I have great respect and admiration for Indian fashion and one of my particular favorites is the Indian sari.

Sunday 20 January 2008

The Indian Sari - A Stunning Wedding Dress

A friend of mine wanted an amazing wedding dress, she couldn't’t find the dress of her dreams so she looked at the Indian sari. Believe me, she was far from disappointed. The fabrics, colours and textures could not be matched by any traditional western wedding dress; not which she could afford anyway. The one she eventually bought was not as classy as these but it was still pretty stunning. I found these pictures at "All Things Bright and Beautiful" ,

and I just can’t stop looking at them, they are absolutely beautiful.

Traditionally the Indian sari was made from silk or cotton. The more affluent women wore finely-woven, diaphanous silk saris. I heard that these were so delicate they could be drawn through a wedding ring. Poorer people had less choice they had to settle for a coarser cotton sari but all saris allowed the wearer to express an element of individuality and unique style by the way they draped the cloth.

I was surprised to discover that there is an institute of draped clothes which studies and helps to keep alive the art of draping the Indian sari. I believe it is quite a skill and there are over 100 different ways to drape.


Chantal Boulanger, a cultural anthropologist, devoted much of her life promoting the art of draping.


If your interested in the art of draping you may like to have a look at the - Institute of Draped Clothes.



The different areas of India have each devised their own particular styles of the Indian sari. They have different types of thread running through the cloth and their own distinctive colours and motifs. Each region also developed a few stitches unique to their particular style. These motifs are often representations of nature and religion and sometimes depict the lives of the ordinary people of India.

The Indian sari has been utilised as a canvas for religious embroideries; these represent religious organizations and the royal courts. In the past hand embroidery was a revered art in its own right; it had patrons just like other art forms. The beautiful embroideries created made use of gold threads known as zardosi, chikankari, kasuti and kashmiri.

Many arts and crafts have evolved as a result of the varied and beautiful decoration of the Indian sari.

If it is was too expensive to weave coloured threads through the cloth, the sari was decorated by a process known as block printing; a technique of printing onto cloth using carved blocks of wood and vegetable dyes. Tie dyeing or bhandani and batik were also used.


1 comment:

blah said...

Dear Fran - thanks so much for the mention - these saris are the most delicious I have ever seen :-)