The Indian Saree

A sari or saree is a female garment born in both Northern and Southern India and is now a symbol for all of India. It is a decorative strip of cloth, ranging from four to nine meters that is draped over the body. The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with one end then draped over the shoulder baring the midriff.

The sari is usually worn over a petticoat, with a blouse (choli or ravika) forming the upper garment. The choli has short sleeves and a low neck and is usually cropped. Cholis may be “backless” or halter-style. These are usually more dressy with a lot of embellishments such as embroidery and may be worn on special occasions.

The sari can be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilization, (2800-1800 BC) around the western part of the Indian Subcontinent. The earliest known depiction of the sari in the Indian subcontinent is the statue of an Indus valley priest wearing a drape.

Saris are woven with one plain end (which is concealed inside the wrap), two long decorative borders running the length of the sari, and a one to three foot section at the other end which continues and elaborates the length-wise decoration, called the pallu. In the past, saris were woven of silk or cotton. The rich could afford finely-woven, sheer silk saris that could be “passed through a finger ring”.

All saris were handwoven and represented a considerable investment of time or money. Simple hand-woven villagers’ saris are often decorated with checks or stripes woven into the cloth.

Inexpensive saris were also decorated with block printing using carved wooden blocks and vegetable dyes, or tie-dyeing, known in India as bhandani work.
Expensive saris had elaborate floral or figurative ornaments created on the loom, as part of the fabric. Threads of different colors were woven into the fabric in patterns; an ornamented border, an elaborate pallu, and small repeated accents in the cloth itself. For fancy saris, these patterns could be woven with gold or silver thread, which is called zari work. Sometimes the saris were further decorated, after weaving, with various sorts of embroidery. Resham work is embroidery done with colored silk thread.

In modern times, saris are increasingly woven on mechanical looms and made of artificial fibers, such as polyester or nylon. They are printed by machine, or woven in simple patterns.

Hand-woven, hand-decorated saris are naturally more expensive than the machine imitations, and they are still popular for weddings and other grand occasions.

• Add New
• Search

Comments (1)

• |58.22.69.xxx |2010-02-02 09:08:50 supra footwear  - supra footwear
  Dear Admin,thank you for this informative article.It's very good.I wish you continued success whould you like.ugg boots sale|uggs sale|uggs|gucci shoes|gucci handbags and so on.This is a great resource for growing your buisness.I think you will like another cheap mbt shoes|mbt shoes
  • 0
  • 0

  ReplyQuote

Write comment

Your Contact Details:

Name:

Email: do not notify notify

Website:

Comment:

Title:

UBBCode:         -color- aqua black blue fuchsia gray green lime maroon navy olive purple red silver teal white yellow   -size- tiny small medium large huge

Message:

Security

Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

Powered by !JoomlaComment 4.0 beta2