Information for International Buyers

Who this page is for

• NRI women and families who want authentic sarees, lehengas and festival wear from India, and want to avoid fakes, poor fit and surprise customs bills.
• Non-Indian guests attending an Indian wedding, festival or cultural event who need to know what to wear and where to start. Our wedding guest outfit guide is the best place to begin.
• NRI parents dressing daughters for festivals, school cultural days and family weddings abroad; see our guide to Indian outfits for girls.
• Visitors planning a trip to India who want to shop for silks and bridal wear in person, including in Surat.

How we can help you today

Even though we don't run an online shop yet, there are several ways we can help international readers:

1. Honest, detailed guides. Our guides explain how to recognise authentic weaves, what fair prices look like, how sizing works and how to care for silk in any climate. Start with how to identify pure silk, our saree price guide and our types of sarees encyclopedia.
2. Buying from abroad, step by step. Our guide to buying Indian clothes from abroad covers your options, authenticity checks, safe payment, shipping times and customs.
3. Fit and sizing tools. Use our Indian size chart to convert Indian sizes to US, UK, EU and Australian sizes, and our blouse measurement guide to order stitching from India with confidence.
4. Planning tools. Our festival outfit calendar shows how early to order for every major festival.
5. Visiting our Surat showroom. If you are travelling to India, you are welcome to visit our showroom in Kathodara, Surat. Please call or message us before you come, so we can confirm timings and have suitable sarees ready.
6. Questions by message or email. You can contact us with questions about a weave, an occasion or a saree you are considering. We'll answer honestly, including telling you when something isn't something we can help with.

Shipping from India: what to expect

Because we don't currently ship orders ourselves, shipping is handled by whichever store or seller you buy from. In general, when buying from India:

• Express couriers (such as DHL, FedEx, UPS or Aramex) often deliver in about 4 to 10 working days and offer tracking.
• Economy and postal services are cheaper but often take 2 to 4 weeks or longer, and are less predictable.
• Festival and wedding season (roughly September to February) brings delays at tailors, warehouses and customs.
• Stitching usually adds one to two weeks before the parcel is even dispatched.

Our rule of thumb: order at least 6 to 8 weeks before your event, and 8 to 12 weeks for bridal wear or anything custom-stitched.

Customs duty and import taxes

Clothing shipped from India may be charged import duty, VAT, GST or sales tax, and a courier handling fee in the destination country. Rules depend on your country and the value of your parcel, and they change from time to time. For example, the USA changed its rules for low-value imports in 2025.

• Ask the seller whether they ship DDP (Delivered Duty Paid: duties included, nothing to pay on delivery) or DDU/DAP (you pay duties and fees when the parcel arrives).
• Check your country's customs website, or ask your courier, before placing a large order.
• Always ask for an honest invoice. Under-declaring the value is illegal and can lead to fines or the parcel being held.

Our buying from abroad guide includes notes for the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and the Gulf.

Paying safely

When you buy from an Indian store or seller from abroad:

• Pay by credit card or PayPal where possible, as these usually offer buyer protection.
• Avoid direct bank transfers to sellers you don't know, especially those found only through social media.
• Check the final amount in your own currency, including any foreign transaction fee from your bank.
• Keep screenshots of the listing, your messages and your receipt until your order arrives safely.

Vastra Heritage doesn't take payments through this website. If anyone contacts you claiming to sell on our behalf and asks for payment, please check with us first through our official contact page.

Sizes, stitching and fit

Fit is the most common problem for international buyers. Indian sizes don't line up neatly with Western sizes, and they also differ between brands. To get it right:

• Buy by your body measurements, not the size letter. Our size chart explains how.
• For saree blouses, use our blouse measurement guide, or send a well-fitting blouse to the tailor as a sample.
• Ask for seam allowance so the outfit can be adjusted locally.
• Ask the seller to add the fall and pico to a saree before shipping. It's quick in India and hard to find abroad.
• New to sarees? Our saree guide for beginners explains everything from the petticoat to the pins.

Returns and exchanges

Returns are where international shopping is hardest. Before buying from any seller in India, check:

• Whether international returns are accepted at all, and who pays return shipping.
• Whether you'll get a refund, an exchange or only store credit.
• How many days you have to report a problem after delivery.
• That custom-stitched items are usually non-returnable.

Record a short video when you unpack expensive orders, and check the item against the photos straight away. It makes any claim much easier.

Avoiding scams when buying Indian clothes online

Sadly, some sellers target shoppers abroad, who can't easily visit a shop or return a parcel. Watch out for these warning signs:

• Prices that are far too low for "pure silk", "handloom" or "real zari". Genuine handloom sarees take days or weeks to weave, and their price reflects that.
• Stolen catalogue or designer photos, often with watermarks cropped out. Ask for a short video of the actual piece.
• Pressure to pay quickly, "only one left" messages, or requests to pay by bank transfer, gift card or a payment app to a personal account.
• No physical address, phone number or return policy, or a website that was created very recently.
• Accounts that only exist on social media and refuse video calls.
• Anyone claiming to sell on behalf of Vastra Heritage. We don't sell online at present; if you're unsure, contact us through this website.

If something feels wrong, pause. A genuine seller will be happy to answer questions, send extra photos and wait for you to decide.

Sending sarees as gifts to family in India

Many NRIs also buy the other way round: sending a saree to a mother, sister or relative in India for a festival, wedding or birthday. This is often much simpler than shipping abroad:

• Order from an Indian store or seller and use an Indian delivery address. There's no international shipping and no customs.
• Most Indian stores accept international credit cards, and some accept PayPal. Check before you choose a gift.
• Ask for gift wrapping and a printed note, and ask the seller to leave the price off the invoice in the parcel.
• Choose sarees that don't need stitching to fit, or include an unstitched blouse piece so your relative can have it tailored locally.
• For festivals like Diwali, Raksha Bandhan and Karva Chauth, order two to three weeks ahead, because couriers within India are also busy at festival time.

Before you message us: a quick checklist

To help us give you a useful answer quickly, include:

1. The country and city you live in.
2. The occasion and date, such as "my cousin's wedding in Toronto in December".
3. Who the outfit is for (yourself, a daughter, a guest who isn't Indian) and their approximate size.
4. Your budget range and any colours or weaves you have in mind.
5. Links or photos of anything you're considering buying elsewhere, if you'd like our opinion.

About the links in our guides

Some of our guides include links to products at other stores. Some of these are affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. These sellers handle their own shipping, customs, payments and returns, and their own policies apply. We only recommend what we would consider buying ourselves, and our editorial opinions are not paid for. Read our full affiliate disclosure and editorial policy for details.

Planning around weddings, festivals and climate

Most problems international buyers face come down to timing. A few planning habits help a lot:

• Work backwards from the date. Use our festival outfit calendar to find order-by dates for Navratri, Diwali, Karva Chauth, the wedding season and other festivals.
• Combine orders. Ordering festival and wedding outfits for the whole family in one shipment is usually cheaper and simpler for customs.
• Keep a backup outfit. If a parcel is delayed, you'll still have something special to wear.
• Think about the climate. Autumn and winter festivals abroad can be cold. Plan shawls, jackets and thermals, and choose fabrics that suit the venue.
• Look after your silks. Central heating and humid summers both affect silk and zari. Our silk saree care guide explains storage for any climate.

Shopping in person on a trip to India

If you're visiting India, shopping in person is often the best way to buy heirloom silks and bridal wear: you can see the true colour, feel the fabric and arrange fittings with a tailor.

• Plan your shopping early in your trip, so that stitching and alterations can be finished before you fly home.
• Carry your measurements and photos of styles you like.
• Check your airline's baggage allowance and your home country's customs rules, especially for high-value jewellery.
• If you're in Gujarat, our Surat showroom page explains how to visit us in Kathodara.

Contact us

Have a question we haven't answered here? Contact us or email contact@vastraheritage.com. Please tell us which country you're in and what you're looking for, such as the occasion, colours, budget and timing, so we can point you to the most useful guide. Remember that we are in India Standard Time (IST), so replies to messages sent late in your evening may arrive the next day.