Jee Aayan Nu (Welcome)
Hello! My name is Harpreet. Thank you for visiting my website and I hope you were able to find something beautiful! Here you can now learn about me and what motivated me to create Apna Clothing
My Story
My name is Harpreet Kaur Dogra. At the time of creating this brand, I am 30 years old and I'm from London, UK. I was born in the UK however both my parents were born in Punjab. My mother being from Moga and my father from Jalandhar. I am one of six children and was raised in a traditional Sikh family. Lots of love, rotis and laughter.
Growing up in a Sikh Punjabi family, my go to outfits for any family occasion was Punjabi suits. Growing up seeing my mother exclusively wear Patiala Suits, it became a staple for me, and a way to connect to mother and my heritage. Many summers were spent in cotton suits, with airy salwar trousers and kurtas. I adored watching my mother at weddings in intricate suits, with vibrant colours and would often tell her which ones to store away for me when I get older!
At the age of 29, I was scouring the internet to stock on up outfits for my brother's wedding. The first wedding in the family! I go on the popular brand websites looking for outfits for the Akhand Paath, Sangeet, Mehndi, Jaago, Anand Karaj, Reception. All needing to match my brothers colour theme and within a reasonable budget.
While securing the reception lehenga was easy, finding Punjabi suits felt impossible! UK Punjabi clothing was pricey for the quality, and Canadian options weren't much better.
Then I discovered stunning outfits on Instagram from stores in Punjab that perfectly matched my vision, reminding me of the excitement I felt seeing mother dressed for weddings. But with no experience shopping from these stores, I hesitated—could I really risk my brother's wedding outfits on a WhatsApp text transaction? No refunds, no repercussions and most likely no time if something goes wrong! I couldn't take the plunge. Instead I went to the few Punjabi shops around London, in Southall and was overwhelmed by the people, the workers and the lack of diversity in the clothing. Even less so for my brothers!
All this made me realise, why is it so difficult to get this right? Why do these major online brands only focus on lehengas and not the wide range of Indian and Punjabi clothing out there?
So I decided to create the change I wanted to see. I reached out to Punjabi shops that I found on Instagram and offered them the opportunity to have a wider online presence. Providing UK customers more confidence and range when shopping for weddings. I want people to see the range of Punjabi clothing that is available for different occasions instead of feeling that everything needs to be a lehenga.
I want to showcase and preserve the beauty of Our Own culture and fashion.
Which is why I have named this venture, Apna Clothing.
Apna - Our Own.
Thank you for staying and reading my story. I hope you are able to find what you are looking for here and continue to share this journey with me and keep our Punjabi Virsa (Culture) alive.
