Fabric Porn

I had 3 fabric stops planned in Madras (or Chennai, as it is called nowadays.) One was a street that is lined with vendors selling fabric by the roadside - but everytime I went there, I forgot my camera.

Another was to a wool store, which was a bit disappointing - the prices and selection are better in Toronto.

The third stop - Nalli - I did have the camera with me.

Everyone in Madras knows Nalli. I don't think a wedding can happen in Madras without a saree being bought from Nalli. I'm pretty sure I used to visit this store on a weekly basis growing up. My grandmother shopped here, my mother still gets recognized at the door, though she hasn't lived in Madras for over 12 years, and she also still gets a discount, unasked.

(You can guess from this exactly how much my grandmother and mother shopped.)

Now, Nalli carries an incredible selection of sarees, but also, importantly for me, it carries a ton of fabric. Silks, cottons, silk-cotton blends - in my opinion, this place has both the best selection and prices in the entire city.

Here's pictures as proof.

And in the face of all of this, I might have (ahem) bought about 40 meters of fabric, but I still maintain - this is me at my most restrained. (I'll do a separate post with what I bought.)