There are some pieces of clothing you’ll probably need to wear just once in your life: that red, flowy gown when you run down a dramatic flight of stairs and into the arms of a lover; that vintage-y white lace sari for your Indian re-enactment of Elizabeth. We found both of these garments and more at Dial-a-Dress, a clothes rental hub at Khar that mostly leases out heavy saris and can stitch you a blouse to go with it. Heart pleat!

Deeds and Bonds

Yes, we know you’re a little skeptical about renting clothes too, but a meeting with owner Sonia Mehra might be able to change that. Or at the very least make you more comfortable with the idea of garment leasing. The London School of Fashion graduate keeps a neat studio, and assures you that all garments are dry cleaned before you rent them. Also, 20% of your rent money goes towards NGOs and hospitals working with cancer patients. Sign the (good) deed!

Available for rent is Indian wear, cocktail dresses and a smattering of other Western wear. We recommend you skip the Bangkok-ish rack of tops and casual dresses that you would be better off buying at full price elsewhere in Bandra. We’re not big fans of their gowns either, but the cherry red maxi with a silver embroidered high neck immediately caught our attention, as did the airy black sheer jumpsuit that can pass off as an elegant gown.

Across the Border

A browse through the entire collection and we figured that if you have to rent at Dial-a-Dress, Indian is the way to go. bpb loves the white georgette and cutwork lace sari with black and red floral embroidery on the border and Masaba-like large gold polka dots. Also pretty is the white organza tissue sari with bronze zardozi work. If you’re looking for something more colourful, there’s a fun green and red dotted sheer sari. All the saris come with extra material (with embroidery) for the blouse, which can be made according to your size, even if you’re just renting it. Sonia also has a couple of designs that have been pre-pleated and stitched accordingly, making it super easy to drape.

What’s also cool is that she has a whole bunch of pretty blouses in sizes 36 and 38 that you can rent, in case you already have a sari and are looking for just the top. We have our eye on a black three-fourth sleeve blouse with tiny mirror work that can go well with many saris.

Chiconomics

All the above mentioned garments can be rented for Rs 2,500 to Rs 2,800 for 24 hours, while renting a blouse costs Rs 1,000 for a day. The more heavily embroidered wedding saris can also be rented but this would cost upwards of Rs 10,000, which seems impractical to shell out if you’re just leasing it for the day. If you can’t find what you’re looking for on the racks, then Sonia can probably rummage through her secret cupboard neatly stacked with piles of garments that she doesn’t have the space to display.

And in a week’s time, the online store cum rental portal (www.dialadress.com) will go live offering the service all over India. Drape of good hope!

Getting there: Dial-a-dress, first floor, Jains Arcade, above Costa Coffee, Khar Danda Road, Khar, call 9820309944, rental starts at Rs 1,000 for a blouse and Rs 2,500 for a sari against a deposit which will be returned after the garment is given back, after 24 hours the rental price increases by 20%, www.dialadress.com will be live in a week’s time.