Indian Review

Indian fashion varies from village to village and city to city. India has a rich fashion heritage full of tradition, vibrant colours and grandeur. The world of Indian fashion is evolving fast and with designs that are influencing the International fashion houses across world.

Indian fashion offers a wide range of choices, regarding what type of outfit to wear to each occasion, for example you can choose from popular styles of sari’s, traditional salwar kameez, churidaar’s, lehngas and the classic Indian trouser suit.

Bright colours form an integral part of Indian fashion and this can be seen in Indian fashion houses across the world, however, for the more conservative shopper, there are also outfits that have more subtle colours suitable for evening and formal wear.

Asian weddings are commonly known for bright and vibrant colours, which is stemmed through the range of outfits women wear to these functions.

Bright colours have always been an important part of Asian fashion. There is a great diversity in the types of outfits available, as they all originate from different parts of India and Asia.

Fabrics are important when it comes to clothing, Indian outfits are made using use a range of fabrics, as it decides the overall look and finish. Popular fabrics used are; crepe, georgette, silk, satin, cotton and chiffon. The type of fabric used is carefully matched with the style of embroidery, often hand-embroidered, using thread, sequence and stonework embroidery

This year Western fashion has been heavily influenced by Indian fashion and culture, for example in the summer, kaftans with Indian style embroidery and Indian sandals were popular for everyday summer wear and for wearing on the beach.

Indian fashion also reached Hollywood, with celebs like Liz Hurley wearing a sari’ss to parties and other outings.

Indian Sari’s

The Indian sari has been an important part of Indian culture for centuries, the sari itself has an interesting history, but the most fascinating thing about the Indian sari is that even today, it is considered to be one of the most graceful outfits a woman can wear.

The sari is in simply six yards of material but the type of sari and the style in which can be worn generates a look which is incomparable to any other type of outfit. Unlike some items of clothing, a sari has no limits, it can be worn by someone of any age and any size.

One of the most embroidered parts of the sari is the palu. This is the end of the sari and is normally draped at the back or front to show what type of embroidery it has.

To wear a sari, only two other items are required. The first is a blouse (sometimes known as choli). The blouse usually always comes with the sari and completely matches the sari, with the same material and embroidery. The blouse is vital to the overall finish of the sari and can differentiate the look of one sari to another, the traditional form of a blouse is well fitted, to reveal the midriff, with capped sleeves and hooks to tie it up at the front.

The length of the blouse is also up to the individual wearer, very short and bikini-like or longer to cover the midriff. Blouses can either be sleeveless or have sleeves. Any type of neckline can also be made.

However, the length of the blouse is up to the individual wearer, very short and bikini-like or longer to cover the midriff for the more conservative wearer. Any type of neckline can also be made to suit the overall style.

Blouses are, on average, 1 yard long and often provided as unstitched material, to enable the consumer to have the blouse made in any shape or style they like. More high fashion sari’s come with ready made blouses in a standardised size, which the user can then adjust.

The modern blouse has evolved to make a fashion statement with styles of blouses to be halter neck, spaghetti straps, off the shoulder, one shoulder blouses and corset blouses. The other key article to wearing a sari is having a petticoat or an underskirt. The petticoat is worn underneath the sari and tied tightly around the waist or hip. The petticoat should be the same type of colour, if not similar because the petticoat should not be seen.

A petticoat is to provide a base for the sari to be wrapped around and make secure The sari is tucked in at the top, which allows the sari to hang at the correct length, by the wearers feet so the ankle can not be seen. The petticoat is useful if the sari worn is made of a more sheer fabric which means the sari is not see-through. Sari’s are made from different types of materials and decorated with many different styles of embroidery. The different types of materials create different textures, styles, and overall look of the sari.

The lengha is another popular type of outfit, but usually worn for more formal or special occasions. The lengha is often the most popular choice for Asian brides on their wedding day.

The lengha is a three piece outfit consisting of a short top and a full length skirt completed with a matching dupatta. Many different typed of lengha’s exist from traditional style lenghas, heavily embroidered bridal lenghas to modern fitted styles and the popular fish cut lengha. It is now common for Asian brides are to wear wedding lenghas with a trail.

As the sari originates from a land rich in culture and history, the sari is worn in different regions therefore the sari also comes, in many different styles. Here are the most popular styles.

This is the most common types of sari style, it is also known as the nivi sari. This style is when the sari is wrapped around the waist of the user, pleated at the navel, wrapped around once again and finished by draping the palu of the sari over the left shoulder. When a sari is heavily embroidered and for more formal occasions the sari can also be draped across the arm for maximum show.

The pleats formed are called kick pleats because the pleats are literally kicked out when you walk, thus making walking in a sari easier. This type of sari is commonly worn in by Bollywood stars.

The palu of the sari, after being wrapped over the left shoulder, can also be spread across the back to be pulled over to the right shoulder and bought forward, acting like a shawl. This is done in colder weather.

The Gujrati style sari differs from the traditional sari simply in the way the palu (loose end of the sari) is draped. Instead of the sari draped over the left shoulder, the palu is taken around the user and draped from the back to the front, over the right shoulder finishing the look by fanned across the midriff (from right to left).

A more modern style of sari is the double wrap sari. After wrapping the sari around the body and completing the pleats, the sari is then again wrapped quite tightly around the body, like the previous styles, but this time around the midriff. The remainder of the sari is draped over the right shoulder, similar to the traditional style. This style of sari is often suited when sari’s are made from thinner fabrics, with embroidery shown across the midriff area.

This style of sari is commonly worn in the Southern states of India, and not generally worn in the in other regions unless there are specific regional or religious occasions.

To wear the sari, the centre of the sari (from a length way perspective) must be placed at the centre back with the ends of the sari bought forward and tied securely. The two ends are then wrapped around each leg and the remainder of the sari is then wrapped around the rest of the body. There are many different ways to wrap this sari style as it is very complicated.

This sari is designed for practicality as opposed to elegance or formal wear. Kodagu Sari

Another traditional style of sari from the ‘Karnataka’ region of India is the Kodagu sari. To tie this sari in this style, pleats are made at the back of the sari and the palu is draped from the back to the front, over the right shoulder. The end of the sari is pinned as required by the end user.