Celebrating the Saree

Going forward Celebrating the Saree is going to be a recurring post on this blog. The idea was a suggested by a friend of mine to post about the different sarees of India. At first, I was overwhelmed by the idea but I have slowly warmed up to it. I will make a conscious effort to feature more sarees and Indian clothes here.

On my recent trip to India, I found myself wearing sarees more often than before. I realized I wasn’t looking for an excuse or occasion to wear sarees but in fact wearing it because I wanted to.

My mom happily partook in the styling aspect of this post and gave us her sarees. A green Supernet saree for my sister and a yellow Chanderi saree for me.

I have limited knowledge of sarees so this will prove to be a learning curve for me.

Supernet fabric does not originate from a particular region in India. The fabric is a blend of cotton and silk yarn over a mesh construction that brings out different sizes of the net. The fabric is semi-transparent and stiff which makes it easy to drape as a saree. Supernet sarees come in different prints, this one is plain green with big paisley motifs.

Chanderi fabric finds its origin from the town of Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh. The fabric can be classified into three types – Chanderi silk cotton, Chanderi pure silk, and Chanderi cotton. Chanderi is known for its transparency or sheer texture. It is lightweight and glossy owing to the high-quality and extra fine yarns used in weaving the fabric. The transparency of Chanderi is because the fabric does not go through the degumming process to prevent breakage during weaving. The motifs or buttis are handwoven on handloom with the use of needles. The motifs exclusive to Chanderi are nalferma, dandidar, chatai, jangla, mehndi wale haath and the traditional motifs of peacocks, lotus, and flowers. The one that I am wearing has parrot motifs with a red and yellow border.

Style Notes

Truth be told, I had nothing to do with the styling of this post. We went along with everything our mum gave us. We went with contrasting brocade blouses instead of the matching blouses that originally came with the saree. Although you may think brocade is best for evening wear or weddings, it works great when paired with a lighter fabric. To finish the look we went with gold jewelry, crystal glass bangles, and brocade bags.