The Outfit Trial Checklist: How to Run a Fitting for a Lehenga, Blouse, Sharara or Anarkali

A good trial does two things: it checks the outfit in exactly what you will wear on the day (the shoes, the bra, the jewellery, the dupatta) and it checks it while you move the way you will on the day, which means sitting on the floor, lifting your arms, climbing stairs and dancing. Schedule it early enough that anything which needs fixing can be fixed without panic: at least a week, ideally two, before you wear or travel with it. For a piece made to measure and shipped to you, the trial is the day the parcel arrives.

We have already written about how to measure yourself, which is what happens before a piece is made, and about what can and can't be altered, which is what happens after. This guide is the step in between: the hour in front of the mirror where you find out whether it works.

When to Schedule the Trial

Count back from the first function you will wear it to, not from the wedding day.

• With a local tailor or boutique: most people do a first trial three to four weeks out and a final one about a week before. Never plan the first trial for the week of the function.
• With a made-to-measure piece you order online: work out the delivery date and try it on that evening. Ours are made to order in 4–5 weeks, plus 3–7 days to ship, so order about seven weeks before the first function. That gives you a week in hand. If you want room for a local tailor to make a small change, which our alteration guide says can take two weeks, make it eight or nine.
• Abroad: international delivery times vary by country, so ask before you order. We confirm the shipping timeline for your address when you write to us.

Ordered today, in the first week of October, one of our pieces reaches you in mid-to-late November at the earliest. If your date is tighter than that, message us before ordering: express is sometimes possible, depending on the piece and the month, and we will tell you honestly whether it can be done.

What to Wear and Bring

Most failed trials fail here.

• The actual shoes. Not a similar pair: the pair. Heel height changes the hem of a lehenga, sharara or churidar, and a block heel and a stiletto move differently. If you are torn between two pairs, bring both and decide here. Our footwear guide helps with the choice.
• The actual bra or shapewear. Strapless, backless, a stick-on, a padded blouse lining: decide before the trial, not after. A blouse fitted over one is wrong over another.
• The jewellery that touches the neckline. A choker and a long rani haar ask for different neck depths. Heavy earrings and a maang tikka change how a high neck looks. Bring the main necklace at least.
• The dupatta, and pins. Its weight pulls on the blouse and the waistband, and you need to know where it will sit.
• For a saree, the petticoat you will wear with it. A saree falls on its petticoat, not on you. We make a custom-stitched petticoat (₹2,500) if you need one.
• Your hair, roughly. A bun shows the whole back neck of a blouse; open hair hides it. Pin your hair up the way you plan to.
• A friend with a phone. You cannot see your own back. Have them photograph and film front, side and back.
• Your measurement sheet, so you can compare a problem against the number you sent.

The Checks, Piece by Piece

The blouse

The blouse is the least forgiving piece in Indian dress, so give it the most time.

• Armhole: raise both arms above your head, then reach forward as if to hug someone. The blouse should not ride up more than a little or cut into your underarm.
• Hooks and closure: hooks should close without strain and lie flat, with no gaps between them when you breathe in.
• Bust and darts: the fullest point of the blouse should sit at yours, with no pulling lines from the bust to the armhole.
• Length: sit down. A blouse that is fine standing can lift and gap at the midriff when you sit.
• Sleeves: bend your elbow fully. A fitted sleeve should not bite at the bicep.
• Back: with your hair up, check how deep the back neck sits and whether the straps of your bra show.

Some styles build in a little give. The Aafiya blouse (₹9,325) is pure silk with a sharp V-neckline and back-tie detailing, and the Pia blouse (₹14,175) is plum silk with an open back and tie-up detailing; a tie lets you adjust the back by a fraction on the day. A halter like the Haseena blouse (₹15,475), ivory silk in a classic halter silhouette with a structured fit and embroidery in mirror work, cutdana, sequins and zardozi at the neckline, needs one extra check: wear it for twenty minutes and notice whether the weight sits comfortably at the back of your neck, because you will be in it for hours.

The lehenga

• Length, in the shoes: decide whether you want it to skim the floor, hover just above it, or pool slightly, and check it in your heels, never barefoot. Then walk forward, turn and walk back. If you catch the hem with your toe, it is too long.
• Waist: it should sit where you actually wear it, high or low, and stay there when you sit.
• Stairs: go up and down a flight, lifting the front. Stages and mandaps often have steps.
• Volume and weight: some lehengas use a can-can, a stiff net layer, for volume; others rely on the cut or a lining. Either way, stand in it for fifteen minutes and see how it feels on your hips.

The Raanisa & Mahira lehenga (₹35,500) is sindoori orange woven booti silk with a pleated lining under the lehenga that adds volume and movement; that kind of construction is worth checking for comfort over a long evening. The Bano & Dilruba lehenga (₹28,500), in pistachio silk tissue with a voluminous flare, a wide border of roses and vines in sequins and beads, and a sleeveless V-neck blouse, is the kind of flared skirt where length matters most: a bordered hem cannot simply be cut shorter, which is why the length in your measurements needs to be taken in your shoes.

The sharara

• Length: in your heels, the hem should just cover the top of your foot, and you should be able to walk without stepping on the flare.
• The sitting test: sit on a chair and then on the floor. A sharara should not pull at the seat or the waistband.
• The kurta over it: check the kurta length against the flare in a mirror, side-on.

The Rohi & Zoey set (₹25,795) is a luminous yellow tissue-silk kurta over a pale mint-green sharara that flows in wide pleats, and the Chanbeli & Badli set (₹32,850) is an ivory satin kurta with an aari floral jaal over a sheer organza sharara with a soft flare. A light sharara like these moves a lot when you walk, so do the stairs test in them too.

The anarkali and churidar

Check where the bodice seam falls against your underbust, and that the flare starts where it should rather than at your waist. Then spin: an anarkali is cut to move. The churidar should gather softly at the ankle, not bunch at the knee. The Bhayli & Ahana set (₹14,500) is an ivory woven anarkali with Mukesh work and gold hand-embroidered motifs along the V-neckline and cuffs, with a gold and silver border at the hem, worn with Ahana churidar pants; with a bordered hem like that, check the length of both pieces together.

Sarees and cape sets

Drape the saree properly at least once before the day, over its petticoat, with the blouse. The Bano & Siya saree (₹32,500), ivory moonga zari silk with sequin florals and a rich border, comes with the Siya blouse, which has golden polka dots and embroidery around the neckline and sleeves, so the blouse checks above apply. For a cape set, check that the cape stays on your shoulders when you lift your arms. The Saadgi, Arzoo & Naaz set (₹21,500) layers a sheer black organza cape with scalloped edges over a gathered georgette halter blouse and a voluminous sharara, three pieces that each need a quick look.

The Five-Minute Movement Test

Do this in full kit, with someone filming:

1. Sit on the floor, cross-legged, for two minutes, as you might at a mehendi or a puja.
2. Sit on a chair and lean forward to eat.
3. Raise both arms, as for a dance step or a photograph.
4. Bend low, as you would to greet an elder.
5. Walk up and down stairs.
6. Dance for one song.

Then look at the video. Anything that rode up, gaped, slipped or caught is your list.

The Dupatta Test

Pin the dupatta the way you will actually wear it, and if you will need to cover your head at any point, practise that too. Organza holds a pleat and stays where it is pinned; it is also crisp, so check it doesn't scratch at the neck. The Naisha dupatta (₹7,250) is peach organza with gold zari hand-embroidery, floral motifs in pink resham and gold beads, and sequin-edged scalloped borders. Our lehenga dupatta draping guide has eight ways to wear one.

Remote Trials for NRIs

If you live abroad and are ordering from India, the trial happens wherever the parcel lands, so plan it.

• Get the measurements right first. Our size guide is in body measurements: measure your body, not a garment you own. If you are between sizes, send your own measurements before you order and we will make it to fit, at no extra charge. You can also book a free video appointment and we will guide your measurements at home.
• Decide where it ships. If you are flying to India for the wedding, shipping to family there gives you a trial with a week to spare. Shipping to your home abroad means trying it on before you pack.
• Film the trial. Front, side and back, standing still and during the movement test, in your shoes. If anything needs attention, a video says more than a description.

If you are in Jaipur, our atelier visit guide explains how an appointment in person works.

If Something Needs Fixing

The rule that matters is this: alter through plain fabric, never through embroidery. Side seams, plain hems and waistbands usually have some allowance; embroidered yokes, bordered hems and worked shoulders usually do not. Our alteration guide goes through exactly what is easy, risky and impossible. For blouses in particular, the custom blouse guide explains which measurements drive which part of the fit.

The better fix is earlier. Most problems a trial finds come from a measurement taken in the wrong shoes or over the wrong bra, so the trial checklist above is also a measuring checklist: wear the same things when you measure, note your heel height, and say how you want the neckline and hem to sit.

What We Make, and How

We make women's lehengas, sharara sets, sarees, anarkalis, kurta sets, cape sets, blouses and dupattas, all hand-embroidered by karigars in our Jaipur atelier and cut to your measurements at no extra charge, in standard sizes from 2XS to 4XL if you prefer. We make shararas, not ghararas. We don't make jewellery, footwear or menswear, and we don't weave: we buy handwoven cloth and embroider it.

More fit guides: How to measure · What can be altered · Custom blouses · The Jaipur atelier

Frequently Asked Questions