Color Makes Life Magical

I am very luck to describe the color theory of my theme, its natural, simple, organic and rich. When we look at a apparel, we "taste" with our eyes. Color is the visual pallet and first impression that "sets the attire" for other sensory experiences.
Color with Confidence -- Kayaani's wide array of natural colors, cream, peacock turquoise, fascia, rust yellow, maroon, leaf green  along with our base natural brown (chocolate).

SAARI

A sari or saree is a strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles.It is popular in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Burma, and Malaysia. The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with one end then draped over the shoulder baring the midriff.

The sari is usually worn over a petticoat, with a blouse known as a choli or ravika forming the upper garment. The choli has short sleeves and a low neck and is usually cropped, and as such is particularly well-suited for wear in the sultry South Asian summers. Cholis may be backless or of a halter neck style. These are usually more dressy with plenty of embellishments such as mirrors or embroidery, and may be worn on special occasions. Women in the armed forces, when wearing a sari uniform, don a short-sleeved shirt tucked in at the waist. The sari developed as a garment of its own in bothSouth and North India at around the same time, and is in popular culture an epitome of Indian culture.

The word sari is derived from Sanskrit शाटी śāṭī which means 'strip of cloth'. This became शाडी śāḍī or साडी sāḍī in Prakrit, and then sāṛī in Hindi.

In the history of Indian clothing the sari is traced back to the Indus Valley Civilisation, which flourished during 2800-1800 BCE around the western part of the Indian subcontinent. The earliest known depiction of the sari in the Indian subcontinent is the statue of an Indus Valley priest wearing a drape.

Ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silappadhikaram and the Kadambari by Banabhatta, describes women in exquisite drapery or sari.In ancient Indian tradition and 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 midriff is to be left bare by the sari.

Sculptures from the Gandhara, Mathura and Gupta schools (1st-6th century AD) 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. The two-piece Kerala mundum neryathum (mundu, a dhoti or sarong, neryath, a shawl, in Malayalam) is a survival of ancient Indian clothing styles. 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 Victorian ideas of modesty. Previously, women only wore 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.

In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, it is indeed documented that women from many communities wore only the sari and exposed the upper part of the body till the 20th century.Poetic references from works like Silappadikaram indicate that during the sangam period in ancient Tamil Nadu, a single piece of clothing served as both lower garment and head covering, leaving the bosom and midriff completely uncovered. In Kerala there are many references to women being bare-breasted, including many pictures by Raja Ravi Varma. Even today, women in some rural areas do not wear cholis.

Saris are woven with one plain end (the end that is concealed inside the wrap), two long decorative borders running the length of the sari, and a one to three foot section at the other end which continues and elaborates the length-wise decoration. This end is called the pallu; it is the part thrown over the shoulder in the nivi style of draping.

In past times, saris were woven of silk or cotton. The rich could afford finely-woven, diaphanous silk saris that, according to folklore, could be passed through afinger ring. The poor wore coarsely woven cotton saris. All saris were handwoven and represented a considerable investment of time or money.

Simple hand-woven villagers' saris are often decorated with checks or stripes woven into the cloth. Inexpensive saris were also decorated with block printingusing carved wooden blocks and vegetable dyes, or tie-dyeing, known in India as bhandani work.

More expensive saris had elaborate geometric, floral, or figurative ornaments or brocades 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 bhuttis (spellings vary). For fancy saris, these patterns could be woven with gold or silver thread, which is called zari work.

Sometimes the saris were further decorated, after weaving, with various sorts of embroidery. Resham work is embroidery done with colored silk thread. Zardoziembroidery uses gold and silver thread, and sometimes pearls and precious stones. Cheap modern versions of zardozi use synthetic metallic thread andimitation stones, such as fake pearls and Swarovski crystals.

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. Thepunchra 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.

Lucknow Chikan Embroidery

THE ART OF CHIKANKARI

Chikankari is a fine and intricate shadow-work type of embroidery done by white yarn on colourless muslins called tanzeb (tan meaning body and zeb meaning decoration). The word ‘chikan’ according to one school of thought appears to have had its origin in Persia, being derivative of chakin or chakeen. Indian women wear chikan sareesor aunty saree at all occasions these sarees are available at different colors and designs.it is also known as chikan lucknowi sarees. It may also be a distorted form of the work chikeen or siquin, a coin valued at Rs. 4 for which the embroidery was sold. Another explanation ascribes its origin to East Bengal where the word chikan meant ‘fine’.

Kayaani is one of the best shop where you can find exclusive collection of lucknowi chikan outfits, chikan lucknowi sarees for aunty, chikan suits for modern generation for online shopping.

The earliest reference in literature to chikan dates back to the 3rd century B.C. In his records Megasthenes, a Greek traveller, had mentioned the use of flowered muslins by the Indians.

Stitches :
Stitching on chikan saris are great and can be divided into three categories: Flat stitches, which are delicate and subtle and lie close to the surface of the fabric giving it a distinctive textural appearance; Embossed stitches which are highlighted from the fabric surface lending it a characteristic grainy texture and Jali work which is the most striking feature of chikan embroidery and which creates a delicate net effect. The fabric is broken into holes by ‘teasing’ the warp and weft yarns and holding them in position by small stitches.

ABOUT CHIKAN EMBROIDERY :
Chikan has a certain grace and elegance, which ensures that it never goes out of style the embroidery on chikan saris made them special saris for everyone. If you wear Chikan you really are wearing a piece of history, as it is a form of embroidery that has been art part of India for centuries, it is said to have been originally introduced by Nur Jahan, the beautiful wife of the Mughal emperor, Jahangir. It has since evolved and attained its glory and perfection in Lucknow. Chikan Embroidery is a form of hand embroidery with patterns of different designs stitched using untwisted white cotton or silk (or rayon)threads on the surface of the fabric. In Chikan work, there is a fixed repertoire of stitches and it is usual for several types of stitched to appear on the same piece of embroidery (thereby enhancing it's intricacy and beauty). The different types of Chikan work done on ethnic sarees are Taipchi, Bakhia, Phunda, Murri, Jaali, Hathkati, Pechni, Ghas Patti, Chaana Patti etc.

Chikan embroidery is a very laborious and time consuming task (The craftsmen are trained for 15 to 20 years and sometimes it takes 10 to 15 days to make an outfit with hand embroidery as they fill in the designs with threads with detail work). This is why Chikan is so expensive as compared to machine embroidery. But it is worth it as you really do feel like a queen when you wear it - a Chikan suit is a regal treasure in any fashion connoisseur's wardrobe! Really, the great thing about this form of embroidery is that it never goes out of fashion and it suits women of all ages. If you are going to invest in a few pairs of elegant wear, try adding chikan to your wardrobe. And before the men (in your heart and home) start feeling left out, they too can wear this form of embroidery - get a Chikan shirt for them!


HOW IS A CHIKAN SAREES CREATED?

The chikan industry has five main processes namely cutting, stitching, printing, embroidery, washing, and finishing.

Cutting is carried out in the lots of 20-50 garments. The layouts are done to minimize wastage of materials.

Then comes stitching. Stitching may be ‘civil’, done exclusively for higher priced export orders or ‘commercial’, which is done for cheaper goods.

Printing is carried out by the use of wooden blocks dipped in dyes like neel and safeda (which are washed out after the embroidery has been done).

After this, the fabric is embroidered by women - It takes an artisan at least 4 to 5 days to embroider a FashionTemptations chikan ensemble (Each piece has to be completed by one artisan as the handiwork of each artisan differs). Only those with artistic and nimble handiwork can master the art of chikan sarees.
The last process, which is washing and finishing, includes bleaching, acid treatment, stiffening, and ironing. The most common motif used is that of a creeper. Individual floral motifs may embellish the entire garment or just one corner. Among the floral motifs embroidered, the jasmine, rose, flowering stems, lotus and the paisley motif are the most popular.

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fashion and us

Can there be in the world a more sorrowful spectacle than last year's dress? Sometimes the brilliant colors are gone, and it looks dull and ugly; entirely unfit, we think, at the first glance, for even ordinary wear; but we had calculated that it should answer for this season, and second thoughts lead us to decide how we can best make it look as good, if not better, than new. We will first examine the skirt of our dress and see what it needs. Did we say "what it needs"? At first glance it looks as if everything was needed, but by systematizing the needs, we will find that our task is not as herculean as a first glance leads us to imagine. The edge of the skirt is frayed, worn and faded, and having no goods of the same kind, we must use something else to freshen it up; cut off the defaced part and finish around the edge; then put a narrow ruffle of contrasting color around so that it falls under the dress proper. If the drapery is scant or oldfashioned, use some of the same material to mix in with it, or, better still, put plaited panels down the sides of it , and drape the skirt more bouffante than it was; this will make the dress look entirely different from last season. If the material can be turned (having the same surface on both sides) it will repay to carefully rip up and make over with the different material as we have suggested.

Maansoon Extravaganza

On 9th July, in the heart of New Delhi, newly founded organisation Kayaani joins forces with Courvoisier’s two-week maansoon extravaganza to present The Big fashion consultancy, a pop-up urban and rural fashion farm that invites you to treat yourself better.

Over the weekend, Kayaani home at The Future Gallery will be transformed into an experiential treatment room with radical exhibitions and installations to stimulate the mind, body and soul. Working with a host of fashion conscious enterprises, The Big Treat presents a kaleidoscope of revolutionary approaches to give you your 5-a-day for the mind. In the words of fellow Kayaani writer, Naren, ‘From little design detail grow on visual surface ornamentation in design core.’
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