In my last article I recited about Muslim wedding dresses. We tried to catch the Islam stile and implement it on the modern bridal catwalk.
To continue the bridal topic I want acquaint you with Indian wedding dresses. They are also very peculiar and cute, perfect for girls with good fit and modern lifestyle. But firstly, some words about the main set of the Indian wedding dresses.
There are three main styles in Indian traditional bridal fashion:
  • the general sari,
   
  • the lengha choli/ghagra choli,
     
  • the salwaar kameez (a type of pant suit).
   
The first two are commonly seen in Indian weddings for traditional bridal clothing.
Traditionally Indian Bridal dresses can be made out of cotton blend, silk, satin, crepe, georgette and other luxurious materials. The fabric is usually heavily embellished with beads, rhinestones, sequins and Swarovski crystals. Thus a dress becomes really heavy!
 

Sari-Saree

The sari is the most well-known of Indian traditional clothing. In every Indian region sari has its special type of wearing. Most saris and ghagra cholis are red. But nowadays you can easily find other colors, even traditional western white and even fancy lilac.
   
Initially sari is a 5 metre-long strip of unstitched cloth. The plain end of the sari is for wrapping bride’s waist, covering the entire petticoat; the other called pallu is to be draped over the shoulders featuring designs. The complete sari getup is a 3-piece garment, as it consists of a
  • midriff-baring, tight-fitting blouse called choli or ravika,
  • a petticoat(pavada),
  • and of course the sari cloth.

Lehenga Choli-Ghagra Choli

The ghaghra choli is a set of a snug-fitting blouse and a skirt. The blouse called choli, may or may not bare the midriff. The top may come with cap or short sleeves or simply be sleeveless. Long sleeve versions are available at Indian Muslim weddings. A dupatta, which is a long scarf-shawl, usually in the same color and elaborately embellished is a common addition to the traditional ghaghra choli. The dupatta can hung on one shoulder or be worn draped across the chest.
The terms ghagra, ghaghra, gagra, ghagara, lehenga, lehanga, lahenga, lehnga, lengha, langa, chaniya, caniya mean “skirt” in Hindi and other different Indian and Pakistani dialects. You may also come across with the associated terms: sharara, lancha and garara on some Indian wedding websites.
For better understanding se the scheme below.

Salwar Kameez

Salwar kameez consists of a long, loose tunic or kameez and trousers or salvar. But this costume is less popular on weddings as a bride’s vestments.
So if you have the idea to make your wedding in an Indian style, I hope that at least you got the idea of an Indian bridal dress!
Till next article! Svagatam.