clothes: outlet mall or Delhi bazaar?

trvl_in

What clothes to take in the single carry on bag that will be my entire luggage for three months in India?

I've been thinking of a miracle fabric ensemble: 2x pants / shirt + sweater, jacket, socks, undies, + high end shoes -- brands like Asolo and Ex-Officio.

This basic wardrobe prices out at $1200USD though. Too branded. Too commonplace. Too expensive.

I've been told though that the same type of clothes (rugged, wicking, ultra quick dry synthetics with travel oriented design) are widely available in Delhi for pennies on the dollar.

Is it true that clothes comparable in design and fabric for example to this shirt or these pants can be found easily and very cheaply at Delhi?

vistet

For a fraction of the price - yes. Comparable quality : in most cases , no. This doesn`t mean that Indian clothes are shoddy in general , just that they are best at doing what they normally do. (there are`nt that many westerners that can produce a good paratha either) .

You can easily find MPC & GoreTex jackets for instance , but dont buy them on a sunny day (or try them on in the shower ) before trusting them (I did )

You can find both dirt cheap clothes that you can afford to lose or tailored clothes in marvellous materials if you keep your eyes open.

Technical clothes ... wicking , ultra quick drying.. I travelled last year in the monsoon and the only thing I wanted was quick drying underwear.

Get the largest , thinnest , most quick-drying towel to roll and "dry" your clothes after washing.

Otherwise I would put my priorities in sandals/shoes/boots that are broken in, my favorite cap and maybe one pair of lightweight multi-pocket pants. Everything else can easily be found in the bazaar.

If you are going high up in the mountains in the winter you need to give some extra thought to clothes but basically the people who live there have good solutions that can be trusted.