Wrap Cloth Jacquard Design Jamawar Wool Shawl

Wrap clothes shawls in pure wool with designs of antique paisley are very popular in India, just in the way silk shawls are popular in the west. It may be for the simple reason that they go very well with some Indian dresses like saree and salwar kameez. It may also be because these shawls in earthy shades like maroon, green and sand are preferred colors of many Indians. In recent times Jamawar shawls have been very popular also in the west, gradually replacing silk pashmina.

Embroidered Shawls Scarves Phulkaris of Punjab

The earliest design on Kashmir seventeenth and eighteenth century shawls was a single flowering plant complete with roots, inspired by English herbals (books with plant illustrations) which reached the Mughal court during the seventeenth century. If the Kashmir shawls were the classical masculine high art of the loom, the phulkaris of Punjab represent the totally feminine art of the home.

Here, we have entered an entirely different ethos; there were no commercial pressures, just an ambience of warmth and family love expresses within the context of the community. Phulkaris were worn by women all over Punjab during marriage festivals and other joyous occasions. They were embroidered by the women for their own use and use of other family members and Phulkaris were never meant for sale but were the tangible tokens of continuity and heritage; they were the space where women got together to create marvels of the embroiderer's art, a play of textures and shimmering hues so fine that today we see them as the "dance of colour and light".

Fashion Poncho Shawl Jacquard Designs

Poncho Shawl in paisley design wool fabric are designed to serve twin purposes - keeping the body warm, and looking elegant. The fabric used is the same that is used for making a very popular shawl in India known as Jamawar. This fabric is 100% wool and has beautiful woven designs (jacquard). The designs have been borrowed from classic paisleys. Thus extensive use is made of designs inspired by leaves, flowers and fruits found in India. Another distinctive aspect of these wool ponchos is that they never give itching sensation to the skin. These wool ponchos are meant to be worn in mildly cold weather. Since these ponchos are light weight, they do not hang heavily on the shoulders. No other dress matches wool ponchos when it comes to experiencing warmth, elegance and comfort all at once.

Ethnic Zari (Floral) Embroidery of Kashmir India

The Kashmir valley, now a war torn region, used to be a natural paradise. Full of flowers and maple trees, this northern region of India has some of the most exquisite craft work. Check out the floral embroidery from Kashmir on  shawls scarves. But shawls are the most popular embroidered item in cool Kashmir. Some are embroidered with such skill that the pattern appears perfectly on both sides of the shawl. These are called 'dorakkhas'. Kashmir Shawl have unique charm. Floral patterns in multi color are embroidered on solid color wool fabric. This makes the shawls very colorful, yet never too loud. Thus aesthetically, these are perhaps the finest looking shawls made in India. Women of all ages, young and old, love to wear them.
Kashmir valley, a natural paradise, full of flowers and maple trees, produces the best hand embroidery work. Artisans draw inspirations from the beautiful nature around. The boteh (flower) or ambia (mango) motifs are the most favored one of the Kashmir designers. The colors used are those of the flowers of the valley. An emphasis on pastel and white shades on a white background is always preferred. Fine embroidery work is done in shades discreetly blending with the background shades. Very seldom one finds a combination of more than two embroidery styles on one object. The stitches are so typical of the region that they are frequently termed as the Kashmiri Stitch. Kashmiri embroidery is remarkable for the skilled execution of a single stitch rather than the elaborate quality of the stitch itself. Chain stitch, satin stitch, the slanted darn stitch, stem, herringbone or sometimes the doori or knot stitches are used.

The excellence of the needlework is most remarkable in the creation of a dorukha or a double-sided shawl. In this shawl, there is no right and wrong side. The same design is produced in different colors on both sides. The price of a shawl depends on the amount of embroidery done on it.

Shalwar Kameez Ladies Embroidered Cotton Garments

Salwar kameez (also spelled shalwar kameez or shalwar qameez) is a traditional dress worn by both women and men in Southern Asia. Salvars or shalvars are loose pajama-like trousers. The legs are wide at the top, and narrow at the bottom. The kameez is a long shirt or tunic. The side seams (known as the chaak) are left open below the waist-line, which gives the wearer greater freedom of movement. It is the most common dress for men in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Kurta, Shirt, Tunic Costumes from India

Apart from the sari, ghagra and choli, another very important costume depicted in art is the kurta or the Persian shirt. These kurtas have an opening at the neck and slits on the sides. Some of the women's kurias have slits on the sides and give the impression of a four-pointed hemline. Another style of the Kurta was with a crossover flap and side openings, somewhat similar to the angarhha. The ankle-length fitted tunics appear to be of the Turanian Tartar style.

Indian Shawl Stole Wool Fabric Wrap Clothing

In India, The Kashmir shawls is known all over the world for superfine quality of wool, its intricate designs and remarkable craftsmanship, a reputation it has had for centuries. Embroidery has been develop into a fine art in Kashmir.

For most people, the word Kashmir is synonymous with the woven and embroidered shawls that have,through the centuries,become a byword for elegance and luxury all over the world.but every craft,even one as sophisticated as the Kashmir shawl, has its roots in day-to-day life;and though the evolution of design in shawls has been studied exhaustively, scholars have devoted little attention to the local village traditions of textile manufacture which provided the basic reservoir of skills to enable the shawl industry to develop as it did.

The famous pashmina shawl is an integral part of the Kashmir.these shawls are woven by Kashmiri weavers. A heavy embroidered work, raffal a fine worsted mainly used for shawls. 

In Kashmir proper, indeed, the usual conotation of tht word "homespun" to imply something rough and coarse. The cottage textile industries of Kashmir, the village weaver has at his command probably the finest hand spinning skill in the world-surpassed only by the pashmina spinners of Srinagar. The Kashmiri spinning-wheel, yender, has a traditional and unique design.

Top Skirt Hand Embroidery Garments for Girls

Skirt top sundresses in matching designs are great for your summer wear. Georgette fabric makes the dress light. There is inner cotton lining to give proper fall and also make the clothing non transparent. Skirt and top are in similar color and have similar embroideries too. The dress is ideal for casual wear in summer in beach or other sunshine areas.

A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment which hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs. A dress (also frock, gown) is a garment consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice or with a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment.

In Europe and America, skirts and dresses can be worn by females of all ages as an alternative to pants. A skirt may be worn as part of a suit. Skirts or dresses are the garments of choice for many women in formal situations, such as weddings womens skirt set.

Long Skirt Handmade Cotton Dresses from India

Although a certain look is always a rage because it is a season signature, the long slit skirt is a classic gem that typifies elegant, understated glamour. Usually worn by women in their late 20s and 30s, long skirts are generally preferred by confidant, sophisticated women who can boast a life well lived. Leaf through any fall-winter fashion glossy, and there it is-long, slim and, if one's figure is hourglass personified, slit to the thigh. Forget about the flirty floor-skimming skirts of yore.

These new-look long skirts, slit to mid thigh and snaking sinuously to the ankles in comfortable stretch fabrics, are a real class act. The difficulty with this chic look lies in successfully putting it all together. If you want to wear long, narrow skirts, the jacket has to be just the correct proportion and you must team it with high heels, or the look simply will not work.


Full peasant skirts, on the other hand, flatter most body types but in particular, petite girls should avoid wearing it, as it can tend to make them look too small in a crowd. Ankle-length peasant skirts are usually made of cotton voile and look best when teamed with a tank top and sandals. However, designers are increasingly going in for softer flowing fabrics like silk chiffon and organza for a light, graceful, even ethereal effect. Long Casual Skirts in hand-loom woven cotton fabric is especially suitable for women in late twenties and beyond. Hand-block prints in Indian motifs make them attractive casual apparel.

Drawstring at waist adds to their casual look and feel. Urban women in India in the age group twenty five to fifty prefer to wear these skirts in spring and summer. Long cotton skirts have airy feel in summer.

Early Indian literature, speaks of the bhairnivasni, a skirt like garment, which evolved from the antariya, a simple tube shaped garment. This was stitched on one side, gathered and held at the waist by a girdle. Women wore it as a lower garment. It later evolved into a skirt with a drawstring called the ghaghri made from five and a half meters of fabric. The skirt in India is known by many different names, depending on the regional style, the most popular, by far, being the ghaghra.It was the flare that made the ghaghra such a sumptuous garment and one so captivating that it was celebrated both in poetry and art.
The ghaghra is really a long skirt, which has the construction of a simple gathered skirt or a flared gored skirt. It covers the legs fully or partially, depending on the norms of propriety among different ethnic groups, although a long ghaghra usually relates to more puritanical modesty. Another term used was the lehenga, a compound of the Sanskrit words lanka (waist) and anga (body or limb). The lehenga is generally associated with a panelled skirt that is narrower than the ghaghra. However, there are no rigid definitions and the terms have found more generic usages. This and other styles of the skirt are very popular in North India.

Traditional Indian Silver Gemstone Jewellery Set

Imagine wearing these silver necklace chains to your favorite parties and all eyes turning towards you. These necklaces in shining silver are at once eye catching and yet always graceful. A large number of contemporary women in India are turning away from gold and adopting silver in their ornaments. There is a belief in India that silver has the property of keeping your body and mind cool. Gold on the other hand is considered to have heating properties.

As I am from India, my list of favorite jewelry set consists of only Indian jewelry made in traditional styles. I also love to wear handcrafted jewelry from India as they give "elegantly rustic" look.

For winter, I prefer to select from necklaces, pendant, bracelets, bangles, earring. But come spring and summer, and my choice moves on to unique jewelry like belly chain, armlets and anklets.

Ethnic Folk and Tribal Jewellery of India

The folk and tribal jewellery of India is so varied, both in materials used, which include silver, lac, glass, shells and beads as well as in designs and mode of wearing, that a whole book would not be enough for documenting them.

Each state in India is renowned for its particular Traditional Jewellery of which Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and the tribal zones in the central, eastern and southern regions are renowned for Silver Ornaments and a particular type of white metal, an alloy of copper or tin and pewter, that imitates silver.

Sun Dress Womens Casual Summer Clothes

A sundress is an informal sleeveless dress of any shape in a lightweight fabric, for summer wear. The dress is intended to be worn without a layering top, and the design must therefore cut a balance between modesty and allowing sun exposure.

The sundress provides a feminine look that may be lighter and more comfortable than a skirt and blouse, or another sort of dress. Modern styles commonly feature very low necklines and short hemlines, but more modest lengths and a variety of patterns are also widely available.

Cotton Kaftan Long Sleeve Tunic Evening Gown Caftan

In the Ottoman Empire of the 16th century, Caftans of varying lengths were constructed from rich Ottoman satins and velvets of silk and metallic threads were worn by courtiers to indicate status, preserved in court treasuries, used as tribute, and given as "robes of honor" to visiting ambassadors, heads of state, important government officials, and master artisans working for the Imperial court.

Men's caftans often had gores added, causing the caftan to flare at the bottom, while women's garments were more closely fitted. Women were more likely to add sashes or belts. A sultan and his courtiers might layer two or three caftans with varying length sleeves for ceremonial functions. An inner short-sleeved caftan, was usually secured with an embroidered sash or jeweled belt, while the outer caftan could have slits at the shoulder through which the wearer's arms were thrust to display the sleeves (sometimes with detachable expansions) of the inner caftan to show off the contrasting fabrics of the garments. Historically, the kaftan is a mans cotton or silk cloak buttoned down the front, with full sleeves, reaching to the ankles. It was the traditional wear in the Eastern Mediterranean.The caftan may also be worn by women in the US, where it is typically called a muumuu.

It is again, usually not belted and may come in a variety of prints. Some are Hawaiian inspired, and others may have prints that are reminiscent of African designs. The caftan in the US may be cotton, cotton/polyester, or cotton gauze. It is usually worn as a house dress, a nightgown or a swimsuit cover-up, and can be extremely comfortable.

Womens Footwear Handcrafted Beaded and Embroidered Leather Shoes

The most important accessory of dressing is the footwear. The commonly shoe-style worn in India is in leather with beaded work, mirror work, thread work and hand embroidery work. Women loves to wear these types of shoes called 'jutis' in India. A shoe is an item of footwear for the various outfits, there is a variety of footwear, but shoes are universal type that has the maximum in terms of choice. From sports to formal to casual, from leather to cloth, there are all kinds of material and styles. Shoes are also country-specific. Shoes are categorized by smooth and supple leather uppers, leather soles, and narrow sleek shape. In India shoes made of leather with hand work by the 'Rajasthani' artist. If you attire in typical Indian traditional style, like a simple salwar kameez, you can opt for Kohlapuri Chappals and Rajasthani Jutis(Eco Friendly) that is simple and sober. Today hand worked women shoes are in big demand. Women shoes come in a variety of colors. It is your choice to match a footwear according to your color of dress.Leather shoes with Rajasthani work are typically thought of as a staple in any woman's wardrobe in India, and come in a variety of colors and styles. According to your need, whichever footwear you opt for, make sure it has a soft sole and is comfortable to wear. Be clear about the purpose for which you are buying shoes. If you are looking out for casual shoes for ladies, you should avoid high heels especially if your job requires whole day standing. For that purpose, flat shoes (jutis) are just apt. Know yourself and in consistency pick up your footwear. If you want to stay comfortable whole day 'jutis' are the best option.

It is often said that, "First impression is the last impression" so adhering to it don't forget to pay attention to your shoes. It is as important as your wardrobe, makeup and trendy handbags. As necessary is to buy women fashion shoes, equally important is to maintain them and keep them clean. Comfort is the keyword you must take care of while selecting your fashionable footwear. Latest footwear trend is of woman fashion jutis. Good fit gives you the necessary comfort and strong grip provides the required support. Good fit must ensure that there is ample space for your toes to breathe. They look fabulous with your casuals.

India Clothing Sari Wedding Saree

In India, the loom is the sari, measured to the amplitude of this timeless dress which leaves the loom ready to be worn. If we look at the saree, however, what is it except a length of cloth of five and a half metros? The sari is defined by its wearer, the women whose person it adorns: it takes her shape, is pleated to mold her body, its end-piece, the pallu, floats over her shoulder or is brought across the front. In former times, the choice of saree and its method of being worn indicated clearly her social status and where she came from, the pattern and colors often dictated by tradition and occasion.

Ethnic Indian Embroidery, Designs & Styles of Embroidery

Haven't you ever wondered who makes those embroidered designs on your shirt or on those beautiful cushions? How do they make those beautiful designs with just a needle and thread? There's a high probability that it was made in India, by the skilful hands of one of millions of regular Indian women who have mastered the art of embroidery.

Embroidery is an art. It is the expression of a woman's deepest urge to create. In India, embroidery has reached high levels of sophistication. The stitches and motifs used are challenging even to the most skilled needlepoint expert. However, the women who stitch the beautiful designs you see on garments, home decor, wall hangings, and other such Indian items, have made it a part of their daily lives. The gorgeous embroidery is the natural expression of their creativity, with beautiful results.

Embroidery in India is centuries old. In the olden days, wearing beautifully embroidered clothes was the privilege of the maharajas and emperors. Gold, pearls and precious stones used in the embroidery was a sign of wealth and prestige. When these expensive materials were substituted by glass beads, wires, and mirrors, the common person also got access to the wondrous effects of embroidered clothes. Even today, we find these common materials- beads, wires, mirrors- used in imaginative ways throughout Indian embroidery with spectacular effects.

Because India is so large and diverse, embroidery has a distinct look and technique in every region. Each region uses different motifs, different materials and different stitches. However, in all needlework in India, the needle is pulled away from the worker.

Each Region has its own style of Embroidery

In Bengal, the kantha stitch is a close darning stitch done in white thread. It depicts life on the move: folk stories, dancers, temples, deities, and animals. Because it originated in Bengal which is a coastal state in eastern India, the fish and the lotus are popular motifs in this style of embroidery. No two designs are ever alike for each embroidery artist fiercely tries to create her own unique pattern and not imitate others. Kantha saris, quilts, handkerchiefs, and pillow covers are popular. Check out the kantha stitch on these wall hangings and cushion covers.

The Banjara tribes of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh have their own style of embroidery as well. They use a lot of glass or mica or mirrors, which are thought to frighten away evil spirits who are afraid of their own images. Bright colors and beautiful stitches around the mirrors are characteristic of this style of embroidery. Beads and shells are also commonly used. Stitching mirrors, beads and shells into place requires complicated needle work, which the tribal women are skilled at doing. Purses, wall hangings and clothes are commonly embroidered in this way

The embroidery of Gujarat and Rajasthan is the richest in design, stitch, and bright color combinations. The women of these dry areas make up for the lack of color and vegetation around them by embroidering a garden of colors and designs! Legend goes that, in Gujarat, the god Krishna freed thousands of women by killing an evil demon. These women hailed from different parts of the country and brought with them different kinds of needlecraft. This is why this region has the widest variety of embroidery styles.

Kutch embroidery especially flourished under the patronage of the princely state. Here, embroidered items were traditionally given as dowry for a girl's wedding. The techniques of embroidery are handed down from mother to daughter. A massive earthquake in 2000 destroyed the Kutch region. Embroidery from this part of India is now very difficult to find. Indian brings you embroidery from Kutch, such as exclusive wall hangings embroidered with care and talent.

Embroidery and applique are often used together as well. In the craft of applique, bits of material are joined together to produce stunning effects. Indian craftspeople use remnants of colourful saris and spare cloth for their applique. Torans or door hanging fringes are some of the most elaborate embroidered and applique items available in India. They are hung in every Indian home for a warm welcome.

In Karnataka, kasuti embroidery draws inspiration from the surrounding architecture. The designs are like the domes of the temples, called "gopura". Animals are also popular motifs, including peacocks and, of course, the Indian elephant.

The Kashmir valley, now a war torn region, used to be a natural paradise. Full of flowers and maple trees, this northern region of India has some of the most exquisite craft work. Check out the floral embroidery from Kashmir on these bed sheets. Shawls are the most popular embroidered item in cool Kashmir. Some are embroidered with such skill that the pattern appears perfectly on both sides of the shawl. These are called "dorakkhas".

Punjab is famous for its phulkari work in floral patterns. This is a rich and colourful craft associated with the Jat tribe of Punjab. The phulkari veil is the prised possession of the village girl who wore it as a part of her wedding trousseau. It would traditionally be made by her mother, with love and affection. Bed covers, robes, stoles and wall hangings are embroidered in this style, especially in red, maroon and navy blue.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Chikan embroidery is said to have been introduced by Noor Jahan, the Mughal queen. Some of the patterns are believed to actually be her own! It is a dignified, subtle and feminine style of embroidery, difficult to do and attractive to wear. The grace and sophistication of chikan is unmatched in any other style of embroidery. It is best done on fine muslin cloth. Scrolling leaf and vine patterns are popular, as are paisley designs