Hand Block Print Dress Brands Compared: 5 Jaipur & Global Labels
There's a particular kind of dress you know the moment you see it — a cotton silhouette carrying a print that couldn't have come from a machine, each motif a little imperfect in the way that only a hand-carved wooden block can produce. Once you fall for that look, you start noticing how many brands are working in this same space, each at a different price point, sourced a different way, built for a different moment in your closet. Here's an honest, researched breakdown — five real brands, what they actually cost, and where a Jaipur label called Threads of Gulab fits into the picture.
Quick comparison
| Brand | Typical dress price | Where it's made | Positioning |
|---|---|---|---|
| SZ Blockprints | ~$198–$300 | Jaipur, India | Vintage-inspired, boutique/rental |
| Pink City Prints | ~$118–$347 | Designed in London, made in Jaipur | Elevated, screen + block print mix |
| Calling June | ~$198–$298 | Global artisans | Resortwear, vacation-first |
| House of Sundar | ~$120–$130 | Jaipur, India | Quiet luxury, small batch |
| Daughters of India | Not publicly listed here | Jaipur, India | Slow fashion, ethical, single hero silhouettes |
| Threads of Gulab | $95–$105 | Jaipur, India | Everyday craft, direct-from-workshop pricing |
SZ Blockprints
SZ Blockprints describes itself as "colourful, effortless & mindfully luxurious" — limited, vintage-inspired pieces for women and the home. Dresses run roughly $198 to $300 at original retail, and the brand shows up as much on rental platforms like Rent the Runway and Nuuly as it does in its own shop — a strong signal this is special-occasion territory, a piece you rent or save for a handful of wears a year rather than build a daily rotation around.
Pink City Prints
Designed in London, handcrafted in Jaipur — Pink City Prints sits at the more elevated end of this list, with dresses ranging roughly $118 to $347 depending on the line. Some styles are pure hand block print; others combine block printing with screen printing for more consistent color. The brand ships internationally and leans into a "fun, bright, effortlessly elegant" identity, popular through boutique retailers like Tuckernuck and ShopSimon as much as its own site.
Calling June
Calling June isn't a pure block-print specialist — it's a resortwear label ("crafted in small batches with global artisans," free worldwide shipping) with dresses running $198 to $298, some of which use block and screen print techniques among other textile treatments. It's positioned squarely around vacation and occasion dressing — destination weddings, beach trips, sunset dinners — rather than everyday wear.
House of Sundar
The closest price match to Threads of Gulab on this list. House of Sundar hand block prints its dresses with artisans in Jaipur, made in small, intentional batches, with midi dresses typically priced $120 to $130. It markets itself around a "quiet luxury" identity and breathable natural fibers — worth a close look if you want Jaipur craft at a more accessible (though still above-everyday) price point.
Daughters of India
Another genuinely Jaipur-made, artisan-crafted label — hand block printed maxi and midi dresses, positioned around slow fashion and ethical production, shipping worldwide. Known for building strong capsule collections around a few hero silhouettes repeated across colorways rather than a sprawling catalog.
Threads of Gulab: the everyday-price option
This is where we come in, and the honest way to describe our place next to the five brands above is simple: same craft tradition, same 100% cotton hand block-printed foundation — priced for wearing often instead of saving for one trip or one wedding weekend.
The price gap, explained. Our midi dresses run $105 and minis $97, against a $118–$347 range across the other five brands here — House of Sundar's $120–$130 is the closest, everyone else starts well above $150. That gap exists because we're a small operation working directly out of the Jaipur workshops where the printing happens, without the additional layers of wholesale distribution and multi-boutique markup that brands sold through Tuckernuck, ShopSimon, Rent the Runway, or Nuuly carry.
The fabric and the print. Every piece is cut and finished in small runs on breathable, hand block-printed cotton. Because each garment is stamped by hand, slight variation in print and color is normal — that's the craft, not a flaw. Some pieces carry a full block print; others are left plain by design.
How it ships. Orders are made to order in Jaipur, typically 3–5 business days to dispatch (occasionally 5–7 depending on weather or production conditions), shipping to the US, UK, Australia, France, Japan, and UAE. Free shipping on orders over $150.
The part that isn't about the dress at all. Ten percent of every profit goes to animal care — not a seasonal campaign, a standing commitment on every order shipped, whether it's a $97 mini dress or a full wardrobe refresh.
How to choose between them
If you're dressing for one big trip or a handful of occasions a year and want a curated, boutique-distributed piece, SZ Blockprints, Pink City Prints, or Calling June all make sense at their price points — and renting through Rent the Runway or Nuuly is a real option if you don't want to commit to buying. House of Sundar and Daughters of India sit closer to the craft-first, Jaipur-direct end of the spectrum, similar in spirit to what we do.
If what you actually want is the print, the cotton, and the tradition — worn often, not saved for once a year — that's the gap Threads of Gulab is built to fill. Same hand-carved blocks, same Jaipur workshops, just priced so you can build a rotation instead of a single statement piece.
Every brand on this list is keeping the same centuries-old craft alive in its own way. The real difference between them is simply how often you get to wear it.
Frequently asked questions
Is hand block printing really done by hand?
Yes — every motif is stamped using a hand-carved wooden block dipped in dye, one press at a time, which is why no two pieces are ever perfectly identical. This applies across genuinely Jaipur-made brands on this list (Threads of Gulab, House of Sundar, Daughters of India, and Pink City Prints' block-print styles); some other brands in this space mix in screen printing for parts of their range, which gives more uniform color but isn't the same hand process.
Which brand on this list is closest in price to Threads of Gulab?
House of Sundar, at roughly $120–$130 per dress. Every other brand compared here — SZ Blockprints, Pink City Prints, and Calling June — starts at $150 or more, with several pieces running $250–$300+.
Why is Threads of Gulab priced lower than the others?
Mainly distribution. Brands sold through boutiques like Tuckernuck and ShopSimon, or rental platforms like Rent the Runway and Nuuly, carry extra markup layers that a small, direct-from-workshop operation in Jaipur doesn't.
Do hand block print dresses run true to size?
It varies by brand, so always check the specific brand's own size guide rather than assuming standard US/UK sizing. Threads of Gulab's size guide is available on every product page.
How long does shipping take from a Jaipur-based brand?
For Threads of Gulab specifically: garments are made to order, with 3–5 business days to dispatch (occasionally 5–7 depending on weather or production conditions), then shipped to the US, UK, Australia, France, Japan, and UAE. Shipping timelines for other brands on this list vary — check each brand's own shipping policy.
Are these brands ethically made?
Several brands on this list — including Threads of Gulab, House of Sundar, and Daughters of India — describe themselves as slow fashion, small-batch, and artisan-partnered. If ethical sourcing matters to your decision, it's worth checking each brand's specific claims and any certifications directly, since standards and transparency vary brand to brand.