Thursday, 21 January 2016

Sari

Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages | 2004
COPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group, Inc.

Sari

The sari, sometimes spelled saree, is a draped dress, created from a single piece of fabric five to nine yards long, which is wrapped around a woman's body in a variety of ways. The resulting garment can be practical working attire or an elegant ceremonial gown, depending on the type of fabric used and the style of draping. While women wear the sari, men wear a version of the wrapped garment called a dhoti. A daily garment worn by approximately 75 percent of the female population of India during the twenty-first century, the sari is one of the oldest known items of clothing that is still in use. Saris were mentioned in the Vedas, the ancient sacred literature of the Hindu religion, which has been dated back to 3000 b.c.e., and many people believe that saris may have been worn even earlier.
Like the Greeks and Romans who followed them, the ancient people of India mainly wore garments that were wrapped and draped, rather than sewn. This was not because they did not know the art of sewing—early Indian people were experts in fine weaving and embroidery—but because they preferred the flexibility and creativity that draped clothing allowed. Loose, flowing garments were practical in the hot climate of southern Asia, and the sari, woven of cotton or silk, was both cool and graceful. Though rich and poor alike wore the sari, the wealthy could afford to have fine silk fabric with costly decorations, while the poor might wear rough plain cotton.
The basic wrap of a sari usually involves winding it around the waist first then wrapping it around the upper body. Women frequently wear underclothes of a half-slip tied around the waist and a tight blouse or breast-wrap that ends just below the bust, which provide the basis for wrapping the fabric of the sari. There are many different styles of wrapping and draping the sari, and these vary according to gender, region, social class, ethnic background, and personal style. Instead of wrapping the fabric around the chest, the ends of the sari can be simply thrown over one or both shoulders. Sometimes an end is pulled between the legs and tucked into the back of the skirt, making it into loose pants, which are practical for working. Many men wear saris that only cover the lower half of their bodies. Though saris are usually wrapped to the left, people from some regions of India favor wrapping to the right. When the abundant material of the sari is wrapped around the waist, it is usually pleated to create graceful folds and drapes. The number of pleats and the direction they fold can vary and is sometimes dictated by religious belief. Though many modern saris are mass-produced, saris made of handwoven cloth are important to many people as a political symbol of Indian pride.
Though many Indian people, both those living in India and those who live in other countries, have adopted Western dress, it is very common for Indian women to wear the sari for important ceremonies, such as weddings.
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                                     THE ORIGIN OF THE SAREE


The saree is one of the world’s oldest and perhaps the only surviving unstitched garment from the past. Over the millennia, it has not only become a sensuous, glamorous all-time-wear for women, but also the ‘canvas’ for weavers and printers to create artistic weaves, prints and jewelled or gold-silver embellishments!
They say cotton and the art of weaving it into fabric came to India from the Mesopotamian civilisation. The men and women of the contemporary Indus Valley Civilisation were therefore familiar with cotton fabrics and wore long pieces of material which could best be described as loin cloths. These lengths of fabric were worn in the kachcha style, meaning that after draping it around the waist, the wearer passed one end of the cloth or the centre pleat between the legs and tucked it up behind to facilitate freer movement of the lower body and the legs. Early history records that this style of clothing was not only limited to Mesopotamia or the Indus Valley but was common to Egypt, Sumer, and Assyria. The relics of all these civilisations, now available in seals and figurines, prove this fact. Women of most of these civilisations, it seems from available evidence, wore only such loin cloths, leaving the upper part of the body bare, except in winter when animal skins or woollen shawl-like garments were used for protection from harsh weather.
When the Aryans came into the plains of the mighty north Indian rivers, they brought with them the word vastra for the first time. Though a Sanskrit word originally meaning a garment or cloth, for them it was a piece of treated leather made into wearable clothing. Their wardrobes also included woollen clothing as they lived in colder climates. As they moved southwards, they adopted the practice of wearing cotton weaves, in the manner of the Indus Valley inhabitants. In time, this style of wearing a length of cloth around the waist, especially for women, and the cloth itself came to be known as neevi. Therefore, it is quite likely that the simple loin cloth worn by the women of the Indus Valley civilisation was the early precursor of the many-splendoured saree of India.
In the epics of India, which were written much after the Indus Valley period, several assorted items of dress were described. The kanchuki, mentioned in many of the legends which form the narrative of the epics, was a piece of cloth worn across the breasts by women. It was probably the earliest form of the choli. Many women, featuring in the classical literature generated by the epics, were described as beautiful in clothes made from silks encrusted with gold and gems.
Yellow silk neevis called Pitambar and purple silk shawls called Patola were considered auspicious. Though there were some elementary stitched garments, the neevi and the kanchuki remained the major mode of apparel for women. The art of dyeing these fabrics with vegetable dyes originated with the need of wealthier people in society to wear fancier clothes. By the time the epic era came to a close, women were wearing extraordinarily beautiful clothes with ornate embroidery. They wore exquisite jewellery too. The word Patta for silk seems to have originated during this time and todate, carries the same meaning in Telegu, Tamil, Kannada as well as in several south Indian dialects.
As if to better use these arts of dyeing and embroidery, the normal outfit of a woman progressively became a three part ensemble. The lower garment wrapped around the waist was the neevi. The kanchuki covered the breasts and a shawl-like garment, called the Uttariya, completed the outfit. Many a time, these shawl-like Uttariyas were worn to cover the kanchuki. Since they were the most immediately visible part of the attire, they were ornamented, dyed or embroidered according to the status of the women.
By and large, in the epic age or even until much later in the Puranic age, women did not cover their heads as a traditional or religious requirement. If they wore veils, it was only to enhance the beauty of their elaborate hairstyles or to show off the bejewelled ornamentation on the veils themselves. The Barhut and Sanchi relief sculptures show women of all classes wearing the neevi or the length of cloth around the waist just below their navels, and for the first time, with the pleats hanging in the vikachcha style in front and touching their toes in a graceful fall. The vikachcha style of wearing the neevi did away with the passing of the cloth between the legs and the tucking of the central pleats behind. Instead, a short decorative piece of cloth was draped around the hips and knotted in front. This piece was called the Asana.
But soon, the next stage in the development of the saree was to come. With the influence of the Greeks and the Persians, the clothes of all classes of Indians were in for a major change. The Greeks had already discovered the belt or a cummerbund-like cloth to clinch their long flowing robes at the waist. The Persians were already wearing their length of cloth gathered and held together at the shoulder and belted at the waist. These new features of wearing the same garment immediately caught the fancy of India's women, particularly of the affluent classes, who used the gathered and waisted look, adapting it to suit their lighter, more ornamental fabrics.
The Persians were also the first to introduce the art of stitching into India. Additionally, from Central Asia, the migrating tribal hordes brought the style of wearing loose jackets and coats of various shapes to the deserts of Rajputana and the plains of the Punjab and the Ganga. Taking a cue from these, women in India began to wear a stitched short jacket to cover their upper torsos. Such jackets are shown in many sculptures of this period in Mathura and in the caves of Ajanta. In time, this jacket became more compact and snugly fitted the bosom in the case of women who wore the saree and longer, more flowing in the case of women who wore the kurta. The shorter, tight fitting blouse acquired the name choli. Sant Dnyaneshwar (1275-96 AD) has written the words ‘chandanachi choli’ in his composition proving that the choli was known in the early years of this millennium. The Persians also introduced to India the art of encrusting fabrics with pearls and precious stones. While women of all classes wore simple cholis, those of the upper classes used this art for special embellishment of their silken ones. Others followed, using less precious materials like glass and wooden beads and embroidery to decorate their cholis. Many royal women commissioned weavers and craftsmen to produce exquisite examples of their art to make their jackets. Costume historians have recorded that such gem-encrusted clothes, which combined the art of weaving and embroidery, were called Stavaraka in those days.
In spite of these advancements, the saree and choli evolved very slowly through the ages. Its final form, as is seen today, came about only in the Moghul period when women's garments went through one more major revolution. The Moghuls had perfected the art of stitching and with their royal riches and absolute power, the cities they established flourished, with people emulating their way of life and their way of dressing. They wore long coats made of silk and brocade with narrow trousers. Their turbans were objects of great beauty and were studded with invaluable jewels. Despite the fact that the majority of men of those ages changed their lifestyle and began to wear a trouser and a coat instead of the loincloth, the unstitched, magical saree still came out the winner as far as the women were concerned. Miniature paintings of several schools and hand-illustrated manuscripts of the medieval period of Indian history showed the diaphanous garments of women developing into the gracefully draped saree of today for the first time.
The paintings of this era, when compared with the sculptures or frescos of the earlier centuries, suggest that the saree in its modern form finally came into existence in the post-Moghul period and could have been a natural mixture of the three-piece unstiched garment of the earlier times and the stitched clothing which the Moghuls brought into India. The pallu or daman as the upper end of the saree was called, may have been invented and used from then on to cover the head or as a veil, for this was required by the Muslim society in an empire ruled over by Muslim dynasties. The modern way of draping a saree with a distinct pallu and border, with or without an all over design, with one end pulled across the front to fall over the shoulder to either hang at the back or to go over the head to the other shoulder, appeared first in the paintings of the post-Moghul period. Thus, it may well be said that the saree, the garment most identified with India today, is a quaint mingling of influences from Greece, Persia and several other Central Asian countries.
It is said that with all these rich influences, the wealthy, royal families of medieval India created a repertoire of clothing which was as classic as it was comfortable. They wore nothing but the finest of fabrics. The queens and princesses who lived in marble palaces surrounded by sylvan gardens and lily-filled pools, commissioned the master weavers of the court to create such fine muslins and silks that a length of several metres could pass through a dainty, jewelled ring on the finger of a royal woman. This has been recorded in the chronicles of several visitors to the Moghul courts. Often, such fabrics were embellished with gold and silver wires and gems to create designs reminiscent of the splendour in which the women lived. Together, the princely women and their master weavers slowly became the progenitors of the world famous textile arts of India so frequently portrayed in art and praised in the annals of trade around the world.
All through Indian literature, women were described as resplendently beautiful when wearing fabrics of extraordinary beauty woven out of silk, cotton and other natural fibres. Soon, each weave and garment began to acquire specific names. Fabrics were specially woven for auspicious and religious ceremonies and these too acquired generic names such as Pitambar. Many of the plays and poems written by the court writers of this age described how shimmering and fine the garments worn by the higher classes were.
In fact, historic records say that these silks and muslins were so highly prized all over the world that they were sold in faraway countries including those around the Mediterranean Sea. Several names were given to these fabrics depending upon their origin or texture. For example, Kausheya was a silk made from the finest cocoons. Chinnavastra was a fabric akin to Chinese silk. Tasara or today's Tassar silk, was made by using a particular kind of shuttle. The Moghuls wore brocades of such exquisite quality that throughout the world this fabric came to be described as Kinkhwab or 'Golden Dream'. The Europeans who imported this fabric turned this name into Kinkob. To this day, brocade is known by this name in many European languages.
As far back as the Biblical age, India's dyeing processes and the results they could produce were considered dazzling by connoisseurs even in Rome and Greece. The luminescent hued silks worn by high class women in India were the envy of the world and many a traveller wrote glowing accounts of what he saw during his visits to the flourishing empires. In the golden age of Indian textiles, all the dyes were made from vegetables or other natural sources. It is reported that in the earliest age of dyeing during the Moghul era, there were over five hundred kinds of natural dyes.
These traditional dyes were made from turmeric, the indigo plant, barks of several trees, gums, nuts, flowers, fruits and berries. The silk cotton tree, for example, was reputed to yield a gentle yellow-orange colour called kesari, which was favoured not only by royal families for their raiments, but also for the robes made for the idols in many famous temples. The colours navy blue, khaki, mustard yellow, rust, rani pink and pista green seem to have originated during these years and have stayed on as names for identifying colours even now.
Fabrics were dyed in various ways. They were wholly dipped in tubs of dyes or separately dyed in different colours for a magical, shaded effect, or yarns were dyed and then used in the weave to create specific patterns. In the age of the Moghuls, both hand block printing and tie-and-dye techniques reached their zenith and added new dimensions to the Indian textile industry's flourishing trade. The Bandhanis and Leheriyas made with the tie-and-dye process were used for the most colourful turbans and the festive sarees and odhanis later.
With the advent of synthetic dyes, the number of natural dyes used by the industry began to dwindle considerably so that today there are hardly sixty varieties of natural dyes in use. Though these methods of traditional dyeing continue to create ethnic fabrics for sarees and headgear, the chemical dyes imported from other countries together with newer techniques of dyeing and printing have given Indian women sarees of a vast variety in an unimaginable spectrum of shades.
Many new designs and techniques of weaving, dyeing and printing came to India with the repeated invasions of various clans. For instance, the tie-and-dye method of fabric dyeing was brought into Gujarat and Rajasthan by the nomadic Central Asians. By the tenth century, Patolas, famous even today, Bandhanis and Leheriyas from this areas were exported by the caravans of the Arabs to Egypt, Java, Sumatra, China and other middle and far eastern countries. The coming of the Muslims to India in the twelfth century brought several new textile crafts. Phulkari, which is the heritage of the Punjab, came from Central Asian Bedouins and its geometric designs, done in earthy colours like rust, magenta and green, often embellished the fine muslins used for sarees and odhanis, the latter garment originating with the Muslim women's traditional outfit of a salwar and kurta. By their cultural heritage, Muslims often avoided wearing pure silks. Since they were the ruling class, their needs originated several varieties of textiles which used mixtures of silk with other fibres. These textiles were called Mushroo, Himroo and Jamawar.
In the mountains of Kashmir, the cooler climate encouraged the weaving of Pashmina, a woollen fabric used for shawls. However, the silks woven for the Sardars and the Rajas who were vassals of the Delhi Durbar encouraged a whole spectrum of textures, colours, weaves and designs. These were so resplendent that they were often compared to a peacock's feathers; silvery moon beams; gurgling, prismatic streams; the glistening feathers of blackbirds; the rain-washed young leaves of trees; the fusion of colours in the rainbow; the gentle blossoming of flowers; the icy-cool glimmer of dew; the coolness of the moist western breeze or even the foam on the crest of lapping waves. So finely was cotton and silk woven that these fabrics were reputed to be fit for kings and queens all over the world. This is probably why many words in European languages, describing textiles, originate from Indian languages.
The all round development of textiles in India had a definite impact on the design of sarees. Paisleys used on shawls, figures from Jamawar weaves, floral patterns and bird and animal motifs used in brocades – all these slowly acquired the status of traditional saree motifs. Colours to suit the Indian woman's complexion were accurately identified. Peacock coloured shot silks, shiny-spun muslins in the purples of the aubergines, sunshine yellow jacquards, moon glow silk chiffons and the dusky rose coloured raw silks – these became the favourites of the weavers of the saree. To enrich the saree even further, during the reign of the Moghuls, hand block printing was discovered and quickly took the place of hand painting on textiles. Sarees were printed with vegetable dyes, using wooden blocks carved expertly with fashionable motifs brought into India with the advent of the French, the Portuguese and the British. The various prints used by designers showed the influence of European motifs which were more gentle and subdued compared to the ornate, rich Indian motifs. This was the first time; too, that fabric by the yard could be duplicated by the printers. On the other hand, combining the use of various blocks into myriads of permutations, they could also economically produce an unimaginable variety of prints in innumerable colour schemes. However, by the time the industrial revolution brought power looms into the weaving industry together with mechanised printing, the traditional weavers and dyeing experts were on their way out.
These descriptions prove that the weavers and designers of India were the masters of their craft for many centuries. Nimble fingered and ever alert to new concepts, they created a treasurehouse of ideas which continue to support and inspire millions of weavers in India even today. Indisputably, the greatest heritage these weavers gave to the Indian woman was the saree, five and half metres in length and about one and one-eighth metres in width. They created such a vast variety of sarees that if a woman wore a different saree each day, the weaves, prints and designs would tally up to more than the days of her entire life span. Very often, the sarees she would wear, could be exclusive, one-of-a-kind creations made from the most humble, rough woven cotton to the finest hand crafted silk tissue spiked with soft gold threads. This relatively small length of fabric has since then become the canvas upon which every imaginable kind of creative experiment has been made by the way of weaving, printing, embroidery, appliqué and gold, silver and precious stone work.
Though centuries have passed since the saree was conceived as the Indian woman's hereditary costume, the charm of this beautiful and extraordinary feminine garment, suited to the youngest of girls or the most elderly among woman, has not waned. In fact, even with each new decade of technological progress, it has been well accepted by even the most modern women of the subcontinent. Today, its chequered history has become hazy and lost in the distant past. In spite of the limited scope for any change in the garment, it seems to have a limitless future because of the endless experimentation used to recreate its beauty for every new generation of women.
Thus, in the modern world, it continues to be an economical and easy-to-wear garment, suitable for work, leisure or luxury. Over a period of time, several cities in India have become renowned saree manufacturing centres. Each centre is known for creating traditional sarees which have acquired their names not only from the cities of their origin, but also from the weaving or printing techniques used or the motifs, colours or designs utilised in their manufacture. Throughout the history of textile development in India, the saree continues to be produced on handlooms, powerlooms and in gigantic mills with the most modern machinery in all these famous cities.
Even in the modern age, women continue to buy sarees with great enthusiasm, especially during festivals and wedding seasons.
Also read/see
• Irla sarees of Karnataka
• Maheshwar sarees Madhya Pradesh
• Sarees of Varanasi
• Ode to six yards of mystique

Saree in ancient days Ajanta Mayadevi, Buddha's mother with attendant in a saree
saree Rani Laxmi of Jhansi fought in a saree

Saree worn with Kashta in a Raja Ravi Varma painting of Damayanti
Saree worn with Kashta in a Raja Ravi Varma painting of Damayanti
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about

A Sari, saree, sadi, or shari[note 1] is a South Asian female garment[1] that consists of a drape varying from five to nine yards (4.5 metres to 8 metres) in length[2] and two to four feet (60 cm to 1.20 m) in breadth[3] that is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, baring the midriff.[4][5][6]
The sari is usually worn over a petticoat (called 'parkar' (परकर) in Marathi lahaṅgā or lehenga in the north; pavadai in Tamil, pavada (or occasionally langa) in Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu, chaniyo, parkar, ghaghra, or ghagaro in the west; and shaya in eastern India), with a fitted upper garment commonly called a blouse (ravike in South India and choli elsewhere). The blouse has short sleeves and is usually cropped at the midriff. The sari is associated with grace and is widely regarded as a symbol of Indian, Nepalese, Bangladeshi, andSri Lankan cultures.

Etymology[edit]

The word sari described in Sanskrit शाटी śāṭī[7] which means 'strip of cloth'[8] and शाडी śāḍī or साडी sāḍī in Pali, and which was corrupted to sāṛī in Hindi.[9] The word 'Sattika' is mentioned as describing women's attire in ancient India in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist literature called Jatakas.[10] This could be equivalent to modern day 'Sari'.[10] The term for female bodice, the choli evolved from ancient Stanapatta.[11][12] Rajatarangini (meaning the 'river of kings'), a tenth-century literary work by Kalhana, states that the Choli from the Deccan was introduced under the royal order in Kashmir.[13]

Origins and history[edit]

Sculpture of woman from ancient Braj-Mathura ca. 2nd century AD.
Tara depicted in ancientthree-piece attire, c.11th century.
Lady being offered wine, Deccan, 1600 AD
In the history of Indian clothing the sari is traced back to the Indus Valley Civilisation, which flourished during 2800–1800 BC around the western part of the Indian subcontinent.[4][5][6] Cotton was first cultivated and woven in Indian subcontinent around 5th millinim BC.[14] Dyes used during this period are still in use, particularly indigo, lac, red madder and turmeric.[15] Silk was woven around 2450 BC and 2000 BC.[16][17] The earliest known depiction of the sari in the Indian subcontinent is the statue of an Indus Valley priest wearing a drape.[4][5][6]
The sari evolved from three-piece attire known as Antariya lower garment, Uttariya veil worn over shoulder or head and Stanapatta a chestband, which finds mentioned in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist Pali literature during 6th century B.C.[18] This complete three-piece dress was known as Poshak, generic term for costume.[19] Ancient Antariya closely resembled dothi wrap in the "fishtail" version which was passed through legs, covered the legs loosely and then flowed into a long, decorative pleats at front of the legs.[4][20][21] It further evolved into Bhairnivasani skirt, today known as ghagri andlehenga.[22] Uttariya was a shawl-like veil worn over shoulder or head, it evolved into what is known today known as dupatta and ghoongat.[23] Like wise,Stanapatta evolved into choli by 1st century A.D.[24][25] Between 2nd century B.C to 1st century A.D, Antariya and Uttariya was merged to form a single garment known as sari mentioned in Pali literature, which served the purpose of two garments in one-piece.[26][27]
The ancient Sanskrit work, Kadambari by Banabhatta and ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silappadhikaram, describes women in exquisite drapery or sari.[28][29][30][13] In ancient India, although women wore saris that bared the midriff, the Dharmasastra writers stated that women should be dressed such that the navel would never become visible.[31][32] By which for some time the navel exposure became a taboo and the navel was concealed.[33] [34][5] In ancient Indian tradition and the Natya Shastra (an ancient Indian treatise describing ancient dance and costumes), the navel of the Supreme Being is considered to be the source of life and creativity, hence the midriff is to be left bare by the sari.[35][36]
Early Sanskrit literature has a wide vocabulary of terms for the veiling used by women, such as Avagunthana (oguntheti/oguṇthikā), meaning cloak-veil,Uttariya meaning shoulder-veil, Mukha-pata meaning face-veil and Sirovas-tra meaning head-veil.[37] In the Pratimānātaka, a play by Bhāsa describes in context of Avagunthana veil that "ladies may be seen without any blame (for the parties concerned) in a religious session, in marriage festivities, during a calamity and in a forest". [38] The same sentiment is more generically expressed in later Sanskrit literature.[39] Śūdraka, the author ofMṛcchakatika set in fifth century BC says that the Avagaunthaha was not used by women everyday and at every time. He says that a married lady was expected to put on a vile while moving in the public.[40] This may indicate that it was not necessary for unmarried females to put on a veil. [41] In 3rd century CE, Buddhists attempt to counter this growing veiling practice (oguntheti/oguṇthikā) in Lalitavistara Sūtra.[42] This form of veiling by married women is still prevalent in Hindi-speaking areas, and is known as Ghoonghat where the loose end of a sari is pulled over the head to act as a facial veil.[43]
Based on sculptures and paintings, tight bodices or cholis are believed have evolved between 2nd century B.C to 6th century A.D in various regional styles.[44][44] Early cholis were front covering tied at the back; this style was more common in parts of ancient northern India. This ancient form of bodice or choli are still common in the state of Rajasthan today.[45] Varies styles of decorative traditional embroidery like gota patti, mochi, pakko, kharak, suf, kathi, phulkari and gamthi are done on cholis.[46] In Southern parts of India, choli is known as ravikie which is tied at the front instead of back, kasuti is traditional form of embroidery used for cholis in this region.[47] In Nepal, choli is known as cholo or chaubandi cholo and is traditionally tied at the front.[48]
Red is most favored color for wedding saris and are traditional garment choice for brides in Indian culture.[49] Women traditionally wore various types of regional handloom sarees made of silk, cotton, ikkat, block-print, embroidery and tie-dye textiles. Most sought after brocade silk sarees are Banasari, Kanchipuram, Paithani, Mysore, Uppada, Bagalpuri, Balchuri, Maheshwari, Chanderi, Mekhela, Ghicha, Narayan pet and Eri etc are traditionally worn for festive and formal occasions.[50] Silk Ikat and cotton sarees known as Patola, Pochampally, Bomkai, Khandua, Sambalpuri, Gadwal, Berhampuri, Bargarh, Jamdani, Tant, Mangalagiri, Guntur, Narayan pet, Chanderi, Maheshwari, Nuapatn, Tussar, Ilkal, Kotpad and Manipuri were worn for both festive and everyday attire.[51] Tie-dyed and block-print sarees known as Bandhani, Leheria/Leheriya, Bagru, Ajrakh, Sungudi, Kota Dabu/Dabu print, Bagh and Kalamkari were traditionally worn during monsoon season.[52] Gota Patti is popular form of traditional embroidery used on saris for formal occasions, various other types of traditional folk embroidery such mochi, pakko, kharak, suf, kathi, phulkari and gamthi are also commonly used for both informal and formal occasion.[53][54] Today, modern fabrics like polyester, georgette and charmeuse are also commonly used.[55][56][57]

Styles of draping[edit]

Illustration of different styles of sari, gagra choli & shalwar kameezworn by women in South Asia
There are more than 80 recorded ways to wear a sari.[58][59] The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with the loose end of the drape to be worn over the shoulder, baring the midriff.[4][5][6] However, the sari can be draped in several different styles, though some styles do require a sari of a particular length or form. The French cultural anthropologist and sari researcher Chantal Boulangercategorised sari drapes in the following families:[5]
  • Nivi – styles originally worn in Andhra Pradesh; besides the modern nivi, there is also the kaccha nivi, where the pleats are passed through the legs and tucked into the waist at the back. This allows free movement while covering the legs.
  • Bengali and Odia style is worn without any pleats.[60]
  • Gujarati/Rajasthani/Pakistani – after tucking in the pleats similar to the nivi style, the loose end is taken from the back, draped across the right shoulder, and pulled across to be secured in the back
  • Nepali - Nepali sari is worn in various forms of traditional nivi style, saris are worn with nepali blouse known as cholo.
  • Maharashtrian/Konkani/Kashta; this drape is very similar to that of the male Maharashtrian dhoti,though there are many regional and societal variations. The centre of the sari (held lengthwise) is placed at the centre back, the ends are brought forward and tied securely, then the two ends are wrapped around the legs. When worn as a sari, an extra-long cloth of nine yards is used and the ends are then passed up over the shoulders and the upper body. The style worn by Brahmin women of differs from that of the Marathas.The style also differs from community to community.This style is popular in Maharashtra,Goa,parts of Karnataka.
  • Madisar – this drape is typical of Iyengar/Iyer Brahmin ladies from Tamil Nadu. Traditional Madisar is worn using 9 yards saree.[61]
  • Kodagu style – this drape is confined to ladies hailing from the Kodagu district of Karnataka. In this style, the pleats are created in the rear, instead of the front. The loose end of the sari is draped back-to-front over the right shoulder, and is pinned to the rest of the sari.
  • Gobbe Seere – This style is worn by women in the Malnad or Sahyadri and central region of Karnataka. It is worn with 18 molas saree with three four rounds at the waist and a knot after crisscrossing over shoulders.
  • Assamese – This sari style is three-set garment known Mekhela chador. The bottom portion, draped from the waist downwards is calledMekhela and veil is known as Chadar and is worn with long sleeve choli.
  • Manipuri - This sari style is also worn with three-set garment known as Innaphi viel, Phanek lower wrap and long sleeved choli.
  • Khasi - Khasi style of sari is known as Jainsem which is made up of several pieces of cloth, giving the body a cylindrical shape.
  • Malayali style – the two-piece sari, or Mundum Neryathum, worn in Kerala. Usually made of unbleached cotton and decorated with gold or coloured stripes and/or borders. Also the Kerala sari, a sort of mundum neryathum.
  • Tribal styles – often secured by tying them firmly across the chest, covering the breasts.
  • Kunbi style or denthli:Goan Gauda and Kunbis,and those of them who have migrated to other states use this way of draping Sari or Kappad,this form of draping is created by tying a knot in the fabric below the shoulder and a strip of cloth which crossed the left shoulder was fasten on the back.[62]

Historic photographs and regional styles[edit]

  • Women in choli (blouse) and antariya CE 320Gupta Empire
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  • Kalpasutra manuscript c.1375.
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  • Green Tara depicted with sari, c.11th century.
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  • Girl in Gujarati sari; in this style the loose end is worn on the front
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  • Woman in Tamil sari; in this style the loose end is wrapped around the waist.
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  • Girl in Bengali sari; in this style sari is worn without any pleats.
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  • Kandyan Sinhalese lady wearing A traditional Kandyan sari (osaria)
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  • Girl in pochampally sari, 1895
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  • Women in nauvari sari
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  • Women in Mysore sari
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  • Women in sari 1912
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  • Girl in nauvari sari a form of kachha nivi worn in Maharashtra.
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  • Woman in nivi sari & vaddanam
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  • Nepalese bride and two women in sari, 1941

Nivi style[edit]

Maharani Ourmilla Devi Of Jubbal in Nivi Sari
The nivi is today's most popular sari style from Andhra Pradesh. The increased interaction with the British saw most women from royal families come out of purdah in the 1900s. This necessitated a change of dress. Maharani Indira Devi of Cooch Behar popularised the chiffon sari. She was widowed early in life and followed the convention of abandoning her richly woven Baroda shalus in favour of the unadorned mourning white as per tradition. Characteristically, she transformed her "mourning" clothes into high fashion. She had saris woven in France to her personal specifications, in white chiffon, and introduced the silk chiffon sari to the royal fashion repertoire.[63]
The chiffon sari did what years of fashion interaction had not done in India. It homogenised fashion across this land. Its softness, lightness and beautiful, elegant, caressing drape was ideally suited to the Indian climate. Different courts adopted their own styles of draping and indigenising the sari. In most of the courts the sari was embellished with stitching hand-woven borders in goldfrom Varanasi, delicate zardozi work, gota, makaish and tilla work that embellished the plain fabric, simultaneously satisfying both traditional demands and ingrained love for ornamentation. Some images of maharanis in the Deccan show the women wearing a sleeveless, richly embellished waistcoat over their blouses. The Begum of Savanur remembers how sumptuous the chiffon sari became at their gatherings. At some courts it was worn with jaali, or net kurtas and embossed silk waist length sadris or jackets. Some of them were so rich that the entire ground was embroidered over with pearls and zardozi.[63][64]
Nivi drape starts with one end of the sari tucked into the waistband of the petticoat, usually a plain skirt. The cloth is wrapped around the lower body once, then hand-gathered into even pleats below the navel. The pleats are tucked into the waistband of the petticoat.[65] They create a graceful, decorative effect which poets have likened to the petals of a flower.[65] After one more turn around the waist, the loose end is draped over the shoulder.[65] The loose end is called the pallu, pallav, seragu, or paita depending on the language. It is draped diagonally in front of the torso. It is worn across the right hip to over the left shoulder, partly baring the midriff.[65] The navel can be revealed or concealed by the wearer by adjusting the pallu, depending on the social setting. The long end of the pallu hanging from the back of the shoulder is often intricately decorated. The pallu may be hanging freely, tucked in at the waist, used to cover the head, or used to cover the neck, by draping it across the right shoulder as well. Some nivi styles are worn with the pallu draped from the back towards the front, coming from the back over the right shoulder with one corner tucked by the left hip, covering the torso/waist. The nivi sari was popularised through the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma.[66] In one of his paintings, the Indian subcontinent was shown as a mother wearing a flowing nivi sari.[66] The ornaments generally accepted by the Hindu culture that can be worn in the midriff region are the waist chains. They are considered to be a part of bridal jewellery.[67]

Professional style of draping[edit]

Sonia Gandhi in a professional sari with extended blouse.
Because of the harsh extremes in temperature on the Indian Subcontinent, the sari fills a practical role as well as a decorative one. It is not only warming in winter and cooling in summer, but its loose-fitting tailoring is preferred by women who must be free to move as their duties require. For this reason, it is the clothing of choice of air hostesses on Air India.[68] This led to a professional style of draping a sari which is referred to "Air-Hostess style sari". An air hostess style sari is tied in just the same way as a normal sari except that the pleats are held together quite nicely with the help of pins. A bordered sari will be just perfect for an Air-Hostess style drape where the pallu is heavily pleated and pinned on the shoulder. Even the vertical pleats that are tucked at the navel are severely pleated and pressed. Same goes for the pallu pleats that are pinned at the shoulder. To get the perfect "Air-hostess" a complimentary U-shaped blouse that covers the upper body completely is worn which gives a very elegant and formal look. Mastering the "Air-hostess" style drape helps to create the desired impact in a formal setting like an interview or a conference.[69][70]
Saris are worn as uniforms by the female hotel staff of many five star luxury hotels in India as symbol of culture. Recently, in a makeover design, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, decided the welcoming staff at the group's Luxury Hotels would be draped in the rich colours and designs of the Banarasi six yards. The new saris were unveiled at the Taj property in Mumbai. It will be subsequently replicated at all 10 Luxury Hotels of the group across the country for duty managers and front office staff. Taj had adopted three villages in Varanasi and employed 25 master weavers there for the project. The vision finally took shape after 14 months, once the weavers had a good work environment, understood the designs and fine-tuned the motifs.[71][72][73][74][75][76]
Similarly, the female politicians of India wear the sari in a professional manner. The women of Nehru–Gandhi family like Indira Gandhi andSonia Gandhi wear the special blouse for the campaign trail which is longer than usually and is tucked in to prevent any midriff show while waving to the crowds.Stylist Prasad Bidapa has to say, "I think Sonia Gandhi is the country's most stylish politician. But that's because she's inherited the best collection of saris from her mother-in-law. I'm also happy that she supports the Indian handloom industry with her selection." BJP politician Sushma Swaraj maintains her prim housewife look with a pinned-up pallu while general secretary of AIADMKJayalalithaa wears her saris like a suit of armour.[77]

Bangladesh[edit]

Sharee or saree (in Bengali=শাড়ি, Śāṛi ) is the national wear of Bangladeshi women. Most women who are married wear sharee as their regular dress while young-unmarried girls wear sharee as an occasional dress. The shari is worn by women throughout Bangladesh. Sari is the most popular dress for women in Bangladesh, both for casual and formal occasion. Although Dhakai Jamdani (hand made shari) is worldwide known and most famous to all women who wear shari but there are also many variety of shari in Bangladesh.There are many regional variations of them in both silk and cotton. e.g.- Tanta/Tant cotton shari, Dhakai Benaroshi shari, Rajshahi silk shari, Tangail Tanter shari, Tassar silk shari, monipuri shari and Katan shari are the most popular in Bangladesh.

Pakistan[edit]

In Pakistan, the sarees are still popular and worn on special occasions. The Shalwar kameez, however, is worn throughout the country on a daily basis. The sari nevertheless remains a popular garment among the middle and upper class for many formal functions. Sarees can be seen worn commonly in metropolitan cities such as Karachi and Islamabad and are worn regularly to weddings and other business type of functions. Sarees are also worn by many Muslim women in Sindh to show their status or to enhance their beauty.[78] The sari is worn as daily wear by Pakistani Hindus, by elderly Muslim women who were used to wearing it in pre-partition India[79] and by some of the new generation who have reintroduced the interest in saris.

Sri Lanka[edit]

Sri Lankan women wear saris in many styles. Two ways of draping the sari are popular and tend to dominate: the Indian style (classic nivi drape) and the Kandyan style (or osariain Sinhalese). The Kandyan style is generally more popular in the hill country region of Kandy from which the style gets its name. Though local preferences play a role, most women decide on style depending on personal preference or what is perceived to be most flattering for their figure.
The traditional Kandyan (osaria) style consists of a full blouse which covers the midriff completely and is partially tucked in at the front as is seen in this 19th-century portrait. However, modern intermingling of styles has led to most wearers baring the midriff. The final tail of the sari is neatly pleated rather than free-flowing. This is rather similar to the pleated rosette used in the Dravidian style noted earlier in the article.
The Kandyan style is considered the national dress of Sinhalese women. It is the uniform of the air hostesses of SriLankan Airlines.
During the 1960s, the mini sari known as 'hipster' sari created a wrinkle in Sri Lankan fashion, since it was worn below the navel and barely above the line of prosecution for indecent exposure. The conservative people described the 'hipster' as "an absolute travesty of a beautiful costume almost a desecration" and "a hideous and purposeless garment".[80][81]

Nepal[edit]

The sari is the most commonly worn women's clothing in Nepal. In Nepal, a special style of sari draping is called haku patasihh. The sari is draped around the waist and a shawl is worn covering the upper half of the sari, which is used in place of a pallu.

Afghanistan[edit]

Sari's have been worn by the Afghan royal family house and upper family classes as well by Muslim women at special functions.

Similarities and differences with other Asian clothing[edit]

While the sari is typical to Indian traditional wear, clothing worn by South-East Asian countries like Burma, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore resemble it, where a long rectangular piece of cloth is draped around the body. These are different from the sari as they are wrapped around the lower-half of body as a skirt, worn with a shirt/blouse, resembling a sarong, as seen in the Burmese Longyi, Filipino Malong, Tapis, Laotian Xout lao, Thai Sinh's, and Timorese Tais. Saris, worn predominantly in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal are usually draped with one end of the cloth fastened around the waist, and the other end placed over the shoulder baring the midriff.[4][5][6]

Saree ornamentation and decorative accessories[edit]

Display of traditional sarees withgota patti embroidery for festive occasions at clothing store.
Saris are woven with one plain end (the end that is concealed inside the wrap), two long decorative borders running the length of the sari, and a one to three-foot section at the other end which continues and elaborates the length-wise decoration. This end is called the pallu; it is the part thrown over the shoulder in the nivi style of draping.
In past times, saris were woven of silk or cotton. The rich could afford finely woven, diaphanous silk saris that, according to folklore, could be passed through a finger ring. The poor wore coarsely woven cotton saris. All saris were handwoven and represented a considerable investment of time or money.
Simple hand-woven villagers' saris are often decorated with checks or stripes woven into the cloth. Inexpensive saris were also decorated with block printing using carved wooden blocks and vegetable dyes, or tie-dyeing, known in India as bhandani work.
More expensive saris had elaborate geometric, floral, or figurative ornaments or brocades created on the loom, as part of the fabric. Sometimes warp and weft threads were tie-dyed and then woven, creating ikat patterns. Sometimes threads of different colours were woven into the base fabric in patterns; an ornamented border, an elaborate pallu, and often, small repeated accents in the cloth itself. These accents are called buttis or bhuttis(spellings vary). For fancy saris, these patterns could be woven with gold or silver thread, which is called zari work.
Vaddanam or Kamarband is type of sari belt used to keep complex drapes in place.
Sometimes the saris were further decorated, after weaving, with various sorts of embroidery. Resham work is embroidery done with coloured silk thread. Zardozi embroidery uses gold and silver thread, and sometimes pearls and precious stones. Cheap modern versions of zardozi use synthetic metallic thread and imitation stones, such as fake pearls and Swarovski crystals.
In modern times, saris are increasingly woven on mechanical looms and made of artificial fibres, such as polyester, nylon, or rayon, which do not require starching or ironing. They are printed by machine, or woven in simple patterns made with floats across the back of the sari. This can create an elaborate appearance on the front, while looking ugly on the back. The punchra work is imitated with inexpensive machine-made tassel trim. Fashion designer Aaditya Sharma declared, "I can drape a sari in 54 different styles".[82]
Hand-woven, hand-decorated saris are naturally much more expensive than the machine imitations. While the overall market for handweaving has plummeted (leading to much distress among Indian handweavers), hand-woven saris are still popular for weddings and other grand social occasions.

Sari outside South Asia[edit]

Aishwarya bachchan in a sari at the London premiere of her film Raavan.
The traditional sari made an impact in the United States during the 1970s. Eugene Novack who ran the New York store, Royal Saree House told that he had been selling it mainly to the Indian women in New York area but later many American business women and housewives became his customers who preferred their saris to resemble the full gown of the western world. He also said that men appeared intrigued by the fragility and the femininity it confers on the wearer.[83] Newcomers to the sari report that it is comfortable to wear, requiring no girdles or stockings and that the flowing garb feels so feminine with unusual grace.[84][85]
As a nod to the fashion-forward philosophy established by the designs of Emilio Pucci, the now-defunct Braniff International Airwaysenvisioned their air hostesses wearing a more revealing version of a sari on a proposed Dallas-Bombay (conceivably via London) service in the late 1970s.[citation needed] However this was never realised because of Halston's resistance to working with a palette outside of his comfort zone.[citation needed] The former Eagan, Minnesota–based Northwest Airlines considered issuing saris to flight attendants working the Minneapolis-Amsterdam-Delhi route that began in the 1990s. This never occurred largely because of a union dispute.[citation needed]
The sari has gained its popularity internationally because of the growth of Indian fashion trends globally. Many Bollywood celebrities, likeAishwarya Rai,[86] have worn it at international events representing the Indian culture. In 2010, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukonewanted to represent her country at an international event, wearing the national costume. On her very first red carpet appearance at theCannes International Film Festival, she stepped out on the red carpet in a Rohit Bal sari.[87][88]
Even popular Hollywood celebrities have worn this traditional attire.[89] Pamela Anderson made a surprise guest appearance on Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother, dressed in a sari that was specially designed for her by Mumbai-based fashion designer Ashley Rebello.[90] Ashley Judd donned a purple sari at the YouthAIDS Benefit Gala in November 2007 at the Ritz Carlton in Mclean, Virginia.[91][92][93] There was an Indian flavour to the red carpet at the annual Fashion Rocks concert in New York, with designer Rocky S walking the ramp along with Jessica, Ashley, Nicole, Kimberly and Melody – the Pussycat Dolls – dressed in saris.[94]

Types[edit]

While an international image of the modern style sari may have been popularised by airline stewardesses, each region in the Indian subcontinent has developed, over the centuries, its own unique sari style. Following are other well-known varieties, distinct on the basis of fabric, weaving style, or motif, in South Asia:
Sambalpuri saree

Central styles[edit]

Eastern styles[edit]

Jamdani sari of Bangladesh
Silk sari from India (1970, Collection of PFF, Nauplio)
Bomkai Silk Saree of Odisha
  • Bomkai Silk & Cotton Saree - Bomkai, Ganjam, Odisha
  • Khandua Silk & Cotton Saree – Nuapatna, Cuttack, Odisha
  • Sonepuri Silk & Cotton Saree – Subarnapur, Odisha
  • Berhampuri silk– Behrampur, Odisha
  • Mattha Silk Saree – Mayurbhanj, Odisha
  • Bapta Silk & Cotton Saree – Koraput, Odisha
  • Tanta Cotton Saree – Balasore, Odisha
  • Manipuri Tant Saree - Manipur

Western styles[edit]

Kota sari
Bandhani saris of Gujarat andRajasthan

Southern styles[edit]

Mysore silk saree with goldenzari.
Banarasi sari

Northern styles[edit]

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