Sari or Saree - Definition of Clothing  Apparel Search

Simple hand-woven villagers' saris are often decorated with checks or stripes woven into the cloth. The borders and the pallu are defined only by the use of contrasting thread in the warp or weft. 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 ornament 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 colors 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 bhutties (spellings vary). For fancy saris, these patterns could be woven with gold or silver thread, which is called zari work. Modern zari work is usually executed with glittering synthetic fibers rather than real gold or silver thread (made by wrapping gold or silver around a base thread).

Sometimes the saris were further decorated, after weaving, with various sorts of embroidery. Resham work is embroidery done with colored 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.

The free-hanging end, the pallu, could be additionally embellished with punkra or punchra work, in which part of the weft is removed and the warp threads are knotted into elaborate patterns, sometimes decorated with beads or precious stones.

In modern times, saris are increasingly woven on mechanical looms and made of artificial fibers, 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.

Hand-woven, hand-decorated saris are naturally much more expensive than the machine imitations. While the over-all 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.

Types of saris

Though each region in the Indian subcontinent has developed over the centuries its own unique sari style, the following are the well known varieties, distinct on the basis of fabric, weaving style or motifs:

Bangladesh Saris

Jamdani

Dhakai

Tengail

Pabna

Indian Saris

Northern styles:

Bandhani

Gujarat and Rajasthan

Chikan  Lucknow

Kota doria  Rajasthan

Banarasi  Benares

Tant

Jamdani

Baluchari

Kantha  West Bengal

Central styles:

Chanderi  Madhya Pradesh

Paithani  Maharashtra

Ikat

Orissa

Southern styles:

Pochampalli  Andhra Pradesh

Venkatagiri  Andhra Pradesh

Gadwal  Andhra Pradesh

Guntur  Andhra Pradesh

Narayanpet  Andhra Pradesh

Mangalagiri  Andhra Pradesh

Balarampuram  Kerala

Coimbatore  Tamil Nadu

Kanjivaram or Kanchipuram  Tamil Nadu

Chettinad  Tamil Nadu

Mysore Silk  Karnataka

Sri Lankan Saris

Sri Lankan women wear saris in many styles. However, two ways of draping the sari are popular and tend to dominate; the Indian style (classic nivi drape) and the Kandyan style (or 'osaria' in Sinhalese). The Kandyan style is generally more popular in 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 body.

Contrast this Kandyan example with what Sri Lankan's refer to as ' Indian style'. The Indian style generally consits of an uninterruped flow of sari fabric over the stomach and shoulders, whereas the Kanyan (osaria) style bares more of the mid section and is partially tucked in at the front (similar to the pleated rosette used in the 'Darivian' style noted earier in the artice) with the final tail of the sari being neatly pleated rather than free-flowing.

Origins and history

The word 'sari' is believed to derive from the Sanskrit word 'sati', which means strip of cloth. This evolved into the Prakrit 'sadi' and was later anglicised into 'sari'.

Some versions of the history of Indian clothing trace the sari back to the Indus valley civilization, which flourished in 2800-1800 BCE. One ancient statue shows a man in a draped robe which some sari researchers believe to be a precursor of the sari.

Ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silappadhikaram and the Kadambari by Banabhatta, describes women in exquisite drapery. This drapery is believed to be a sari. In 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 stomach of the dancer is to be left unconcealed, which some take to indicate the wearing of a sari.

Some costume historians believe that the men's dhoti, which is the oldest Indian draped garment, is the forerunner of the sari. They say that until the 14th century, the dhoti was worn by both men and women. Sculptures from the Gandhara, Mathura and Gupta  schools (1st-6th century CE) show goddesses and dancers wearing what appears to be a dhoti wrap, in the "fishtail" version which covers the legs loosely and then flows into a long, decorative drape in front of the legs. No bodices are shown.

Other sources say that everyday costume consisted of a dhoti or lungi (sarong), combined with a breast band and a veil or wrap that could be used to cover the upper body or head. Some argue that the two-piece Kerala mundum neryathum (a sarong-like wrap plus a top piece) is a survival of ancient Indian clothing styles, and that the one-piece sari is a modern innovation, created by combining the two pieces of the mundum neryathum.

It is generally accepted that wrapped sari-like garments, shawls, and veils have been worn by Indian women for a long time, and that they have been worn in their current form for hundreds of years.

One point of particular controversy is the history of the choli, or sari blouse, and the petticoat.

Some researchers state that these were unknown before the British arrived in India, and that they were introduced to satisfy British ideas of modesty. Previously, women only wore the one, draped cloth and casually exposed the upper body and breasts.

Other historians point to much textual and artistic evidence for various forms of breastband and upper-body shawl.

It is possible that the researchers arguing for a recent origin for the choli and the petticoat are extrapolating from South India, where it is indeed documented that in some areas, women wore only the sari and exposed the upper part of the body. Poetic references from works like Shilappadikaram indicate that during the sangam period in ancient South India, a single piece of clothing served as both lower garment and head covering, leaving the bosom and midriff completely uncovered. Even today, women in some rural areas do not wear cholis.