Love The Kerala Kasavu Saree? Here's Where To Get It

For Tarini Kumar and Fiona Arakal, this decades-old store is the go-to for getting kasavu saree. Fiona, who's the co-founder of Ishka Farms, has been buying from Kasavukada for the last 30 years because that's where her mom used to shop. In fact, Fiona's daughter bought her first kasavu mundu from here this year. Tarini, who's a sales and marketing professional and had a stint with Greater Than, tells us how since the time she can remember she's sat with her mum, aunts, and cousins and browsed through the collection here. The brand's known for its wide range of sarees, and dress materials. Tarini even got her wedding saree from here. 

For marketing professional Srilaxmi Menon, Southloom is one online brand that she vouches for getting Kerala sarees online. She loves how authentic and traditional the sarees from this brand look. She got herself the classic kasavu saree and found them comfortable to wear and carry. A saree for all occasions, she tells us. 

Kuthampully is a weavers village in Thrissur, Kerala and the sarees produced by the weavers are GI tagged and known for their distinguished borders. Thrissur-resident and communications professional, Jayalakshmi Ranjith only buy from their outlets in Kerala because of the top-notch quality of the handloom. The reason why she buys from these outlets is that the profits go directly to the weavers. She has bought set sarees, set mundus, and handloom cotton sarees from them. She recommends that you should visit the village when you get a chance. 

For PR professional Saina Jayapal, Co-optex in her home town of Kozhikode is where she gets her kasavu saree from. She's an old school that way and although she's not bought one in recent times (if you haven't gotten the gist yet, Malayalis don't buy kasavu saree. It's always there at home!), she recommends picking them up. Lucky for you, you don't have to visit Kozhikode (although you must), since Co-optex is online and you can pick up sarees from them. 

Another brand that Srilaxmi recommends for Onam saree. While she's not flicking her mom's or grandmom's cupboard for one, she's browsing through the collection that Pranaah, which is released every Onam. She recommends them because they have such unique designs while still maintaining the traditional look and feel of a kasavu. She got herself a half-saree from them and still gets great compliments every time she dons it. 

Design and communications wiz, Shalini Raman raids her aunt's (who's a Malayali) wardrobe for her Onam sarees. We have no complaints since that is the norm with most folks mentioned above. However, she let us know about Binks and their limited-edition Kasavu Kit. So did home chef Sreedevi Mohan. Sreedevi recommended it to us along with the fact that she buys from Karalkada, an offline store in Kerala. For ladies still learning the fine art of saree draping, you are in luck as Binks is a clip-on version of the classic kasavu saree that you can drape under a minute. It also comes with a tailor-made blouse based on your measurements. Apart from this you also get jasmine flowers, safety pins (VERY IMPORTANT), chandan, bindi, earrings, and a scrunchie. 

Food bloggers Samantha Abraham and home chef Rati Dhananjayan swear by this Instagram brand. For Samantha who's never bought an Onam saree ever — at this stage, you all should know, she too, raids her mom's or mother-in-law's wardrobe — she loves the designs that are done by Rouka. Beautiful modern kasavu sarees are what you get from this brand. Rati, who like most Malayalis, gets hers from local handloom stalls that pop up during Onam season is also a big fan of Rouka. She tells us how this Kochi-based sustainable brand is focused on traditional weaves with modern designs. She got herself their kasavu saree with a plantain leaf motif (sadhya feels!) because it's such a fun design when you are a foodie and love sadhya she says.