India Clothing Glossary

This glossary defines the clothing terms from India that a buyer, designer or student is most likely to meet in the Indian trade: the garments of the classic outfits, the weave terms used for everyday fabrics, and the embroidery term behind some of the most ornate Indian clothing.

How the Garments Fit Together

The terms describe sets as much as single garments. A saree is worn over a skirt petticoat with a choli, the short blouse whose collar, sleeve and length can be varied as the wearer chooses. The salwar and kameez form another set: wide loose pants with a reinforced cuff and drawstring under a long tunic of knee length or beyond, usually completed with a chunni, the scarf or wrap that is also worn with most other Indian garments. The lengha, a long full skirt, pairs with a choli as the lengha/choli, and with a tunic and chunni as the lacha. The churidhar offers the fitted alternative to the salwar, snug around the calf and ankle with gatherings and hooks for fastening. Zardosi, intricate hand embroidery in gold, silver or multi-colored wire, is the decoration that can appear across all of them.

Textile Terms

Three of the terms belong to the fabric side of the trade. Bakrum is the coated interlining fabric made from coarse count yarn, the stiffening inside collars, cuffs and waistbands. Ded suti and do suti name two plain weave constructions by their yarn arrangement: two ends of parallel warp with one pick of weft in ded suti, the Oxford weave; and two ends of parallel warp with two ends of parallel weft in do suti, the basket weave.

Terms from India

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