May 4 2014
Vintage South Sunday with Many Accessories
A beautifully coloured postcard from Raja Ravi Varma shows young girls in South Indian fashions at the turn of the 20th century. The tinting is far better than what we see in most images of this era, which is not surprising considering the high quality of Varma’s work in prints and his original paintings. The shades of greeny-maroon and light blues are so yummy, and I am intrigued by the long-sleeved blouse on the little girl at the left.
The jewellery being worn is distinctively different from the usual – septum pieces, upper-ear elements, more belts, heavier bracelets, cool toe rings, and those solid wire neck-ring/torques! I tried on a simple vintage necklace like these at a tribal dance conference a year or so ago, and with no added decorations it was about $50. I didn’t buy it, though I sure thought about it all that weekend. I did get some other small pieces, but nothing like the torques.
Sunny is a designer in Los Angeles. He loves the fluidity and fluency of a saree and believes that when a woman wears a saree, she not only adorns her body but she also adorns her soul. His design ethos is that “simplicity never goes out of style.”
Indrani is a video 
May 14, 2014 @ 1:19 am
The jewellery being worn is distinctively different from the usual wow
May 18, 2014 @ 12:44 pm
What a gorgeous photo!
I did not know Varma worked on photos as well. He was definitely as prolific across the various visual media of his day as he was talented.
I really like the look of the textiles, especially the sheen of the fabric in the saree on the far right. And the jewelry is quite cool as well. Dig those toe rings! And the payal (cham cham?) of the centered, seated girl. Charming.