Cotton Sarees- Discover A New You With This Comfort Clothing

When it comes to the fashion taste and dressing styles of Indian women, most of them like to wear a Saree as it is a representation of an enriched Indian culture. Indian Sarees are illustrious among women across the world. The main forte of wearing a Saree is that it accentuates the beauty of a woman. Generally, the length of Saree is between 5 to 5 and half meters. According to their ethnicity and customs, Indian women wear the Saree in different styles.

The saree has its birth in both South and North India. The word 'sari' was taken from the Prakrit word 'sattika' as written in the most primitive Jain and Buddhist texts. The first known portrayal of the saree in Indian is the figurine of an Indus valley priest wearing a drape. In early 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 starting place of existence and creativity; hence the midriff is to be left uncovered by the saree.

The Cotton printed sarees gives a pure comforting ease. Cotton Sarees are the most preferred sarees for Indian Women. You can exploit cotton sarees in your every day wear especially during the summer months. Cotton sarees are worn in holi, diwali, dussehra, lohri, baisakhi and all the other festivals of our country. Indian Cotton sarees can also be worn to the workplace, worn by teachers while going to schools/colleges, lady doctors and housewives in their daily wear.

The Indian subcontinent is the abode for the Cotton produce. The skill of weaving and dyeing of cotton was recognized in India some 5000 years ago. Every state has its own time-honored cotton weaving practice. Every state of India has its own aboriginal area of expertise in cotton fabric, each different in weaves, textures, motifs, printing techniques and colours.

The famed cotton sarees area wise are as follows:

The jamdani cotton sarees from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are well-liked and they follow the customary patterns. Then there are the Sambalpuri, Bomkai and Vichitrapuri cotton saris of Orissa. These sarees come in a multiplicity of colours and traditional motifs enthused by nature. Chanderi Sarees in Madhya Pradesh are excellent cotton sarees with a silk warp and cotton weft.

Maheshwari sarees of Madhya Pradesh are either unadulterated cottons or silk/cotton mix, with check patterns being the forte.Hyderabad is well-known for its antique cotton weaving practice. The Venkatgiri fine cotton saris are created here, which are idyllic for summers. These sarees are primarily in off-white colour and adorned with dull golden motifs. Nander in Andhra Pradesh is renowned for its fine eminence of cotton sari ornately worked in gold thread with silk border. Pochampalli sarees of Andhra Pradesh are woven with the ikat patterns, where the yarn is pre dyed based on pattern before weaving.

In Tamilnadu, the cotton sari patterns closely resemble the silk ones. The significant centers like Kanjeevaram, Salem, Pudukottai and Madurai. These centres in the South are well-known for cotton weaves with motifs & checks laid on the body. The border & pallav are worked with thread or zari weaves. Kerala has begun weaving cotton sarees lately. Its field is the Karalkudi sarees of unbleached cotton with rich broad gold borders and pallus. We also have the tie and dye cotton sarees from Rajasthan and Gujarat. Women folk meticulously craft these multihued saris, tying every lone thread by hand and then dying in vivacious and bright colors. There are also other cotton sarees like the Ikat sarees of Karnataka and the Narayanpet sarees of Andhra Pradesh etc.

We also have other varieties of cotton sarees like Handloom cotton saree, cotton printed sarees, cotton sarees with embroidery and Zari work. Apart from conventional and traditional collections of saris for middle and old-aged women, stylish sarees for the youth are available in the Indian Market. Handloom khadi sarees are also weaved in India. The customary Indian cotton weaving revolves around 'Khadi'. Khadi is a fabric woven manually using handspun yarn only. Handlooms that produce Khadi weave cotton in such a manner that the interweaving of threads provides utmost passageway of air to the body, thus creating a cooling outcome, making Khadi a perfect summer wear.

Earlier, sarees in India were woven by the weavers only by using cotton, because, then, people did not know any other raw material except cotton to weave Sarees with. Like every trade in India is progressing day-by-day, radical changes have occurred in the Saree industry too. Now, our designers are crafting the latest Sarees by using an assortment of raw materials and putting their labors to add more allure to the Indian Saree. However, the allure of our Indian cotton saree is timeless. The Cotton printed sarees indeed give a classy, feminine, refined and chic look to any lady.

Indian Pavada Or Half Sarees - The Fading Tradition Of The South

The half-saree of south India is very age-specific, unlike the saree or the salwar-kameez. It solely belongs to the young generation and no woman past her teens would generally wear it. The half-saree scripts a sartorial evolution from girlhood to womanhood. It combines the feistiness of a girl with the feminine elegance of a young woman. That is one cause possibly why south Indian filmmakers are rediscovering the half-saree, giving the piece of clothing a fresh lease of life.

Half Saree was very common among young girls of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Full skirt, short blouse and a davani (shawl) constitutes this dressing style. It is considered to be originated in Tamil Nadu, but is very commonly used in Kerala till about 30 years back. These days with all contemporary fashions, half saree has almost entirely disappeared among Kerala girls.

If the songs, `Pavada prayathil' and `Pavadai davaniyil', were to be written at present, the lyrics would not be the same anymore, for, the pavada is almost missing from the Malayali girl's wardrobe. In Kerala, only the `audacious’ wore the salwar kurta two decades ago. The foray of the electronic media and salwar kurtas found their way into the hearts of Malayali girls. If you want to see Malayali girls in pattu pavada-blouse sets in our day, then you have to be invited to a marriage ceremony. Or you should stopover a temple or wait for November 1 (Kerala Piravi Day).

Traditionalists, however, need not fret. A few still favor the Indian pavada. Young girls are still getting pavadas stitched. But it's impractical to think that pavada will be worn as it used to be 15 to 20 years ago. But things now have enhanced from the way it was five years ago, when the pavada or the half sari was barely seen. Wearing pavada and blouse in everyday life is very uncomfortable and tiresome. Getting on and off buses, in weighty pavadas, is very difficult. It is an ornamental outfit, and not a functional one. Hence, it is best to wear it on choice occasions. Most people buy it only once a year, during Onam, and that's the only time it is hugely worn.

Even mothers don't want to compel their daughters to wear the Indian pavada today. Of course, the pavada is very gorgeous and traditional and mothers, however, would love to see their daughters wear the pavada-blouse often. It gives a certain distinguished look to the teenager. Just as the sari has displaced the mundum neriaythum, salwar kurtas have replaced the pavada – blouse. Pavada often means the pattu pavada, stitched in shimmering Kancheevaram. For some people the pavada is made in no other material. The flamboyance is part of the fashion statement it makes. But Pavadas in printed georgette or other synthetic fabrics, which make good formal as well as casual wear, were admired even a decade ago.

Some girls dislike the pavada because it is "revealing". "With salwar kurta, are worn with dupattas. But what can be worn with a pavada-blouse set? Even a half sari can appear revealing if not worn properly. As far as dressing is concerned, Hindi films and TV channels are the bibles for youngsters. At some point, the pavada did become the apparel of the not-so-modern heroine, the village belle. But even in this case, it was a singular version of the pavada -- a cross between the north Indian ghagra/lehenga and our conventional pavada. Aishwarya Rai and Sreedevi were seen wearing it in `Kandukonden Kandukonden' and `Devaragam' respectively. And they indeed looked stunning.

Designers are sensible when they say that we cannot imagine the pavada to make a comeback. To the modern girl, it is indeed a formal dress. One aspect that works to the benefit of the Indian pavada is that it can be tailored and improvised to suit the wearer's taste. This encourages young women to check it out. The girls are keen on adding current elements to the conventional design. That is, they want the half sari to be embellished or the blouse to be embroidered. The designers acknowledge that the Indian pavada has become a costume, almost a `uniform' for precise occasions like south Indian weddings or festivals like onam. There's something traditional and beautiful about the dress. It seems to bear the spirit of the south Indian culture.

Boutiques come to the forefront for toddlers with cute readymade pavadais for younger children. These come in silk, raw silk and cotton fabric with embroidery and appliqué work. Fabrics for stitching the pavadais are also obtainable. For older girls designer boutiques are sanctuaries for pavadai dhavinis. Here one can pick and mix and match the fabrics for the skirt, blouse and dhavinis or dupattas. The colors and fabrics available in this boutique are abundant for the pavada dhavinis.

The kids today love pavadayum blousum, kuppi vala (glass bangles) and mulla poovu (jasmine). So, take heart, traditionalists…all is not lost.