Navigate Dhaka’s maze of fashion and accessories

I realised all over again that the shopping experience in Gausia deserves a strong tribute -- almost like a eulogy -- second to none other than its pair, the Chandni Chowk market.

The shopping district comprising New Market, Hawkers Market, Doza Market, and the conjoined Gausia and Chandni Chowk offers an incredible bargain-hunting experience. It is so vast that I believe I still haven't ventured into all the hidden alleys, and I've been searching for treasures in these lanes since my teen years.

The many chipa goli of Gausia can easily be compared to the excavation site of a long-forgotten pharaoh's tomb. The winding lanes -- those famous chipa goli -- snake throughout the shopping area and link you to the most exhilarating shopping place in Dhaka, Chandni Chowk -- forming the puzzling framework of the city's most affordable shopping hub.

Each lane maintains a specialised character. So, if you're going for jewellery, but then you have other things like a bag, or matching laces, or trendy dupatta, or baby frocks on your list -- well, brace yourself for some aggressive crowd‑management walking and pushing.

Photo: Star

The place always oozes a chand raat vibe, even on a random, lacklustre day, which is why a visit to Gausia and Chandni Chowk is never boring. And the finds in these overtly crowded, narrow maze‑like lanes solve the hardest problems for any event planner or any designer making prêt‑à‑porter everyday wear. This paired shopping complex is also the top‑drawer destination for custom couture.

It remains the go‑to place for wedding accessories or for making bridesmaids' dresses on a budget -- and just last week, I went to both Gausia and Chandni Chowk for exactly that purpose again.

Let me turn the light on just a single lane in this exciting puzzle of Dhaka's shopping world. Nostalgic and giving off a retro vibe, the very last end of Chandni Chowk was the perfect place to custom‑make a dreamy white lehenga evoking Meena Kumari's iconic look in "Pakeezah".

Chikankari, zarzodi, karchupi, and embroidered dress materials -- both local and imported -- keep the place buzzing. Fancy sheer dupatta with lace or zari borders in Jaipur leheriya style have flooded the grounds now. You can even make a sari out of chiffon yardage and kota cottons.

Gausia gives you jewellery that covers you from head to toe, starting from Tk 200 to a maximum of Tk 600. The place is always open to bargaining, yet the salespeople never lose. The almost‑claustrophobic second storey is actually the kingdom of laces, buttons, and tassels.

At this point, I take a flashback to my sister's wedding some 36‑odd years ago. It was the first wedding among our cousins, and naturally, it had garnered a lot of girly fuss among the rest of us. The clothes, the accessories, the laces, and the brooches got more attention than necessary.

The shopkeepers, who knew us by face, mostly wanted to leave us be with our planning in their store -- yet at times, they would sweetly suggest things like, "This leather‑looking cloth requires rooch to glam up, (meaning this satin piece needs a brooch)." This brooch‑or‑rooch dialogue still has us in splits, and satin never felt the same again.