The quest to find a tailor who can stitch the perfect saree blouse is often a struggle

for many Indian women. “Too tight”, “too loose” or “it’s not fitted” are just a few of the complaints I have expressed time and time again, but these woes were over once I discovered the fabulous House Of Blouse.

House Of Blouse is a one of a kind online shop built for women to create, design and

customize their blouse through an in-built web-app called the ‘Style Creator.’ This brilliant concept was the brainchild of Bangalore based, Rachana Reddy and Roopa Reddy who like us experienced similar frustrations.

Shoppers are given the luxury to select any blouse style, sleeve, neckline, length and more according to their tastes and budgets. Choose your fabric or fabrics from their colourful gallery and work away. In just a few simple clicks you have created your dream blouse.

In just a little over a year, the online startup has come an incredibly long way. The compliments are flowing in from all corners of the world. Women are embracing the platform and now with a striking saree collection, the team are destined for a very bright future.

Being a huge fan of House Of Blouse, I caught up with Rachana and Roopa to learn more about their business.

Tell us a little about yourselves and how you fell into the fashion industry?

Rachana: I got accepted into a well-known engineering college as soon as I completed my pre-degree, but my heart wasn’t into it. So I took the risk to drop out of the college and pursue my creative calling in fashion design, specialising in accessory design. After I graduated from the London College Of Fashion, I launched my own label ‘Rachana Reddy Accessories.’ I wanted to do more and was bubbling with ideas and concepts, and from one of those ideas, House Of Blouse was born.

Roopa: I went to college study a Bachelors in Architecture, but soon after made the switch to work for an early startup in their Marketing/Corporate Communications department. After a long stint living in the United States, I returned to India and enrolled into a Fashion Design course.

Rachana and Roopa Reddy of House Of Blouse - The Maharani Diaries

Roopa: We often discussed starting an online venture. And while I was working for another company, Rachana told me about this brilliant idea for customised blouses online and I got on board with it.

How was House Of Blouse created and what has the response been like?

The response has been great with marketing effort being primarily on social media. The best part of it has been the feedback. Hearing from our customers who are thrilled with their products and the ease of ordering a custom blouse online. We were really kicked when a customer recently stated that

“The designing experience was exciting! It’s like Xbox for girls!”

Currently, what are the most popular styles of sari blouses and do you have a particular favourite?

Roopa: Our yellow sheer boatneck blouse sells like hotcakes and seems to be the most popular ‘Ready To Shop’ style. But boatneck styles in general have been our best sellers.

Rachana’s favourites are collared sleeveless hi-neck and the mirrored corsets as they can be styled in a myriad fun ways. Me on the other hand likes the ‘Criss Cross Crop Top.’ This style is so versatile and comfortable and looks the best when made in a floral lycra lace fabric.