Kapse Paithani

The Kapse family have woven Paithani for generations from Yeola, the home town of the craft, and their Pune shops sit on Kumthekar Road in Sadashiv Peth and on Prabhat Road. What hangs here is handloom silk with genuine zari, the metallic thread, from entry pieces up to heirloom brocades that take months on the loom, and the staff will explain the motifs - peacock, lotus, the asawali vine - and the grades of weaving. A serious purchase deserves time: real handloom starts well above powerloom prices and comes with its provenance.

Buying a Paithani from the weaving family itself - the authentic route