Samarpita Yashaswini is a Content Producer for Fashion (HT Shop Now) at Hindustan Times Digital. She has five years of experience in lifestyle writing, specialising in fashion, beauty, and trend-led commerce content. She covers everything from seasonal must-haves and wardrobe essentials to brand reviews and styling edits that make everyday dressing easier and more exciting.
Fabric matters as much as the design
Tried and Tested: The only 3 handbags you’ll ever need for office Commutes and casual outings 5 Budget-friendly running shoes under ₹ 2,000 ideal for beginners; My fav brands Tried and Tested: I reviewed 3 very different bags and this one stole the show for me Disclaimer: At Hindustan Times, we help you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and products. We shall not be liable for any claim under applicable laws, including but not limited to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, with respect to the products. Because i didn’t already own anything similar, i specifically liked the green set. Because it’s different and buying something you’ll actually reach for regularly, but there’s a difference between buying something.
A fabric can look perfectly fine in a product photograph but feel very different against your skin. If a kurta has metallic stripes, embroidery, embellishments or textured detailing, I’d pay particular attention to customer reviews mentioning how it feels after wearing it. In my case, the silver stripes were the one detail that changed my opinion of the green set. The purple set isn’t necessarily the more exciting colour for me, but I can already see myself wearing it more often. This is probably the biggest thing I took away from testing both outfits. Something can look great when you first put it on and still become uncomfortable after several hours. For workwear, comfort isn’t an extra feature. It is part of whether the outfit actually works. One reason I keep coming back to kurta sets is that they remove some of the decision-making from getting dressed. When the kurta, pants and dupatta already work together, I don’t have to spend time looking for separate pieces that match. For weekday dressing, that convenience matters. The purple ANNI kurta set is the clear winner for me. The green set had plenty going for it. I loved its muted colour, liked the fit and thought it looked surprisingly polished for its price. But the prickly feel from the silver detailing made it less comfortable than I’d want for a full day at work. The purple set, on the other hand, gave me exactly what I look for in affordable everyday workwear. It was flattering, comfortable, easy to manage and required very little styling. My biggest takeaway from trying both is simple: don’t judge an affordable kurta set only by how it looks online. Think about how the fabric will feel after several hours, whether the silhouette works for you and, most importantly, whether you’ll actually want to wear it again. For me, the purple set passed that test. Hindustan Times has an affiliate partnership, so we may get a part of the revenue when you make a purchase. The products listed in this article are in no particular order of priority. They were provided to HT Shop Now by the brand for testing and evaluation. Our opinions remain independent and based on our personal experience with the items. Please patch test the products before use.)
Over the years, she has interned with Times Internet and Desi Martini, and worked with Pinkvilla and Schbang, building a strong foundation in digital storytelling and audience-first content. At HT Digital, she writes and creates fashion affiliate content for both the website and social media, blending trend awareness with shopping practicality. Her work sits at the intersection of style and strategy combined with equal parts aesthetic and analytics. A self-confessed fashion enthusiast, Samarpita has a sharp eye for colours, prints, silhouettes, and textures. She notices the fall of a fabric, the mood of a palette, and the difference a good cut can make. Her expertise lies in translating trends into wearable, relatable style and helping readers shop smarter, not louder. She later completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Advertising and PR from MICA, Ahmedabad. Samarpita believes fashion content doesn’t need to be complicated or overly eloquent. It should be simple, fun, and genuinely helpful, guiding readers through daily style decisions with confidence and joy. I’m always looking for workwear that looks polished without feeling too formal or requiring too much effort in the morning. So instead of browsing online listings and picking kurta sets that looked good in pictures, I ordered two affordable ones and wore them to work. Both looked promising when they arrived, but my experience with them was quite different once I had them on for several hours. I judged both sets on what matters to me when buying workwear online: fit, fabric, comfort, colour, ease of styling, and, most importantly, whether I could see myself wearing them repeatedly. My verdict: A good-looking, affordable set with a flattering fit, but the fabric keeps it from becoming a regular favourite for me. The second set was an ANNI kurta with matching pants and a dupatta, and this one was much more my style from the moment I tried it on. Purple is my favourite colour, so I was already inclined to like it, but I particularly liked the shade of purple used here. It felt wearable enough for everyday dressing rather than looking like something I’d save exclusively for a festive occasion. The biggest difference for me was how easy the entire outfit felt. The kurta and trousers already worked together, while the dupatta completed the look without making it feel fussy. I also found the dupatta relatively easy to manage, which might sound like a small detail but makes a genuine difference when you’re wearing Indian clothes to work. I don’t want a dupatta that I have to keep adjusting throughout the day or that gets in the way every time I sit at my desk. This one felt much more practical. The outfit was also very flattering as a whole. Rather than having one standout element, the colour, fit and proportions worked together, which made it feel like something I could wear repeatedly without having to think too much about styling it. When I’m buying affordable workwear, I don’t just want something that looks good for a photograph or for the first half hour after I put it on. I want to be able to sit at my desk, move around, commute and get through the day without constantly thinking about what I’m wearing.
She began her writing journey in 2020, but her love for fashion started long before that. She studied at Delhi Public School and graduated from Miranda House, University of Delhi in 2019, where she also wrote for the college magazine. Because they already give me a complete outfit, especially on days when I don’t want to spend too much time figuring out what to wear, kurta sets have become one of my easiest options.
The green striped kurta set looked great, but the fabric was a problem
The first set I ordered was a muted green striped kurta with matching trousers. The colour was probably what caught my attention first. I don’t have much green in my wardrobe, and this particular dull, understated shade felt different from the colours I usually gravitate towards without being too bright or festive for work. I also liked the overall silhouette. I tend to prefer necklines that flatter my face and draw attention to the collarbone, and I liked how this kurta framed that area. The cut felt flattering without being overly fitted, and the matching trousers made the outfit look put together without requiring much additional styling. For the price, I thought the fit was particularly good. It looked more polished than I expected from an affordable online purchase, and I could easily imagine wearing it to a casual workday, lunch or a family gathering. But there was one problem I didn’t really anticipate from the product pictures: the fabric. The silver stripes that form part of the design look nice from the outside, but the detailing makes the inside of the fabric feel slightly prickly against the skin. I noticed the irritation more after wearing it for several hours. It isn’t something I would have necessarily picked up just by looking at the product listing, which is why actually wearing an outfit for a full day makes such a difference when you’re reviewing it. For me, the issue wasn’t the fit or the appearance. I genuinely liked both. It was the way the fabric felt against my skin. And unlike the green set, I didn’t have any issue with the fabric irritating my skin. That ultimately made the biggest difference.
After wearing both to work, the difference came down to more than just which colour I preferred. Green striped kurta set Purple ANNI kurta set The green set wins if I’m judging purely on how different and visually interesting it is. I liked introducing that muted shade into my wardrobe, and the silhouette worked well on me. But the purple set wins where it matters more for a work outfit: I was comfortable in it, liked how it looked and didn’t feel like I had to keep adjusting anything throughout the day. This little experiment also reminded me that shopping for clothes online requires looking beyond the product photographs.
Because it combined the things I actually need from workwear: comfort, a flattering fit and easy styling, my verdict: This was the clear winner for me.
