Indian Fashion  

Regional Sarees:

A charming folktale explains...  

"The Saree, it is said, was born on the loom of a fanciful weaver. He dreamt of Woman. The shimmer of her tears. The drape of her tumbling hair. The colors of her many moods. The softness of her touch. All these he wove together. He couldn't stop. He wove for many yards. And when he was done, the story goes, he sat back and smiled and smiled and smiled."

Indian style saree, in India, majority of women wear saree. The saree is a long piece of cloth about a meter wide and 5 to 5 1/2 meters long. The saree is draped over a long skirt. A tight fitting blouse known as choli is worn on the upper part of the body.

sarees of different designs and materials are available in a variety of colours. It is made out of cotton, silk and other synthetic materials. The cost of the sarees varies according to the quality. The outer end of the saree or Pallu is most attractive especially on silk sarees.

Women of Tamil Nadu wear silk sarees on special occasions. The Brahmin community wear the saree in a slightly different way without wearing the long skirt. The length of the saree which they wear is longer (nine yards) than the usual one. It is wound separately on both legs in a proper way without restricting the person's free movement.

Andhra Pradesh is famous for its cotton sarees which is designed with jerry and thread. The sarees woven at Venkatagiri and Pochhampalli in Andhra are famous. Cotton sarees of Bengal is ideal as a summer wear.
In Kerala, women wear their traditional two piece cloth called mundu and neriyathu. The 'mundu' (one piece) is draped on the lower part of the body. The second piece; 'neriyathu' is worn on top, over a blouse in the same way as the sarees. This mundu also called 'Settu Mundu' is the traditional attire. The mundu was worn in a different way by the women of the royal families.

Bandhej Saree from Gujarat: tie-dyed (Tie-Die) fabrics of Gujarat

Art of tie and dye is popularly known as Bandhej in the Gujarat region. Jamnagar, Anjar, and Bhuj are the main centres where artists work traditionally on First step towards the procedure is the dipping of cloth into a colour after which the cloth is folded to a quarter of its size. The designs are created with the combination of small dots and circles. The borders are broad and are worked both in matching and contrasting colours.

The tying of the border and the release of the colour is called sevo bandhavo. The colouring method involves the lightest shade being worked in first order , after which this is tied and a darker colour is introduced. An unlimited number of colour schemes are used. The quality of the bandhej can be judged by the size of the dots: the smaller and closer to the size of a pinhead the dots are, the finer is the quality of the bandhej. Red, , maroon , yellow, and golden, black are the common shades. (Courtesy: www.craftandartisans.com)

Kota Doria sarees of Rajasthan: Kota, a small district situated in southeast of Rajasthan is very famous for its delicate kota doria sarees, These dorias are fine woven fabrics containing a special type of check pattern in the weave itself, locally called khat. These sarees are very delicate, lightweight and porous and this makes them favorable towards surface ornamentation techniques like batik tie-and-dye, chiknar work, hand-block printing, embroidery and appliqué work.

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You can even Buy Kota Doria in yardage for suits and other dress materials in 11 mts and 13 mts.
You can even custom order kota doria sarres to be printed in vegetable dyes and other hand block prints. (Courtesy: www.craftandartisans.com)

Annibuta Saree from Andhra: These sarees from the south Indian state of Andhra have extra gold thread in the weft and pallu, which is made of tissue. The specialty of the annibuta saree is that the entire saree is woven with temple motifs. A traditional pit-loom is used to make these sarees. It’s a traditional art form and can be mastered by continuous practice only to get perfect designs. (Courtesy: www.craftandartisans.com)

Kurainadu & Kodambakkam Sarees of Tamil Nadu: Kurainadu and Kodambakkam sarees are the blend of cotton and silk mixture. These sarees are complimented with the beautiful geometric and floral designs. Some typical motifs are bells, toe ring armlet, rose-water pot, big seed and flowers. A variety of checks are also used as designs. (Courtesy: www.craftandartisans.com)

Maheshwari Saris of Madhya Pradesh: The motifs of maheshwari saris have been derived from the temple carving and the carving of the palace built by Rani Ahilyabai Holkar. Rani lived near the banks of Narmada.

Maheshwari saris are woven by men as well as women folks. The weaving done is intricate with geometric designs with no motifs on the body of the saris. Weaving is done with a fine silk warp and cotton weft. Lines play a vital role as vertical stripes, and large checks are woven to shape up the pattern. (Courtesy: www.craftandartisans.com)

Chanderi Sarees from Madhya Pradesh: In the heart of India beyond forests and valleys, is the famous weavers town of Chanderi in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh. Once Chanderi cottons were comparable to Dacca muslins. When the British introduced mill-made fabrics to complete with Indian handlooms the weavers of Chanderi created the present form of the Chanderi sarees. They used a silk warp with a fine cotton weft without compromising on the intricate gold borders and jewel like buttis, and the weave continued to remain as delicate and exquisite as it was.

Colour was introduced into Chanderi weaving about 50 years ago. Till then only white sarees were woven, which were then washed in saffron to give them their characteristic golden hue and fragrance. Flowers were also used for dyeing these sarees into soft pastel colours. Now the sarees are available in a range of light and dark colours with and without the gold borders and buttis. Plain colours are also woven to be used as a base for printing, embroidery and other embellishments. (Courtesy: www.craftandartisans.com)

Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu and Mysore in Karnataka are famous for their unique silk and cotton sarees.

Kanchipuram Sarees of Tamil Nadu: Kanchipuram is the famous weaving centre in Tamil Nadu. The weaving community in Kanchipuram is called Salgars (from the Sanskrit word, salika meaning weaver), and they claim descent from Sage Markanda, the weaver of the gods. Earlier the design-jacquards were made from round lamp-wicks but now mechanised hooks and jacquard boxes are used. The designs on the body of the saree are woven with gold thread and the motifs range from figures to temple gopuras (towers) along the border. One of the traditions of the Kanchipuram sarees is the contrasting borders.

These sarees are usually made in brilliant reds, saffron, orange, emerald, henna green, maroon, peacock blue and ochre with bright contrasting borders. These days silver is being used in addition to gold. Weavers also make tissue sarees, using only gold or silver metal threads. This tradition of silk saree weaving at Kanchipuram arose out of temple-traditions with the famous Kamakshi temple situated there. Upper-caste families wore only silk and weddings and festivals (Deepavali, Pongal, etc) were an occasion for the purchase of many silk sarees. (Courtesy: www.craftandartisans.com)

Kodali Karupper Sarees of Tamil Nadu: The first Karpur saree was exhibited in the Vishwakarma Exhibition inLondon and was defined a work of art and genius. Village of Kolli Karpur is famous for its Kodalikareppur /Karpur sarees, and furnishings.

Tie & Dye/Chungadi of Madurai, Tamil Nadu: The method of tie and dye is locally known as Chungidi and Madurai is the key place in Tamilnadu. The colours used are red, Purple, blue and black. The specialty here is the kolam or rangoli patterns. The kolams are all geometric in nature and the borders of the sari are in contrasting colours.

The Karpur saree is a mixture of hand painting, block printing and brocade weaving. The rareness of the Karpur saree deceit in its perfect combination of these three distinct and different techniques. Its district characteristic is that the motif has an uncolored outline, which reflects the base fabric colour. In difference the residual area is filled by either two or three colours like red, yellow blue or black. To obtain this uncoloured outline the fabric is resisted with a wax line. On a saree the colours are both painted or printed with blocks.

The pallu is woven with a cotton weft. The weaving of the fabric is shared with zari in the Jamdani method on the main body and the border. Zari weft can be traced in the motifs like the star in the border and tilakam in the body of the saree. (Courtesy: www.craftandartisans.com)

Nagpur Saris of Maharashtra: These saris are woven on pit-looms mainly with pure cotton yarn.The uniqueness of the Nagpur saris are the designs that are woven with the Nagpuri wooden dobby. Designs are woven in stripes and checks with fly shuttles, complimenting the finely textured body with richly attractive borders.

Narayanpethi Silk Saris of Maharashtra: Various types of colourful silk saris, with intricate brocade work in silk and zari, are woven at Narayanpeth Narayanpet. As the silk threads are not of a very high count, the saris are both light-weight and festive.

Paithani Saris of Maharashtra: Maharastriyan Paithani sari (paithani saree) is among the most gorgeous and elegant of all the saris (sarees). This saree is named after a village near Aurangabad in Maharashtra. Now also woven in the town of Yeola, these sarees use an enormous amount of labour, skill and sheer expanse of material in their creation. - Distinctive motifs such as parrots, trees and plants are woven into the saree. The shades vary from vivid magenta, peacock greens and purples. In the pallav, the base is in gold and the pattern is done in silk, giving the whole saree an embossed look.

It is a pure silk sari (silk saree) with rich Zari pallu. A Blend of silk with a gold weave is the beauty of Paithani saris. Women weave the saris on a wooden loom skillfully mixing colours of blues, magentas and purples interspersed with gold threads.

The art is more than 2000 years old, developed in the then splendid city of Pratishthan ruled by the legendary Satavahanas ruler Shalivahana (See Shalivahana era) now Paithan by the Godavari in Marathwada, some 50 km from Aurangabad). In the far past it had been an international trade centre for silk and zari.

Plain as well as spotted designs are available. Among other varieties, single colored and kaleidoscope-colored designs are also popular. The kaleidoscopic effect is achieved by using one color for weaving lengthwise and another for weaving widthwise.

Paithani saree is made of silk and zari. It is a plain weave, with weft figuring designs done on principles of tapestry. Traditionally, Paithan had a coloured, cotton muslin field that often contains considerable supplementary zari patterning. Although in 19th century, silk fields were also woven.

There are three types of silk threads used for paithani sarees:

• Charkha: This is widely used. It is cheap, dull and uneven.
• Ciddle-Gatta: Fine quality silk, thin shear, shiny, smooth and even.
• China silk: Very expensive to use.

This raw silk is cleansed with caustic soda, dyed in the requisite shades, the threads carefully separated. Khari ( Real ) zari costs about Rs. 1800 for 250 grams.

Golden threads are obtained from Surat, the quality being 1200 yard (1080 meters) per tola (11.664 grams). Gold threads are used in double and one of the finest varieties so much so that the closely woven surface looks like a mirror. The texture of the fabric is fairly compact with about 160 ends and 170 picks per inch (2.6 cm).

Zari is the metallic yarn, made of pure silver. Originally, zari was manufactured in Yeola; Surat now being another zari-producing center. Initially, zari used in making Paithani was drawn from pure gold. However, silver is the affordable substitute today.

The traditional colours of vegetable dyes used for Paithani Pophali (yellow), Red, Lavender, Purple, Neeligunji (sky blue), Magenta, Motiya (peach pink), Brinjal (purple), Pearl pink, Peacock (blue/green), Yellowish green, Kusumbi (violet red), Pasila (red and green), Gujri (black and white ), Mirani (black and red)

Types of Paithani

Paithani can be classified by three criteria: motifs, weaving, and colours.

• Classification by motif:
  • Bangadi Mor - the word bangadi means bangle and mor means peacock. So bangadi mor means a peacock in a bangle or in a bangle shape. The motif is woven onto the pallu, the design sometimes having a single dancing peacock. The saris using this motif are very expensive because of the design.
  • Munia brocade - The word munia means parrot. Parrots are woven on the pallu as well as in border. Parrots are always in leaf green colour. The parrots in silk are also called tota-maina.
  • Lotus brocade - lotus motifs are used in pallu and sometimes on the border. The lotus motif consists of 7-8 colours.

• Classification by weaving:
  • Kadiyal border sari - the word kadiyal means interlocking. The warp and the weft of the border are of the same colour while the body has different colours for warp and weft.
  • Kad/Ekdhoti - a single shuttle is used for weaving of weft. The colours of the warp yarn is different from that of the weft yarn. It has a narali border and simple buttis like paisa, watana, etc. Kad is also a form of lungi and is used by male Maharashtrians.

• Classification by colour:
  • Kalichandrakala - pure black sari with red border.
  • Raghu - parrot green coloured sari.
  • Shirodak - pure white sari.

Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org

Real Paithani work is hand woven in pure silk & silver. Intricate designs on the pallu and the borders is specialty of Paithani sarees. Traditional creative and pain staking workmanship combine to form this unique cloth, where a weaver can weave only one inch per day. colour thread is weaved by hand. Thus pallu, peacocks, parrots and other design look like painting on silk. We can know real Paithani by looking at back of pallu, it look same as front side.

Asavali (vine and flowers), Narli (coconut design) and petal design are the few traditional motifs. Due to the closeness of Paithan to the famous Ajanta caves, there are motifs of Buddha weaved standing or in the sitting posture and motifs of gold coin are also recorded in paithani weaves. In the earlier days zari work, mixing intricately designed gold with copper threads was done to provide strength but these days zari work is done in beautiful designs on the pallu and border and highlight the sari. The more intricate and heavy the zari work is; more is the price of the sari. Sometimes to make the sari affordable, cotton and other blends of fabric are used as a substitute. There are various types of paithani sarees as Single Padar Paithani, Double Padar Paithanil, Special Padar Paithani, Semi Paithani, Paithani pure silk and gold.

Patola Silks of Gujarat: Patola silk of Gujarat displays an exclusive and complicated craftsmanship. Patola silk fabric is one of most complex textile-weaving techniques in the world. The warp as well as weft threads are coupled and dyed into an complicated pattern, and while weaving the craftsperson has to ensure that the warp and weft threads intersect perfectly to produce the preset pattern. Patan in north Gujarat is the most famous centre for weaving. Figures of parrot and elephant are very popular, while geometrical and floral motifs are also woven.

Gadwal sarees - Gadwal saree is made in cotton in a style influenced by the Banarasi weaves. While the ground of the saree is cotton, there is a loosely attached silk border. - Copper or gold-dipped zari is generally used in these sarees. The motifs of the murrugan (peacock) and the rudraksh are popular. - Traditional colours for these sarees are earth shades of browns, greys and off-whites. However, brighter shades have been introduced for the North Indian buyer.

Courtesy: http://utube.smashits.com

Tie & Die/Lehriya/Bandhini of Rajasthan: Tie and die is a multi colored craft of Rajasthan. A large number of colours are used because once the base colour is tied in, a lot of colours can be applied on to the fabric at different stages and then tied and detached gradually. The motifs that are used are birds, leaves, animals, creepers, and human figures in dance poses.

Designs are known by their names such as mountain design, dol design and kite design. Dots are used to make up the designs. A different colour on either side is also practiced by the craftsmen. Lehariya has long lines in a variety of colours found all over the body of the sari or dress Fmaterial. Turbans are also a good outcome. The lehariya cloths have their own names depending on the designs. Bandhanis are related to festivals, seasons and rituals for which there are particular patterns and colours.

Sarees in Gujrat(Gujarat):

Bandhani sarees created by dyeing the cloth in such a manner that many small resist-dyed 'spots' produce elaborate patterns over the fabric. There are varieties available in two contrasting colours, with borders, end-pieces and one or more large central medallion called a pomcha or padma (lotus flower). Red and black is the most common colour combination but other pairs of colours are also found.

the panetar saree is a Gujarati-Hindu saree of satin weave and Gajji silk with red borders, central medallions and a white body, which may contain regularly spaced red tie-dyed spots. - Single colour sarees and odhnis with white spots are also common.

The most famous of this type is the Gujarati saree called Garchola It is usually red, but occasionally green, and is divided into a network of squares created by rows of white tie-dyed spots or woven bands of zari. The Garchola is a traditional Hindu and Jain wedding saree, which used to be made of cotton, but is now usually in silk. The number of squares in the saree is ritually significant multiples of 9, 12 or 52.

Courtesy: http://utube.smashits.com

Patola sarees - The most time consuming and elaborate saree created by the western region is the potole (plural patola) which has intricate five colour designs resist-dyed into both warp and weft threads before weaving. - Double ikat patola saree is a rare and expensive investment. A cheaper alternative to double ikat patola is the silk ikat saree developed in Rajkot (Gujarat), that creates patola and other geometric designs in the weft threads only.

Gujarati Brocade - These are extremely expensive and virtually extinct. The main distinguishing characteristics of the Gujarati Brocade Saree: - Butis (circular designs) woven into the field in the warp direction instead of the weft, resulting in their lying horizontally instead of vertically on the saree when draped. - Floral designs woven in coloured silk, against a golden (woven zari) ground fabric. Although such 'inlay' work is a common feature in many western Deccan silks, the Gujarati work usually has leaves, flowers and stems outlined by a fine dark line.

Tie & Dye/Bandhini of Madhya Pradesh: Tarapur and Umedpura are the main centres where as Bhairongarh is a smaller centre. Pillya is a woman's upper garment made in the bandani style and is a specialty of Jawad. Another specialty of Jawad is the parandas or the colourful long hair strings.

Procedure of coloring is the same as of other states. The popular motifs include the dana pattern that is created by chains of grain on the body of the fabric with detailed designs on the borders and pallu. squares dots, flower dots, birds and flowers are the common and popular motifs.

Tie & Dye/Telia Rumal/Ikat of Andhra: Ikats and brocade silks in Andhra Pradesh are skillfully woven at home under the supervision of master weavers. The wages at the end of the day depends on the quality and richness of the silks woven and the weaver who makes plain silks does not earn much. Pochampalli in Nalgonda district and Chirala in Guntur district are famous for their work in tie-and-dye weaving. This craft involves a detailed and sophisticated process where the warp and the weft are tied and dyed according to a predetermined design. Both cotton and silk fabrics are prepared using this process. A unique item called telia rumal (literally oily handkerchief) is made at Pochampalli which involves dipping the yarn into an oily solution before weaving. The patola or ikat saris of Pochampalli are generally centered on geometrical designs. A large variety of cotton lungis or cotton sarongs (draped around the waist ) for men are also prepared using this technique.

Tribhuvanam Silk Saris of Tamil Nadu: Silk yarn is made available through the government agencies and the weavers of the Thribuvanam silk saris are highly skilled. Saris are woven, with a special box fixed above the loom, in natural floral and animal designs.

sarees are worn in different ways in many places, especially in Gujarat, Manipur, Maharashtra and Coorg (Karnataka). 

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Different unique draping styles of saree by different regions in India:

1.Nivi: This style is worn in Andhra Pradesh. It is held in place by the tucks into the petticoat waistband and the pallu is hanging over the shoulder. In case of 'Kaccha nivi' , the pleats are passed through the legs and tucked into the waist at the back allowing free movement.

2.Maharashtrian: In this type of draping a saree, the centre of the saree is placed at the centre of the back. The ends are brought forward and tied neatly. Again the two ends are wrapped around the legs. An extra-long cloth is used and the ends are then passed up over the shoulder. The difference between this type of saree and the male maharashtrian dhoti is this long cloth only. The traditional type of nine yards saree is worn by the Brahmin women of different Southern states of India.

3. Bengali: This style of draping a saree has no pleats. The pallu has a bunch of keys that falls over the shoulder.

4.Dravidian: In this style, it is pleated rosette, at the waist. It is worn by Tamil nadu women.

5.Gujarati: In this style of draping, saree is draped over the right shoulder in the front rather than over the left shoulder. The modern non-Gujarati women wear this type in social occations with the eye-catching magnificent pallus.

6.Coorgi: In this style, it involves tying the pleats in the rear and a small portion of the pallu is placed over the shoulder.

7.Mundum Neryathum: This style is worn in Kerala. It made of unbleached cotton and decorated with gold or colored stripes and borders. It is also called as the two-piece saree.

8.Gond: In this style, the cloth of the saree is first draped over the left shoulder and then it arranged to cover the body.

9.Tribal Styles: In tribal styles, saree is tied firmly across the chest covering the breasts.

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