How to sell ethnic wear online for Diwali — sizes, stitching dates, photos

TL;DR

• • Size chart: garment measurements in inches and centimetres, on every product.
• • Cut-off date: courier days + stitching days + spare days, counted back from the festival.
• • Photos: on a person first, then the back, a close-up and a flat photo of the full set.
• • Exchanges: say the last date for an exchange before Diwali, and what can’t be exchanged.
• • Combos: list kurta + dupatta as one product with one price.
• • Template: Clothing Store for most sellers, Premium Store for occasion wear.

1. Decide what you will sell, and when each kind closes

Different kinds of ethnic wear carry different risks. The more work a piece needs after the order, the earlier you must stop taking orders for it.

If this is your first season, start with ready-made sets in a few sizes, plus dupattas. They need no work after the order. Sarees have their own guide: how to sell sarees online in India.

2. Sizing and a size chart

An “M” from one maker is not the same as an “M” from another. A buyer can’t try your kurta on, so give them numbers they can hold a measuring tape to. Lay one piece of each size flat and measure it:

• Give inches and centimetres, and say these are measurements of the garment, not of the body.
• Tell the buyer how much room to leave. For example: “For a regular fit, choose the size whose bust is about 2 inches more than your own.” Use the figure that is true for your cut.
• Say if there is extra fabric in the seams that a tailor can let out, and how much.
• Add the model’s height and size: “Model is 5 feet 4 inches and wears M.”
• For sets, give the dupatta’s length and width, and the length of the bottom.

On SitesPlaced: add Size under the product’s Options, and set Stock tracking to Stock per option under Settings → Catalog & fields, so each size has its own count and a sold-out size can’t be ordered. Then upload your chart as an image in the product’s Size chart / info popup card. Shoppers tap “Size Chart” on the product page and it opens in a popup. All of this is free.

3. Stitching and alteration: set one cut-off date

A cut-off date is the last day you accept an order and still promise it before the festival. Work it out backwards. Here is a worked example. The numbers are made up to show the sum, so replace each one with yours:

• • Your courier tells you to allow 6 days at this time of year. Ask them; we can’t tell you their dates.
• • Stitching and finishing one order takes you 4 days.
• • You keep 2 spare days for a tailor who falls ill or a button that doesn’t match.
• • You want parcels to arrive by Thursday 5 November, a day before Dhanteras on Friday 6 November.

6 + 4 + 2 is 12 days. Twelve days before 5 November is Saturday 24 October. In this example, that is the last day for stitched orders. Ready-made pieces need only the courier’s 6 days and the spare 2, so they close 8 days before, on Wednesday 28 October.

Then count your hands. If your tailor finishes three pieces a day and you have ten working days, you can take thirty stitched orders and no more. Set the stock of each stitched product to the number you can really finish. On SitesPlaced the store stops selling a product when its stock reaches zero.

Taking measurements and charging for stitching on SitesPlaced: open the product and find Personalisation & extras. Tick Let customers add a text note and label it with what you need, such as “Bust, waist, hip and kurta length in inches”. The buyer types it in the cart and it arrives with the order. Under Paid extras in the same card, add “Stitching to your size” with its price. The buyer ticks it in the cart and it is added to the total. Both are free on every plan. On the day your stitched orders close, remove the paid extra.

Say the date everywhere: in the announcement bar (Settings → Branding, changed by hand), in the first line of each product description, and in your Instagram bio. Write it as a date, “Stitched orders close 24 October”, not “order soon”.

4. Photos: on a person and flat

You need both, because each answers a different question.

• On a person shows where the kurta ends on the leg, how the fabric falls, how wide the sleeve is and how the dupatta sits. A friend or family member is fine. A plain wall and daylight from a window are enough.
• Laid flat shows the print, the embroidery and the true shape. It is also the best way to show everything in a set: kurta, bottom and dupatta side by side, so nobody wonders if the dupatta is included.

A good order for each product: the front on a person, the back, a close-up of the work, and the full set laid flat. Put the photo on a person first, because the first photo is the one on the product card.

• Get the colour right. Shoot in daylight, without filters. If the piece looks different in the photo, retake it. A wrong colour is a refused parcel.
• Use photos of the piece you will send. If you resell from a supplier, their catalogue photo may not match the fabric that reaches you. Photograph your own stock.
• Add a short video for lehengas and anything that moves. On SitesPlaced a product can carry a video link, an uploaded video or an Instagram Reel link, and it shows on the product page.

The basics are in how to take better product photos.

5. Exchanges during peak season

An exchange takes two courier trips: the piece comes back, and the new size goes out. In the festive rush, an exchange asked for in the first week of November can’t be finished before Diwali. It is better for the buyer to know that before they order. Write these five things into your policy:

1. The window and the condition. For example, within 7 days of delivery, unworn, unwashed, with tags on.
2. The last date for an exchange before Diwali. Say plainly that exchanges asked for after that date will arrive after the festival.
3. What can’t be exchanged. Pieces stitched or altered to a buyer’s measurements can’t be sold to anyone else. Offer an alteration if the fault is yours.
4. Who pays for the return trip. You or the buyer. Either is fair if it is said in advance.
5. What happens if the new size is sold out. A refund or store credit, and how soon.

Keep one or two pieces of each popular size aside for exchanges. And ask buyers who are between sizes to message you before ordering. A two-minute chat is cheaper than two courier trips.

On SitesPlaced: write the full rule under Settings → Pages & policies, in the Return Policy section. On the Clothing Store you can also type a short returns promise under Settings → Sales boosters, and it shows under the buy button. There is no exchange form; you arrange each exchange with the buyer, usually on WhatsApp. The free return policy generator writes a first draft. How buyers pay affects returns too: COD or prepaid for Diwali orders.

6. Combos: kurta + dupatta, and other sets

A festive buyer wants a finished outfit. A combo gives them one, and it gives you a bigger order in one parcel. Worked example: a kurta at ₹899 and a dupatta at ₹399 come to ₹1,298 bought separately. Sold as a set at ₹1,199, the buyer saves ₹99, and you pack and deliver once.

• List the set as its own product with its own photo, price and stock per size. This is free and the clearest for buyers. Name what is inside: “Kurta + palazzo + dupatta”.
• Offer a coupon on a category with a minimum order, such as ₹100 off above ₹1,499 on festive wear. Coupons are free, and you can give them an expiry date.
• On the Growth plan (₹499/month), “frequently bought together” can suggest matching items, such as the dupatta, on the kurta’s page, and Buy X Get Y can run offers such as “buy 2 kurtis, get a dupatta free”.

Before you price a set, check what is left after costs with the discount calculator. More offer ideas are in Diwali sale ideas for a small business.

7. Clothing Store or Premium Store?

For most sellers the Clothing Store is the better choice in a festive rush, because a shopper can see from the card if their size is left. The Premium Store has a calmer, photo-first look that suits lehengas and handloom pieces at higher prices. It has size options and the size chart link, but not the add button on cards, the buy bar on phones, the delivery and COD line or the coupon note. On the Premium Store, put your delivery and exchange terms in the product description.

Changing template later means making a new store, so choose once. A fuller comparison is in the best clothing store website templates. And if you are building a label for the long run, read how to start a clothing brand online in India.

8. Open the store this week

You can sell from Instagram DMs alone, and it works while you have a handful of orders. It gets hard when twenty people ask “is M available?” on the same evening. A store answers that on the product card, takes the order and the payment, and keeps the stock of each size correct.

On SitesPlaced the store is free to open, with 0% commission: unlimited products and orders, UPI and cards through your own Razorpay, PhonePe or Cashfree account, cash on delivery, WhatsApp checkout, and Shiprocket and Shipmozo for couriers. The importer can bring in your products from Instagram or an existing website.

Festive shoppers arrive on phones. From Starter (₹199/month) your store’s pages answer about 4× faster than on the free plan: about 75 ms instead of about 330 ms, measured on live paid stores on 28 September 2026. “Answer” means how soon the page starts arriving, before the photos load. Starter also adds your own domain and removes the SitesPlaced badge. The code FREE7 gives 7 days free on Starter or Growth when you set up autopay; cancel before the first charge and you pay nothing. The week-by-week festive plan is on the Diwali page.

Frequently asked questions