Saturday, March 15
Lehengas and Textile Revival Movements: A Resurgence of Tradition
Lehenga Choli

Lehengas and Textile Revival Movements: A Resurgence of Tradition

Introduction The fashion world is constantly evolving, with trends coming and going at a rapid pace. However, some elements of fashion remain timeless, transcending generations and cultural shifts. One such example is the lehenga, a traditional Indian attire that has not only stood the test of time but has also experienced a revival in recent years, thanks to the growing interest in textile revival movements. This resurgence of tradition not only celebrates the rich heritage of textiles but also fosters sustainable practices and empowers local artisans. The Lehenga: A Timeless Symbol of Elegance The lehenga, a three-piece ensemble consisting of a blouse, a long skirt, and a dupatta (a draped piece of fabric), has been a staple in Indian fashion for centuries. It has adorned bride...
Lehengas for Beach Weddings: Boho Chic Vibes
Lehenga Choli

Lehengas for Beach Weddings: Boho Chic Vibes

Boho chic is a popular wedding style that is perfect for beach weddings. It is characterized by its relaxed, natural, and free-spirited vibe. Lehengas are a traditional Indian garment that can be easily incorporated into a boho chic wedding look. There are many different ways to style a lehenga for a beach wedding. Here are a few ideas: Choose a light and airy fabric. Lehengas are typically made from heavy, brocaded fabrics. However, for a beach wedding, you will want to choose a lighter fabric that will be comfortable in the heat and humidity. Chiffon, georgette, and silk are all good options. Add some boho details. Boho chic is all about the details. Add some boho touches to your lehenga by incorporating elements such as lace, embroidery, beads, and tassels. Go fo...
Navratri Lehenga Choli: A Traditional Outfit for the Festival of Nine Nights
Lehenga Choli

Navratri Lehenga Choli: A Traditional Outfit for the Festival of Nine Nights

Navratri is a Hindu festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil. It is a nine-day festival that is celebrated in the autumn season. During Navratri, women traditionally wear lehenga choli, a three-piece outfit that consists of a long skirt, a blouse, and a dupatta. Lehenga choli is a popular outfit for Navratri because it is both traditional and festive. The skirt is typically made of a flowing fabric, such as silk or cotton, and it is often decorated with embroidery or other embellishments. The blouse is typically fitted and can be either short-sleeved or long-sleeved. The dupatta is a long scarf that is draped over the shoulders or head. There are many different styles of lehenga choli that can be worn for Navratri. Some popular styles include: Traditional lehenga ch...
Style Inspirations for Your Sangeet Lehenga
Lehenga Choli

Style Inspirations for Your Sangeet Lehenga

A Sangeet ceremony is often considered as one of the most enjoyable pre-wedding occasions. It is a festive event, filled with music, dance, and celebrations. The bride-to-be is usually the center of attention, and her outfit is highly anticipated. The traditional attire for a Sangeet ceremony is a Lehenga, which is a long skirt worn with a blouse (choli) and a dupatta. Here are some style inspirations for your Sangeet lehenga that will make you look stunning: 1. Bright and Bold: A Sangeet ceremony is all about joy and liveliness, so why not reflect that in your attire? Go for bright and bold colors like yellow, bright pink or orange. Add some embroidery work to your outfit to give it an ethnic touch. Pair it with statement jewelry to complete the look. 2. Fusion: If you want...
Stunning Mehndi Lehengas: The Perfect Attire for Your Special Day
Lehenga Choli

Stunning Mehndi Lehengas: The Perfect Attire for Your Special Day

Indian weddings are known for their grandeur and glamour, and the bride's attire is the centerpiece of it all. A stunning lehenga with exquisite mehndi designs has been a staple for brides for decades, and is still as popular as ever. Mehndi is an intricate art form that involves applying henna to the skin in intricate patterns, traditionally in a reddish-brown color. It is a traditional part of Indian culture, and is often used in weddings and other celebrations. A mehndi lehenga is the perfect attire for a bride who wants to look traditional yet chic on her special day. The combination of a beautiful lehenga with mehndi designs gives a unique and elegant touch to the overall look of the bride. The intricate patterns of mehndi on the lehenga add a touch of class and sophistication to ...
Banarasi Lehenga: The perfect blend of tradition and style
Lehenga Choli

Banarasi Lehenga: The perfect blend of tradition and style

Banarasi lehenga has been a traditional attire worn by Indian brides for centuries. Over the years, this dress has evolved into a more contemporary and stylish version, fusing the traditional and modern elements seamlessly. The exquisite Banarasi lehenga is one such example of the perfect blend of tradition and style. Banaras, a city in Uttar Pradesh, India, is well-known for its stunning silk sarees and lehengas, which are the epitome of luxury and richness. Banarasi lehengas are crafted using the finest quality silk and are adorned with intricate embroidery, zari work, and sequins. They are available in a wide range of colours, including the traditional red, pink, gold, and silver, as well as pastel hues, such as peach, lavender, and mint green. The exquisite Banarasi lehenga is a...
Stunning Brocade Lehenga Designs Every Bride Must Consider
Lehenga Choli

Stunning Brocade Lehenga Designs Every Bride Must Consider

Lehengas are traditional Indian garments that have gained immense popularity over the years. They are available in a variety of fabrics, designs, and styles. Amongst all the different types of lehengas, brocade lehengas stand out for their stunning and intricate designs. Brocade lehengas are made from a rich fabric that has a raised pattern woven into it. The fabric is often made from silk or cotton, and the raised pattern is made from gold or silver thread. Here are some stunning brocade lehanga designs that every bride must consider: 1. Gold Brocade Lehenga: A gold brocade lehanga is perfect for a bride who wants to look regal and elegant on her big day. The gold thread woven into the fabric gives the lehenga a royal touch. This lehenga can be paired with a matching gold blouse a...
The Timeless Elegance of Chiffon Lehenga: A Fashion Story
Lehenga Choli

The Timeless Elegance of Chiffon Lehenga: A Fashion Story

Chiffon lehenga, a traditional Indian garment, has been a part of women's fashion for centuries. It has been the go-to attire for Indian brides, and it still continues to be one of the most popular choices for women who want to be in touch with their cultural roots. The timeless elegance of chiffon lehenga is unmatched, and it's easy to see why it has stood the test of time. Chiffon material is a lightweight and sheer fabric that gives the lehenga a flowy and ethereal look. The ease of movement and comfort that it provides has made chiffon lehengas a popular choice among women. This material is perfect for draping and can be molded into different designs and styles, making it a versatile option for different occasions. The intricate embroidery work done on chiffon lehengas is a sigh...
Net Lehenga: The Perfect Blend of Elegance and Comfort
Lehenga Choli

Net Lehenga: The Perfect Blend of Elegance and Comfort

Net Lehenga is a traditional attire for women in South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. It is a lengthy skirt that is paired with a blouse and a dupatta. Lehenga is a popular attire for weddings, festivals, and other special occasions. However, traditional lehengas can be quite heavy and uncomfortable to wear, especially during the summer months. This is where the Net Lehenga comes in- it is the perfect blend of elegance and comfort. Net is a lightweight, sheer fabric that is commonly used in the fashion industry to create a delicate and elegant look. When used for a lehenga, net fabric adds a touch of glamour and sophistication. Net Lehengas are usually made with a combination of net and silk or satin fabric. The net fabric is used for the skirt, ...

Lehenga Choli

Ghagra choli, (also known as lehenga choli and locally as chaniya choli), is a type of ethnic clothing for women from Indian Subcontinent, notably in the Indian states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, as well as in the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh. In Punjab, the lehenga is traditionally worn with a kurti. It is a combination of the gagra or lehenga (long skirt) and the choli (blouse), however in contemporary and modern usage lehenga choli is the more popular and widely accepted term by fashion designers, trend setters, and boutiques in South Asia, since ghagra is synonymous with the half-slip worn as an undergarment below the sari.

Terms and history

Historically, the gagra choli evolved from the three-piece attire worn by women in ancient India. The attire consisted of the antriya lower garment, the uttariya veil worn over shoulder or head and stanapatta a chest-band, which finds mentioned in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist Pali literature during the sixth century B.C.

Choli

A choli (Hindi: चोली, Urdu: چولی, Nepali: चोलो), (ravike in South India Telugu: రవికె, Kannada: ರವಿಕೆ) is a midriff-baring blouse commonly worn with a sari attire (worn in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and other surrounding countries). It evolved from ancient Stanapatta (also known as Kanchuki) and is cut to fit tightly to the body with its short sleeves and low neck. The choli is usually cropped, allowing exposure of the navel; the cropped design is particularly well-suited for wear in the hot summers of the Indian subcontinent.

Gagra

Lehenga, gagra/ghagra (Hindi: घाघरा ghāghrā) also chaniya (known as pavadai in Tamil: பாவாடை) is a form of skirt which is long, embroidered, and pleated. It is secured at the waist or hips and leaves the lower back and midriff bare. The ancient version of skirt or ghagri evolved from bhairnivasani, which in turn evolved from the antriya when stitching on one side became tubular and was worn gathered at the waist and held by a girdle. This was one of the earliest forms of a clumsily stitched skirt. It was worn using a nada or drawstring. The ghagri was a narrow skirt 6 feet (1.8 m) long—the same length as the original antriya—and can still be seen worn by Jain nuns in India.

Until the early 20th century, women irrespective of class wore gagras which reached down to ankles, especially in the Hindi belt. This was due to jeweled toes indicating the marital status of women, as both married and unmarried women observed the ghoonghat veil. Gagras were made from two to three layers of coarse khadi fabric which created large, flared look and remained plain but were decorated with gota and badla embroidery on special occasions. Most used dyes were indigo, lac and turmeric. This style can still be seen in rural areas of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh particularly during folk festivals.

Dupatta

The dupatta (Hindi: दुपट्टा, Urdu: دوپٹا) or chunri (known as oṛna in Bengali: ওড়না) is a scarf that is like a shawl and is worn with the gagra and choli. It is also used as part of the women’s shalwar kameez costume. It is an evolved form of the Uttariya. Until the early 21st century, the dupatta was the most decorative part of gagra choli, while the rest of the garment was plainer, especially the gagra was an everyday one. Dupatta is worn in many regional styles across India. The most common style since early medieval times was to pleat the dupatta on one end, so it can be anchored by tucking it into the front waist of the gagra. The loose end is then wrapped across the waist and/or draped diagonally across the upper body to fall over the shoulder, or up and over to cover the head. This is like the way a sari is worn. Women farming or doing manual work tuck both ends of the dupatta into their choli.

The dupatta is traditionally seen as a symbol of modesty, as its main purpose is to serve as a veil. There is no single way of wearing it, so as time passed and fashion changed, the styling of the dupatta also evolved.

Fabrics

The Ghagri-Choli are made of several fabrics such as silk, cotton, khadi, georgette, crape, net, satin, brocade, and chiffon. Although designers have successfully used various fabrics for lehenga, silk is still the preferred fabric.

Decorative stitching

Apart from the fabric, decorative stitching patterns also play a role. Lehengas come with a wide variety of decoration and embroidery work like Gota, Phulkari, Shisha, Chikankari, Zari, Zardozi, Nakshi, Kundan, etc. For festivals like Navratri, the ethnic Shisha embroidery is popular with a bit of patchwork. For formal wear and weddings, the embroidery is heavier in pearls, silk, sequins and zari.

Kutch embroidery is an evolving expression of the craft and textile traditions of the Rabaris, a nomadic tribe in Gujarat. Kutch embroidery is unique in the sense that a net is woven on a cloth using thread. The net is then filled in using the same thread by intricate interlocking stitches. The patterns are usually built around geometric shapes. This embroidery follows its own traditional design logic and juxtaposition of colours and motifs. The Rohanas tribals of Kutch specialise in skirt work. The Sodhas use a geometric style for their embroidery. The Garacia Jats are experts in tiny embroidery on the yoke, which intermingles with red, orange, blue and green threads. The Dhanetah Jats love embroidering broad pear-shaped mirrors using orange, black, yellow and red in chain stitch.

Festive attire

The lehenga choli is the favourite female apparel worn during festivals, weddings or special events in India. This is due to traditions as well as the fact that it is available in several fabrics with many different decorative choices. Traditionally the sari and the lehenga choli are the most popular garments for the bride in India. This is a common bridal attire mostly in North India and is also the traditional wear of Navratri Garba festival in Gujarat.

Ritu Kala – significance in rite of passage.

In southern India, coming of age ceremony or rites of passage (langa voni Telugu: లంగా వోని, Pattu Pavadai Tamil: பட்டு பாவாடை, Langa Davani Kannada: ಲಂಗ ದ್ವನಿ) are celebrated when a girl reaches puberty. She wears langa voniduring the first part of the ceremony and then she is given her first sari, which she wears during the second half of the ceremony. This marks her transition into womanhood.

The tradition of presenting langa voni begins with the girl’s first naming ceremony called Namakaran and her first rice feeding ceremony called Annaprashana. She receives her last one at her coming-of-age ceremony. Langa voni is traditional clothing for unmarried girls in southern India.

Luanchari

Luanchari (Hindi: लुआंचणी) is a full-dress garment. The luanchari is made up of two parts. The upper part is called choli and is made of the same fabric as of the lehanga, but it is common to find the two pieces of the garment in different colours. The choli is stitched to the lehanga, to make a one-piece luanchari. This is commonly worn by the women in Pahari miniatures and is quite like lehanga. It may take over twenty-one yards of cloth to make a complete luanchari. It is a traditional garment worn by Gaddis of Himachal Pradesh.

Clothsvilla’s Lehenga Choli Collections

Designer Lehengas, Wedding Lehengas, Party Wear Lehengas, Bridal Lehengas, Gowns, Red Lehengas, Silk Lehengas, Anarkali, Palazzo, Blue Lehengas, Net Lehengas, Palazzo Suit, Anarkali Suits, Orange Lehengas, Green Lehengas, Bollywood Lehenga, Printed Lehenga, Maroon Lehengas, A Line Lehengas, Beige Lehengas, Pastel Lehengas, Semi Stitched Lehengas, Ceremonial Lehengas, Festival Lehengas, Pink Lehenga

Clothsvilla’s Lehenga Choli By Colors

Red, Pink, Green, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Gold, Silver, Beige, Maroon, Turquoise, Ivory, Peach, Cream, Mustard, Magenta, Navy blue, Rust, Olive green, Lavender, Black, White, Brown, Grey, Wine, Teal, Emerald, Sky blue, Mint green, Royal blue, Coral, Fuchsia, Lilac, Champagne, Blush pink, Off-white, Sea green, Brick red, Dark green, Dark blue, Dark purple, Dark red, Dark brown, Dark grey, Baby pink, Baby blue, Pale green, Pale yellow, Pale pink, Pale blue, Charcoal grey, Mauve, Olive brown, Olive grey, Salmon pink, Olive yellow, Burgundy, Olive brown, Dusty pink, Dusty blue, Dusty purple, Dusty green, Dusty rose, Mint blue, Light grey, Light green, Light blue, Light pink, Light yellow, Light purple, Light orange, Light brown, Light red, Light peach, Light olive green, Light turquoise, Light lavender, Light coral, Light magenta, Light teal, Light mustard, Light navy blue, Light salmon, Light wine, Light fuchsia, Light champagne, Light beige, Light ivory, Light gold, Light silver, Dark champagne, Dark silver, Dark gold, Dark beige, Dark ivory, Dark wine, Dark fuchsia, Dark coral, Dark lavender

Clothsvilla’s Lehenga Choli By Types

A line, Mermaid, Flared, Circular, Straight cut, Jacket, saree, Sharara, Trail, Double layer, Panelled, Fish cut, Tiered, Half saree, long jacket, Dhoti, cape, crop top, off shoulder, corset, peplum, shirt blouse, high neck, full sleeves, halter neck, asymmetric, sheer, collar neck, cold shoulder, ruffle, one shoulder, backless, spaghetti strap, lace, embroidered, sequin, mirror work, zari work, stone work, patch work, thread work, floral print, paisley print, polka dot, striped, geometric print, abstract print, block print, bandhani print, tie dye, ikat print, leheriya print, ajrakh print, batik print, kalamkari print, chikankari, kantha work, phulkari work, banarasi silk, chiffon, net, velvet, silk, organza, georgette, cotton, brocade, jacquard, raw silk, crepe, satin, taffeta, dupion silk, linen, muslin, shimmer, metallic, digital print, mirror embroidered, gota patti work, kund

Clothsvilla’s Lehenga Choli By Fabrics

silk, velvet, chiffon, georgette, net, crepe, satin, taffeta, raw, linen, muslin, shimmer, metallic, brocade, jacquard, dupion, organza, cotton, banarasi, katan, chanderi, maheshwari, patola, kanjeevaram, khadi, matka, tussar, kosa, pochampally, uppada, gadwal, narayanpet, mysore, kota doria, bandhani, leheriya, ajrakh, batik, kalamkari, chikankari, kantha, phulkari, gota patti, zardozi, aari, thread, mirror, zari, stone, bead, sequin, embroidered, printed, digital, floral, paisley, polka dot, striped, geometric, abstract, block, bandhej, tie dye, ikat, leheriya print, ajrakh print, batik print, kalamkari print, raw silk, dupion silk, cotton silk, banarasi silk, katan silk, chanderi silk, maheshwari silk, patola silk, kanjeevaram silk, matka silk, tussar silk, kosa silk, pochampally silk, uppada silk, gadwal silk, narayanpet silk, mysore silk, kota doria, digital print, floral print, paisley print, polka dot print, striped print, geometric print, abstract print, block print, bandhej print, tie dye print, ikat print, aari work, thread work, mirror work, zari work, stone work, bead work, sequin work, kantha work, gota patti

Elegant in Eid: The Foil Print Taffeta Silk Anarkali Gown Journey Casual Wear Red Santoon Gown With Fancy Sequins