How to pull off a Kanjivaram Saree in your style!
Growing up, you must’ve come across your grandmom or mom effortlessly pulling off a Kanjivaram Pattu Saree and wondered how they go about selecting the colour, blouse, accessories, and to how they drape it for every occasion. Wearing a Kanjivaram Saree can be quite tricky, but when you do get it right, there’s no other outfit which makes you look as elegant and ravishing as a Kanjivaram Saree.
To start off, there are a few basic things you should keep in mind, which are:
Design
The kind of an occasion is directly reflected based on the intricacy of designs or grandeur of your look. Especially for Kanjivarams, as they are known for checks, stripes and nature-inspired motifs like flowers, leaves and fauna, traditional designs include “Annapakshi”, “Rudraksham”, and “Gopuram” which stand out more than other contemporary designs. Broad, heavily designed borders and Checks usually compliment tall and lean body frames.
Colour
Kanjivaram Sarees come in all colour combinations nowadays but the traditional ones usually are bright yellows & reds, oranges & blues, greens and reds, etc with broad borders. Now while choosing a colour combination, one thing to keep in mind is that bright colours attracts the eye but also tend to make your silhouette more prominent. On the other hand, what you wear reflects your personality. So if you think you’re a happy go lucky person, don’t think twice with your bright yellows!
Blouse type
A saree and its blouse have to go hand in hand because a bad blouse can wreck the beauty of the saree as well. You can get experimental with your blouse pattern and the fabric but make sure it coordinates well with your saree too. There needs to be a balance in your entire look so, if you're wearing a broad bordered Kanjivaram, go simple on your blouse unless you’re going for an over-the-top or extravagant look for a wedding. Sleeve length- Anything below your elbow makes you look older and sophisticated, and shorter the sleeve is, more playful you appear. The contrast colour is known to be big hits, but the same colour adds a lot of class and elegance to your look.
Styling
Draping a Kanjivaram saree is comparatively trickier than draping a cotton saree as silk exhibits a few stiff properties. Decide if you want to go for the traditional south Indian style of draping or if you’d like to experiment with your drapes. One of the most common things which people tend to overlook is the constant dilemma to pin up your pleats, or colloquially known as ‘mundanai’, while you can let it loose, if you're conscious of your curves but on the flip side it tends to make you appear bulky which might work out for a skinnier body frame. Accessorize it with a bindi, heavy kajal-ed eyes, some good old traditional temple/antique jewellery from your grandma’s vanity, and mallipoo to complete the entire look!
Most importantly, wear your best accessory, your smile!
Do let us know how you pulled off your Kanjivaram Saree by tagging us!