OnlyPaithani is a store that is your one-stop shop in Hyderabad for lovely, exquisite Pythani weaves. While they have a beautiful and thoughtfully curated collection of Pythani sarees, the store also has a good collection of lehengas and dupattas.

So in case you are searching for some authentic weaves, then head right here. OnlyPaithani is the baby of Arati Baandal, who decided to revive the centuries-old weaving technique through her label. Arati was an engineering student, and she was looking for an original Paithani saree for her wedding. Though she went to a lot of stores and weavers, she was not completely satisfied with the quality.

Way back in 2006, Arati realized that there was an immediate need to showcase the weave in the right way and in newer colors. She wanted to bring in more people to appreciate the weave and also buy them for their trousseau. That’s when she started researching the entire process, from yarn to the final saree.

It took her a good two years to understand what goes behind making one exquisite Paithani saree. Once she felt she was ready, she started with a small collection of 12 sarees under her label OnlyPaithani.Arati shares that Paithani sarees were part of her growing up years, just as Kanjeevarams are down south. She says no ceremony went without a Paithani saree. Her website was launched in 2011, and it started getting traffic in 2013. And in 2021, she opened her store in Hyderabad.

Paithani comes from a village in Maharashtra called Paithan, which is about 300 km away from Mumbai. Arati emphasizes that the fabric is woven by highly skilled artisans. She says she works with weavers from Yeola and Paithan. Though the weavers initially did not like her inputs, they have, over the years, started experimenting to the extent possible.

Her store in Hyderabad is just the beginning. Arati says she now has plans to open the store in various cities. Apart from her sarees, the store also has dupattas and lehengas. In the future, she intends to come up with different types of hand-crafted sarees and garments like Jamdani cotton and hand block prints in an affordable range.