Vintage Saree picture from 1959
From 1959 Life Magazine.
100 year old saree picture : Sri lanka
This is a gem. A picture circa 1908; a saree clad woman tapping a rubber tree.
Seems like a single piece garment as one would expect.
Mormons: you can not wear saree in church!
Marissa (from NY) in her Spinalmoth blog has a posting titled “Sari Sadness”:
In an earlier post I expressed my sadness for not having an excuse to wear a sari. At church today one of the brothers (the first bishop in India!) gave a talk about preparing for the temple. In it he explained how for Indian women in the church, although wearing a sari is something most women want to be able to do, especially once they are endowed, Indian LDS women cannot if they are to dress modestly.
For some reason it hadn’t occurred to me that sari’s were immodest. The choli (the top) is often short sleeved and not super low cut and the pallu (the loose draped fabric) often covers up the front of the midriff so I didn’t think much about it. For those who don’t know, traditionally, sari’s leave part of the midriff exposed. How much midriff exposure varies but there is almost always SOME.
I am not going to reflect on the Later Day Saints (LDS or Mormons), but to suggest that a saree is “immodest” is not fair to the perishners. Saree is the most versatile garment there is. If a muslim woman following Hijab can wear a saree, there is no reason a member of the LDS can not wear a saree.
You just need to use the right blouse and have an appropriate length of the blouse so it covers your body and you can use your pallu to cover yourself and remain “modest”.
But there is no logic to religious practices; you got to follow your faith and avoid wearing a saree at the church.
But I do share her sari sadness!
PS: This is only true for LDS (Mormon) church; other churches and denominations do not have such restriction. In fact, the most recent bible approved by the church for India, includes pictures of women in saree. There is a picture of Virgin Mary in saree somewhere.
We are all imitators – Raja Ravi Varma Paintings
Every time I see painting of Raja Ravi Varma, I am reminded that as to how little have we learned about the saree design since he put paint on the canvas.
Draupadi by Raja Ravi Verma
This was almost 100 years ago and it looks like as if it came out of Manish Malhotra collection!
Simplicity never goes out of style. Chicknkari Embroidery on a white saree
I don’t particularly like it when people refer to ChicknKari embroidery as just “chicken” – e.g., oh, thats a nice chicken saree!
Doesn’t evoke the right picture in your mind! Can you imagine chickens running around with white sarees on them!
It should have been called NoorJahan embroidery, or embroidery of prophets.
Traditionally Chicknkari is the white thread embroidery done on the white muslin or mulmul. The word chikan comes from the Persian word Chakeen meaning making delicate patterns on the fabric.
The art is said to be introduced by Noorjahan the beautiful queen of Emperor Jahangir. She is said to be an expert in embroidery and inspired by the Turkish embroidery. According to Megasthenes, the chikan originated in East Bengal. He mentions chikan, the florals on fine muslins in 3rd century BC. The craftsmen believe that the origin goes back to the time of Prophet. It is believed that while he was passing through a village in Uttar Pradesh, he requested a villager for water. On being offered that, he gave the art of Chikankari to the poor villager as an art that will never let him go hungry.
Anyway, back to the white chicken saree, oh, I mean, white chickankari embroidered saree.
Its hard to see how pretty the embroidery is in the pictures. The details don’t really show up well. But I do know that it can be very intricate, very luxurious, very simple and very proper.
I remember a friend of mine ( Hi T!) entered a beauty pageant a while ago and while others were busy matching the color of the blouse with the color of the jewelry, she waltz in there with a white saree with minimal make up and minimal jewelry and she looked so stunning that judges had no choice but to pick her!
As I said, simplicity never goes out of style!
Sculptures of Lepakshi – Medieval Saree Style
The temples in Lepakshi town of Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh are home to some of the most beautiful paintings of Vijayanagar period available today. The Papaneshwar temple in Lepakshi was built in 1535 A.D.
About US
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.”
Rupa Gupta: A writer, editor and journalist, Rupa has been in the media for more than two decades. She has worked as Editor with major publications, both in India and abroad. a keen eye for fashion and current trends. Her sense of aesthetics transcends the hype and always finds the true beauty.
Liza Varma is a former Femina Miss India and well known model in Delhi. Today, she is a leading Fashion Choreographer with over 1000 shows to her credit in India and abroad. She is also a member of the Fashion Design Council of India and a Consultant with Shoot Talent Management. Her client list is the who’s who of Indian fashion industry.
Misty is a student in London and has her fingers on the pulse of London fashion industry.
Abhi is a student in San Francisco and showcases sensuous saree pictures.
Kamini is a model in Los Angeles and loves to accentuate the best a saree has to offer.