Three articles on this site already explain what a kurta pajama is. This one does not. It is about the purchase — what to measure, what cannot be altered afterwards, what happens if the size is wrong, and how long the whole thing takes when you are ordering to a Canadian address with a dated event in front of you.
If you want the background on the garment itself, start with our piece on the kurta pajama in Indian traditional wear, or the guides to men's Indian wedding attire and Indian wedding clothes for men. Then come back here before you order.
What is actually in a set
Every piece in our men's range is sold as a set: the kurta and its trousers together, not as separates. That matters more than it sounds. A kurta bought alone has to be matched to trousers later, and the two most common failures are a churidar in a slightly different white and a trouser hem cut for a different shoe. Buying the pair removes both.
The trousers are mostly churidar-style — cut long so the surplus gathers into rings at the ankle — with some straight-cut. If you have not worn a churidar before, the length is deliberate. We go through why in the salwar kameez guide, and the rule is the same for menswear: a churidar that looks too long is not too long, and a tailor who has not seen one before will hem it in good faith and ruin it.
The size range, stated plainly
The men's range runs XS to XL. It does not go above XL, and it does not carry the 3XS sizes the womenswear does. If you wear above an XL, the ready-to-wear range will not fit you and the honest answer is custom sizing rather than sizing up and hoping.
The second thing worth knowing is depth. Occasion wear is held in small quantities per size — a handful of units per style, not racks of them. In practice that means the piece you want in the size you want is a narrow target, and it gets narrower through October and November. Ordering early is not a sales line here; it is the difference between having a choice and taking what is left.
The measurement that decides the outcome
Most men size a kurta by chest. Chest is the easy part — a kurta is cut straight and loose through the body, and an inch either way disappears into the drape. The two measurements that actually decide whether it looks right are shoulder width and length.
Why the shoulder seam matters more than the chest
The shoulder seam should sit at the point of your shoulder, not below it. A seam that drops onto the upper arm reads as borrowed, and no amount of taking in at the sides fixes it, because the sides are not where the problem is. On an embroidered kurta the work usually runs across the yoke and around the collar, which means there is no clean seam allowance up there to redraft. Get the shoulder right and the rest is adjustable.
The band collar is the other fit point people skip. It should close without gaping and without pressing. A collar that gapes cannot simply be taken in, because the front placket, its buttons and often its embroidery all run straight through that seam. Altering it means rebuilding the placket.
The detail nobody mentions: you cannot shorten a kurta at the hem
This is the one worth reading twice, because it is the single most common alteration request and it is almost always the wrong one.
A longline kurta has side slits, and the slits open from the hem to a point somewhere around the hip. That opening height is not decorative. It is what lets you sit, walk and get in and out of a car, and it is drafted as a proportion of the total length. Take three inches off the hem and you have not simply made the kurta shorter — you have moved the top of the slit three inches further up your body relative to the ground, so the garment now opens too high, and the finished edges of the slit end at a hem that was never meant to meet them. The result reads as a shirt that has been cut down, because it has been.
If a kurta is genuinely too long, the length has to come out at the shoulder or under the yoke, which is a rebuild rather than a hem. That is why length is a sizing decision made before you order and not an alteration made afterwards. A short straight kurta with no side slits is a different case and can be hemmed normally — the rule is specific to the longline cut, which is what most occasion pieces are.
Returns, and the trade you are making
Read this before you decide between a stock size and custom sizing, because the two carry different consequences.
A standard-size kurta set is returnable. Returns are initiated within seven days of delivery, the piece must be unworn with tags intact, return postage is yours, and refunds are issued as store credit rather than back to your card. Ordering the wrong size counts as a change of mind, so it earns store credit, not a refund.
Customised and personalised products are excluded from returns outright. So the moment you order custom sizing, you have given up the safety net. You can have the fit or the fallback, not both — and for menswear specifically, where the range stops at XL, that is a real decision rather than a hypothetical one. The full terms are on the return policy page.
One more clause changes the arithmetic: there are no direct exchanges. A wrong size means returning the piece, waiting for it to arrive and be inspected, receiving store credit, then placing a new order that ships again. With one to two business days to dispatch and four to six business days each way, a size swap inside Canada realistically costs two to three weeks. That is not a criticism of the policy. It is the reason to get the size right the first time, and the strongest argument there is for trying one on.
Counting backwards from the date
Work from the event, not from today. Standard shipping is four to six business days and orders dispatch within one to two, so a straightforward order needs a fortnight of clearance to be comfortable. Alterations add two to three weeks. Custom sizing adds more.
Practically: four weeks out is safe, three weeks is tight but workable, and under two weeks means buying something that already exists in your size rather than ordering and adjusting. Standard shipping within Canada is CAD $25 and free above CAD $125; express is CAD $29.99 and three to five business days, which buys you a couple of days, not a couple of weeks.
Wearing one through a Canadian winter
Wedding season here runs November to February, which creates a problem Indian menswear was not drafted for.
No coat works over a longline kurta. A structured overcoat crushes the mandarin collar and the shoulder embroidery, which is precisely where the work on these pieces is concentrated, and a shorter jacket leaves the kurta hanging below it. The realistic answer is that the kurta travels under a coat you will take off immediately, or the walk from the car is short and you accept it. The stole or shawl that pairs with the outfit is styling, not insulation — carry it, put it on inside.
Salt sets into a churidar hem. The ankle rings sit at exactly the height a car park deposits salt, and salt that dries into thread will not come out cleanly later. Brush it off while it is still damp, before you leave the venue, rather than sending it to the cleaner a week on.
Mojris are indoor shoes. Soft-soled embroidered footwear over ice is a bad combination and the soles mark permanently. Wear proper shoes to the venue and change there, which is what most people at a GTA wedding are quietly doing anyway.
Static. Forced-air heating drops indoor humidity hard in January, and a fine kurta over a churidar will cling. A cotton undershirt fixes it. Anti-static spray on embroidery does not.
Seeing one in person
The whole shoulder-and-length problem takes about four minutes to solve with a tape measure and a mirror, and about three weeks to solve by post. Our Brampton store is on Steeles Avenue East, open eleven to eight seven days a week, and it is within reach of Mississauga, Etobicoke, Vaughan and North Toronto. If you have seen a piece online, call before you drive — sizes exist in ones and twos. There is a wider view of the area in our guide to where to buy Indian clothes in Toronto and the GTA.
What is currently in the range
Ivory reads formal and photographs well against most venue lighting — the Ivory Gold Embroidered Men's Kurta Set and the Ivory Peacock Heritage Kurta Set both sit in that register, the second with peacock embroidery and red accents that give it more presence up close than at a distance.
For a wedding or a sangeet where you want colour, the Red Ombre Gold Embroidered Men's Kurta Set and the Red Silver Embroidered Men's Kurta Set take the traditional route, and the Burnt Orange Silver Embroidered Kurta Ensemble the less obvious one, with the embroidery concentrated at the collar and cuffs.
Daytime functions are their own category. The Royal Yellow Heritage Kurta Set is cut for haldi and mehendi, and the Sage Mughal Heritage Kurta Set is the quieter option for a daytime ceremony where you are a guest rather than family.
Questions
Can a kurta be shortened?
Not at the hem, if it is a longline kurta with side slits — cutting the hem moves the slit opening too high and the proportion breaks. Length has to be removed at the shoulder or yoke, which is a rebuild. Choose the length at the point of ordering instead.
What size should I order if I am between sizes?
Size to your shoulder measurement and take the body in at the sides if needed. A side seam is plain fabric and moves easily; a shoulder seam on an embroidered kurta does not.
Do the sets include the trousers?
Yes. Every set in the men's range includes the coordinated churidar or trousers.
Is custom sizing available, and what does it cost me?
It is available on request, in store and online. The cost is the return: customised products are excluded from returns, so a custom-sized piece cannot be sent back. Ask before ordering rather than after.
How long before the event should I order?
Four weeks to be comfortable, three at a push. Under two weeks, buy something in stock in your size rather than ordering to adjust.
Do you carry sherwanis?
Not at present. The men's range is kurta sets. If a sherwani is what the occasion requires, the kurta pieces here will not stand in for one, and it is better to know that before you order.
Is there anything for above XL?
Not in the ready-to-wear range, which stops at XL. Custom sizing is the route, and it is worth arranging in person.
Diwali falls on Sunday 8 November 2026, and Ontario wedding season runs from then through February. Both are enough reason to sort the sizing now rather than in the last fortnight. The current range is in Men's Wear.
