Textile DirectoryIntroductionProfileWeavers WorldMarketingSitemap
 
 
Male Wear
Male
Suits
Shirts
Trousers
Accessories
Female Wear
Female
Sarees
Dersses
Ghagraas
Stoles
Inner Garments
Tops
Accessories
Kids Wear
Kids
Main Wear
Shirts
Accessories
Home Furnishing
Furnishing
Curtains
Towels
Quilts
Links
Others
Blogs
Online Branding
Sourcing
Links Fashion Blogs
Company
Profile
Register
Tips
How to
Institute
Fashion Designer
Fashion Institute
Jobs / Posting
Textile Events
 Sourcing or procuring your textile click here

Press Handlooms

Press conferences and electronic media on handlooms.com

  Image Archives

  Press conferences and electronic media on handlooms.com--2

 
 
 
Home > Female >  Sarees >Dress Materials > Ghagras >Stoles & Scraves > InnerGarments >Tops > Accessories
 

The Story of the Saree

The Indian popular wear called as 'saree' or 'sari' has been in existence for more than 5000 years which is mentioned in the Vedas. According to few historical records of India , during Shunga period of 200 - 50 B.C, north Indian terracotta depicts a woman wearing a saree covering the entire body. In Maharastra, Murals and demi-gods of total gods of the Ajanta caves are two representations of women wearing sarees draping around the entire body. According to the costume historians, dhoti was worn by both men and women till 14th century. 1st-6th century CE sculptures show goddesses and dancers wear dhoti of fishtail version. Some versions of the history of Indian clothing trace the sari back to the Indus valley civilization, which flourished in 2800-1800 BCE.

It is the basic wear of rural people of India . The name 'saree' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Chira' which means cloth. To suit the local conditions, it is designed by the Indian people in the earlier days. Ancient western historians thought about this saree that there were cloth growing trees in India . The length of it varies from 5 to 9.5 yards and it is draped around the entire body.With the simple trial, we can turn it either as a working dress or party-wear.

Middle class women wear 5-6 yard saree which is comfortable to them to do their household work. Rural women at the time of their work, tuck the same length above the ankles. If they need to work in fields, they tuck the front pleats between the legs to the back, and tie the upper portion round the waist.

In ancient days, a nine yard saree used to be worn by the Indian woman with embroidery, embellishments and gold designing. It was worn in the way of working saree. A gold silver or cloth was fixed firmly to keep pallu, upper part of pleats and folds in tact. This type of dress was worn by the famous female historians especially at the time of war who are like Jhansi 's queen Laxmi bai, Kittur Chennamma, Belawadi Mallamma etc. Tight tucking of the front pleats in the back was called 'Soldier's tuck' or 'Veeragacche'.

Generally the Indian climate is warm. So, Saree is more suitable for this subcontinent. One ancient statue shows a man in a draped robe which some sari researchers believe to be a precursor of the sari. In olden days, men also wear a dress like saree called 'dhoti'. In those days, there was hardly any difference between Saree and dhoti. Men also liked to wear colorful Sarees with brocaded borders could perhaps be interchanged in needy times. The upper portion of the saree-length which covers the chest is only missing.

Tales of Sarees

Saree Tales The modern Saree belongs to the nivi family. These drapes are wrapped around the body from bottom to the top, leaving a bunch of pleats in front. In the kaccha, a family of Sarees worn in Maharashtra, the upper kaccha, pleats are passed between the legs and tucked at the back. In earlier times, most drapes were dhoti. Cloth is tied round the waist in the middle of its length, and each side is wrapped around each leg separately. 'Brahmin Sarees' have evolved from the dhoti.

Dravidians and Eastern Indians wear Sarees which have evolved from the veshti. We can distinguish three sub-families: Veshti, covering only the lower part of the body, Tamil Sarees and Eastern Sarees, where the upper part is thrown once or twice over the shoulder.

Tribal women prefer drapes tied over the chest. Some of these Sarees are a cross between purely tribal styles and styles from other families.
Saree is still the most popular form of women's dress in India. The single length of cloth is worn by wrapping it around the feminine form. It is also manipulated to cover the head and sometimes the face. It is interesting to note that wearing a Saree today in India is considered both - fashionable as well as conservative.

The most amazing feature of the Saree is it is neither tailored nor stitched. It can be worn by women of all ages, all shapes and all sizes without any alterations. And the five-and-half-meter cloth can be manipulated cunningly to either cloak or enhance the bodily charms of the women. Made of cottons, silks, blends, the cloth is decorated by dyeing, printing and / or embroidering. Literature about aesthetics and morality of Indian dress dates back to pre-Christian era. The Dharmashastras record socio-religious do's and don'ts on clothing. Men's and women's clothes - the upper and lower garments - were not too different in the early Vedic times. By late Vedic period, the women's clothing gave way to a single length of draped cloth - today called the Saree.

Manu Samhita proclaims:

Women must be honored and adorned by their fathers, brothers and husbands and brothers in law for their own welfare ... The houses, on which female relations, not being duly honored, pronounce a curse, perish completely as if destroyed by magic. Hence men who seek their own welfare should always honor women on holidays and festivals with ornaments, clothes and food." Indian cloths with their fast dyes and varied designs were famous throughout the ancient world. The earliest specimen of Indian resist-dyed cloth apart from the fragment found at Harappa dates back to the 8th century.

 
 
 
Understanding the
Unknown Sari
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click on the specific topis
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Characteristics of a saree
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Sarees of Andhra Pradesh
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--How these are woven ?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--How to tie a Saree
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--STYLES OF DRAPING
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_Sola Singaar
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--The Story of the Saree
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 
 
Disclaimer | About us | Sitemap | Feedback | Comments Copyright @ 2009.
All rights reserved by
handlooms.com