Shops like Aarong: Bangladeshi craft and fashion houses compared

Which shops are like Aarong in Bangladesh?

Aarong still has the widest range, but for most things there is a better-focused shop. For jamdani and kantha with a story behind them, go to Kumudini or Aranya. For folk crafts and gifts to carry abroad, Jatra. For an Eid panjabi, saree or salwar kameez in a deshi style, the fashion houses of Deshi Dosh: Anjan's, Rang Bangladesh, Kay Kraft, Deshal and six more under one roof.

None of them matches Aarong's home decor. For lamps, vases and wall hangings, our guide to home decor shops compares the decor sellers, online and in Dhaka.

Aarong alternatives at a glance

What is Aarong best for, and where does it fall short?

Range. Aarong is BRAC's social enterprise, open since 1978, when its first shop opened on Mirpur Road in Dhanmondi. In March 2025 it opened an eight-floor, 60,000-square-foot flagship in Dhanmondi that it calls the world's largest craft store, and it had 30 outlets. It also sells online.

When we checked on 27 October 2026, its kantha and quilts ran from ৳4,135 to ৳7,857, and Nakshi Kantha is on show at almost every branch.

Where it falls short is depth. One house look covers everything from saris to lamps, so if you want a weaver-led jamdani, natural dyes or a louder festival palette, the specialists below do it better.

What is Kumudini known for?

Kantha, jamdani and fine textiles, sold to fund a charity. Kumudini Handicrafts began in 1980 as part of the Kumudini Welfare Trust, which R P Shaha founded in 1947, and income from its units helps fund the trust's hospital and colleges. It made its name with Nakshi Kantha, jamdani, muslin, half silk and endi silk.

Kumudini's kantha is stitched in Jamalpur, Saidpur, Jashore and Manikganj. Prices in January 2026:

• Purses and table mats: ৳300 to ৳350.
• Kantha wall mats: ৳700 to ৳2,200.
• Kantha-stitched saris: ৳5,000 to ৳5,500.
• Full Nakshi Kantha: ৳8,100 to ৳14,000.

Its online shop leans to clothing: on 31 October 2026, block-print cotton and half silk saris ran from ৳1,660 to ৳3,580 and endi and silk kurtas from ৳4,050 to ৳7,660. For the kantha, visit an outlet. Our Nakshi Kantha price guide puts these prices next to other shops'.

What is Aranya known for?

Natural dyes. The craft expert Ruby Ghuznavi founded Aranya in 1990 to bring plant dyes back into Bangladeshi textiles, and it is now led by Nawshin Khair and backed by the Bengal Foundation. It works with about 3,000 artisans across the country.

Go for naturally dyed kantha-stitch, jamdani and silk saris, which are what it's best known for. It also sells panjabis, salwar kameez, shawls, jewellery, cane and brass pieces and tableware. There are two showrooms, a flagship in Banani and a branch in Dhanmondi, and an online shop.

What is Jatra known for?

Folk crafts and handwoven clothing. The artist and musician Anusheh Anadil started Jatra in Banani in 2000 to showcase Bangladesh's folk arts and crafts, and it also stocks other local brands. Its kantha comes in many colours and designs, priced by colour, design and fabric.

It's our pick for gifts to take abroad: small, light and plainly Bangladeshi. Our gifts from Bangladesh guide has more ideas.

What is Deshal known for?

Deshi fashion with an artist's eye. Kanak Aditya and Ishrat Jahan, fine arts graduates of Dhaka University, started Deshal in 2005 with Sabuj Siddiqui, in a small shop in Aziz Super Market that students loved. It relaunched with new partners in 2021, opened a Banani flagship in 2022 and spread to Sylhet and Chattogram. It now sells fashion, lifestyle and home decor, made with over 200 rural artisans and producers.

What is Kay Kraft known for?

Deshi fashion and home textiles, with gifts and decor on the side. Shahnaz Khan and Khalid Mahmood Khan started it on the ground floor of their home in 1993, and by 2023 it had 16 outlets in Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Cumilla, Khulna and other districts. Its gifts and home decor section covers bamboo and cane, lamp shades, terracotta, miniatures, painted decor, dolls and rickshaw-painted wooden wall hangings.

What is Anjan's known for?

Deshi clothes for the whole family. Anjan's opened on 15 February 1994, is run by Shaheen Ahmed, and now has 23 outlets. Its range runs to saris, salwar kameez and panjabis, mostly in handloom and local mill fabrics, with home textiles, jewellery, jute and leather goods alongside.

Prices on its website on 31 October 2026: cotton panjabis ৳1,815 to ৳2,805, printed cotton-silk saris about ৳5,000, salwar kameez sets ৳5,335 to ৳6,325, and embroidered silk and muslin saris about ৳18,400 to ৳23,600.

What are Rang Bangladesh and Bishwo Rang?

Two halves of the old Rang, the fashion house that made bright colour its signature. Fine arts students started Rang in a 100-square-foot shop in Narayanganj in 1994, and it began selling handloom saris and panjabis in 1995. In 2015 the partners split it in two: Soumik Das runs Rang Bangladesh and Biplob Saha runs Bishwo Rang.

Both lean on handloom and folk motifs, and both bring out festival collections. Rang Bangladesh is also one of the ten houses in Deshi Dosh.

What is Deshi Dosh?

Ten deshi fashion houses under one roof: Nipun, Kay Kraft, Anjan's, Rang Bangladesh, Banglar Mela, Sada Kalo, Bibiana, Deshal, Nogordola and Shristi. It opened in 2009, and its Dhaka outlet is on Level 4 of Bashundhara City, with branches in Sylhet and Chattogram. Alongside clothes it sells accessories, home textiles and gifts.

It's the place to go when you want to compare deshi brands for an Eid or Boishakh outfit in one trip.

Where can you buy Tangail handloom in Dhaka?

Tangail Shari Kutir on Bailey Road. Before Eid in March 2026 it had nothing under ৳900, and saris up to about ৳5,000. Our Tangail saree price guide covers what each kind costs and how to tell handloom from power loom.

Where does JADUZ fit?

JADUZ is ours, and it works differently: an online marketplace where every piece is made by a named Bangladeshi maker, who is vetted before they can sell. It's new and small. Today it lists original paintings and calligraphy by the Dhaka artist Karunika, and it grows as we approve new makers.

One of a kind

Ocean Melody

৳750

Karunika, Dhaka

Sold out

Islamic Calligraphy Canvas

৳300

Karunika, Dhaka

Makers who want to sell can read how selling on JADUZ works.

How do you choose where to buy?

Start with what you're buying.

• Jamdani: Kumudini or Aranya, or the weavers in Rupganj if you know what to look for. Read how to identify original jamdani and the jamdani price guide first, and see JADUZ's Jamdani guide for the craft itself.
• Nakshi Kantha: Kumudini, Aranya or Jatra, and compare size, layers and stitch density, not the shop's name. Our handmade vs machine kantha checklist helps, and the Nakshi Kantha guide covers the craft.
• An Eid or Boishakh outfit: Deshi Dosh, where ten houses sit side by side.
• Gifts to take abroad: Aarong or Jatra.
• Home decor: Aarong, or the decor sellers in our home decor shops guide. For jute rugs, see the jute rug price guide.
• Outside Dhaka: Aarong, Kay Kraft, Deshal, Anjan's and Rang Bangladesh all have outlets beyond Dhaka, and most of these shops sell online.