Hand-embroidered chikankari cotton kurta

Museum-grade hand embroidery that takes weeks per garment, purchasable from the artisans' own co-op for less than a fast-fashion blouse costs at home.

Price: 2500 INR (Genuine hand-embroidered cotton kurta from Lucknow heritage houses/co-ops; fine shadow-work pieces ₹4,000–15,000, machine-embroidered lookalikes ₹600–900)

Where to buy: Chowk and Hazratganj (Lucknow) — Ada Chikan, SEWA Lucknow co-op (embroiderer-owned); Fabindia and Dilli Haat carry decent hand-done pieces elsewhere.

Price checked 2026-07-03

• GI-tagged craft; genuine hand embroidery shows knots and slight irregularities on the reverse — machine work looks identical front and back
• Buying from SEWA routes money directly to the women embroiderers
• White-on-white is classic; count stitch types (murri, phanda, bakhiya shadow-work) — more techniques = more hours = higher price, honestly earned
• ₹500 'chikankari' in tourist markets is machine embroidery from Surat