Papa Don’t Preach is one of those brands that is an eye catcher. It has exploded in recent times with celebs and us mere humans alike. It’s a standout in the traditional Indian game. With their beading, designs, fabrics, and textures… it’s all either go big or go home.

Initially when I first discovered this brand I was enthralled with the one lengha I had seen. But with further investigating I was noticing they had a lot of hits, but probably more misses.

One thing is for sure, when Papa Don’t Preach is a hit, they hit it out of the park. Netting, bead work, decals – it’s a stellar combination when done right.

PDP is favoured by most western celebs, its a modernized version of traditional ethnic wear. I think they do best with muted colours and pastels. Now when they do brighter in your face colours, it get’s messy. They don’t have the best of color combinations, it would work if the work wasn’t ‘big’ to begin with.

PDP takes a lot to style, accessorize. And then we also come across the problem of PDP branching out into patterns, blouse cuts, experimental fabrics. Its the definition of throwing everything against the wall and hoping something sticks. It would a good strategy if they didn’t have so many misses.

It’s fashion that looks great for magazine shoots, but in my opinion it isn’t really wearable. Unless you’re looking to be experimental, in that case PDP is perfect.

One thing I really really despise from this brand is their short dresses. This is going to seem super harsh, but it looks like someone just cut off the bottom half of a lengha. Not to mention they never look good on anyone, photo shoot or not. They’re always ill fitted.

Overall, I don’t want to keep bashing the brand just because it’s not my style. I think they do cater to a certain group of people out there, that’s just not me. It’s not generationally flexible. I’m a North American Indian so I’m kind of surprised I don’t this brand. I will say kudos to the designers for the idea they started out with – it just wasn’t executed in the best of ways. Like I said when they hit it out of the park they really hit it.

I’m not going to be going out of my way to look through the brand to shop for myself, but if opportunity were to present itself… who would I be to say no?