your research ahead of time, know what the value and prices of the suits (or saris) would be if you were going to order online and have them imported (Indian cost plus shipping), expect to take some time in the process, and aim for roughly 30% off initial prices.

Finally… an Indian clothing store on Devon that is fashion forward with reasonable prices. This is a relatively new store on Devon. I’ve been shopping on Devon for years and to tell you the truth, there are many stores, but just about all have weak selections. One store that you may have luck with is Sahil, but it is ridiculously overpriced. Tabarruj carries up to date styles… right outta the magazines! The owners are very friendly, accessible, helpful and have «that eye.» (believe me, I’m kind of a fashion snob and i don’t say that about a lot of people)…There are some stores that let you customize part of a garment., but Tabarruj is the only place that lets you customize your garment from head to toe… that’s what my fiancée did for our engagement… all for an amazing price! I can’t express how refreshing it is to see a store like Tabarruj on Devon.
–Vin