May be risqué according to contemporary tastes, but the saree drapes are authentic
I miss Chantal Boulanger at this time. She could have commented on these drapes.
I like both of the drapes – I have seen the top one more often than the one depicted in the lower picture.
They might look a little bit risqué with modern sensibilities but the drapes are authentic for sure.
These are from a Tamil movie Devaleelai.
Bengali Sarees
A few of the Bengali sarees for the reference.
From BanglaPedia
Love this saree picture from 1940’s
Beautiful chickankari work.
Here is some contemporary chickan work
Exactly the same!
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.
Another story is that the chikan originated in East Bengal. There is a mention of 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.
As old as time itself. And that is what I love about sarees – it is a bridge between You and your heritage, all rolled up in six yards.
Calcutta and Sarees from 1945
I love this picture for two reasons; it shows sarees from 1945 and it shows Calcutta from 1945.
As some of you know, I am an avid antique map collector and have one of the better private collections of antique Indian maps. Hopefully I’ll share that with you at some point.
The origin of these pictures is as follows:
The South Asia Section of the Van Pelt Library, University of Pennsylvania recently acquired from a bookdealer a photograph album consisting of 60 photographs of Calcutta taken most likely between 1945-1946. The photographer, Mr. Claude Waddell, also provided the interesting glosses accompanying each photograph.
Indian women, dressed in the native Saree, return from prayer at Jain Temple. Little girls wear European
dress usually until the marriage age, although some mothers like to dress the little girls in Sarees.
Check out more of them at UPenn site.
Love the saree drape
This drape is not coming back in style any time soon, and I am afraid it will become less and less visible.
This is the problem with wearing the saree only at certain functions, the authenticity of saree as regular wear gets diminished.
Gorgeous Raja Riva Varma’s Damayanthi
This is a clear fraying of the space-time continuam here; a woman wearing a saree with a meticulously embedded painting in the saree of a woman wearing a saree. I bet in one of the other dimensions, there is a woman wearing a saree with a painting of a woman wearing a saree with a painting of a woman embedded in the pallu design.
This is from RMKV silk and their special collection is always kind of delightful and this time it is especially so.
This is not one of my fav. Raja Ravi Varma painting, but it certainly has become the most recognizable.
Traditional Tuesday – Perfect 9 yrds silk saree
About $200 from RMKV Silk.
There is such a clean authenticity to this pure silk, pure jari saree; like the 9 yrds of saree has arrested time.
Assam Silk Sarees
The saree has a rich history and has many identities. Depending on which area the saree is made in will determine its make and look. Practically every region or state in India has a claim to its own variation of saree, each beautiful in its own way. India’s northeast state of Assam is famous for it’s gold-tinted silk which is used to weave some of the most beautiful, unique, and durable sarees.
The process to make these sarees is complex and requires a hand loom. The Assamese have a tradition of weaving some of the best quality sarees in India. Muga and paat are two famous types of Assam silk. These sarees are intricately detailed and known to be very durable. The price range for an Assam silk saree varies depending on its quality but a top quality muga or paat silk saree will cost a pretty penny.
To the left is an example of an Assam muga silk saree. Muga silk has a whitish sheen to it while paat silk tends to have a slightly more goldish shine. It is the sheen that sets Assam sarees apart from others as well as their tendency to have a small repeating pattern on the achal, the part of the saree that hangs over the shoulder.
Being Assam’s most famous handicraft industry, it is not uncommon for an Assam household, even today, to have a loom which is used to make not only sarees, but also towels and other cloth items.
A household loom in Assam
An Assam Sattriya Dancer wearing a paat silk saree
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Muga Silk Saree image: exoticindiaart.com
Loom image: eyefetch.com
Assam Sattriya dancer image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Assam
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.