Indian Accessories

A wedding is celebrated in all parts and cultures of the world with fun and festivity. Wedding traditions and customs are different for different cultures, religions, countries, ethnic groups and social classes. A bride is usually

donned with customary outfits followed by subsequent generations on her wedding day. As Pakistan was a part of India before 1947 the bridal costumes of various religions in these two countries are almost the same. As a multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-lingual nation, different parts of India follow different styles of wedding dresses in accordance with their traditions.
Sari, the national dress of Indian women, is worn by most of the Hindu brides as their wedding costume. South Indian brides generally wear very expensive Kanjeevaram silk saris with elaborate zari works while their North Indian counter parts go for too costly Banarasi silk or some other richly embroidered and stone-studded expensive saris. Usually bridal saris come in popular traditional colors like maroon, magenta, pink and red.
In some parts of North India brides wear “Ghagra Choli as their wedding attire. Ghagra choli is available in three pieces, a long skirt, a short top choli/blouse and a long scarf known as “dupatta” to drape over the shoulders. In Punjab and Haryana this outfit is known as “Lehenga Choli”. The bridal ghagra choli is usually found in the popular traditional colors of maroon, burgundy, pink, red or wine red. In addition to the lehenga choli, Punjabi brides prefer to wear salwar-kameez, popularly called Punjabi Suits. You can see the dominance of red shades in the Punjabi bridal dresses. These bridal dresses are made up of costly silk or some superior variety of fabrics.
Lehanga or ghagra cholis are very much favored by Pakistani brides whereas Pakistani Punjabi brides’ choice goes with Punjabi suit. But some of the conservative Muslim brides in Pakistani Punjab do wear ‘burkahs’ or purdah instead of dupatta. Kurti is another costume worn by some Pakistani brides. Kurti, worn by women in North India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, is a traditional piece of attire, similar to male kurta. Traditional Pakistani brides hide their face with a veil while North Indian brides cover their head with dupatta or an end of the sari and the South Indians leave their head and face uncovered.
Both Indian and Pakistani bridal costumes are adorned with magnificent embroidery works at neckline and front hems. Some bridal dresses have even rich embroidery works done with gold or silver threads. These dresses are sometimes embellished with embroidery using colored beads and glittering stones or mirrors. Above all, certain well-to-do families in India and Pakistan use expensive jewelry in the making of bridal costumes.

A South Indian woman’s passion with silk saris cannot be described in mere words. In this modern world where drastic changes have taken place in every walk of life, a South Indian bride still sticks to wear a traditional silk sari on her wedding day.

With the passage of each year, you can see definite changes in the sari designs as well. There exists literally a war among the South Indian retailers in bringing out innovations in silk saris to attract women. It is very interesting to know about the latest silk saris with remarkable innovations introduced quite recently.
The sari-shirt combo is one of the latest varieties of silk sari recently launched in Tamil Nadu, South India. This sari-shirt combination, known as Jodi Pattu, has a designed sari and a matching shirt piece intended for the lady’s husband. The sari and the shirt are woven in pure handloom silk. The pallu has a beautiful embroidery work that is found on the shirt piece too.
The concept of the color changing sari is that when the lady wearing the sari comes out of her house you can see a change in the color of the sari. This color change happens when the sari is exposed to sunlight. The retailer of such saris claims that it is the first time that color changing saris have been developed in the world,
Another innovation, known as The Durbar Krishna sari, carries a famous picture of Lord Krishna in the pallu embellished with swarowski crystals. This picture of Lord Krishna is believed to shower good luck to the wearer.
A marvelous innovative concept is the zip-n-wear sari, a sari designed with four different matching pallus. All the pallus have attached zips with which the wearer can detach one pallu very easily and attach another one within seconds. Never heard or seen before. This reversible sari with four attractive pallus and two different body colors could be worn in four different ways. No doubt, this creative and stylish design must have attracted every one.
The latest innovations include a silk sari with a pocket that can hold a mobile phone or other small articles just like a pant pocket.
A new type of sari recently introduced called the Landscape Sari is made up of pure silk and the pallu has the design of a beautiful landscape from a rural area woven into it. The Denim sari, woven in pure silk has the look of denim, but retains the soft feel the unique quality of silk. Vastrakala pattu, a new variety, contains North Indian art works done in the traditional South Indian Kanjeevaram silk saris.
Look, there is no limit for man’s creative powers; he has created wonders even in a simple 5 meter stretch of silk cloth using his innovative skills.

Recent years have seen certain changes in the traditional concept of Indian wedding jewelry. Still there is no Indian wedding without any jewelry. Women are very passionate about their jewelry, especially at her wedding time.

With the passage of time and the changes in the social and economical status the Indian woman has made definite changes in the choice of her jewelry, the changes in the type of material used or design. Today’s ornaments have more diamonds or other precious gemstones and the modern woman prefers jewelry to be worn as fashion statements every day. Indian women have more exposure as more and more are taking up a career today and they enjoy economical freedom. Moreover intercaste marriages are becoming very common. All these factors might have contributed to the shift in the concept of wedding jewelry.
These days in addition to the tali traditional wedding jewelry package includes six pieces of bangles, two rings and a diamond earring. Gold continues to be the most in demand despite its spiraling prices. At the same time many people have a choice with the white gold too. It is possible now to make a wedding package using around 15-20 grams of 22 carat gold. The modern bride finds fancy with the sparkling bracelets with decorative gemstones in the place of traditional bangles. As far as Tali is concerned most women prefer it to be in the traditional type
According to jewelry designers as long as people can afford they will go only for gold. At present people are too much fascinated by the different hues of gold, such as white gold, pink gold and no need to mention the familiar yellow gold. Today’s fashion conscious women like to go with the latest trends. So they have no hesitation in experimenting with new trends like combination jewelry consisting of two different shades of gold having gemstones studded in them. Such fashion statements become instant hit with the modern ladies. This enables the wearer to mix and match it with various kinds of dresses. The popularity of the gem diamond is also on the ascent and white gold bangles adorned with diamonds have become every one’s favorite. You can discern rising popularity even in the costly platinum jewelry.
But when it comes to designs majority of the people prefer the traditional designs, no matter if it is antique, temple or Kerala, with slight modifications here and there. Especially for Indians residing in other countries this offers them an opportunity to preserve and present their cultural heritage. Any how Indian bride’s option for her wedding jewelry makes definite deviations from the traditional jewelry. The latest trend indicates that the women go for contemporary designs that have an international appeal rather than buying heavy and chunky jewelry that will lie in the locker safely most of the time. Instead they want their jewelry to be more accessorized with their wardrobe.

Rajasthan state could be termed as a Shopper’s Paradise more than any other Indian state because it still continues to use its very old techniques and skills in the traditional craft to create some of the most gorgeous and exciting products in the world,

to name some Tie and dye fabrics in radiant colors, fine block printed textiles, beautifully carved wood and ivory items, lacquer and filigree work, precious stones that are delicately cut, exquisitely enameled silver Victorian jewelry etc.

Particularly Rajasthani jewelry is very famous for its craftsmanship and designs. Jaipur meenakari, a very special work done with colored glass has world wide popularity. Rajasthani crafters work on silver skillfully to make enchanting ornaments embellished with various multi-colored stones and beads and women love to wear these beautiful pieces. These are ideal options for affordable gift shoppers.

In the field of sterling silver also, Rajasthanis have established themselves substantially in the manufacturing and exporting of eye-catching jewelry blended with traditional and rich cultural heritage. They offer superior quality products with innovative designs and exquisite craftsmanship.

Thewa Jewelry is a unique type of jewelry originated in the state Rajasthan in 1767 under the patronage of Maharawat Samant Singh. Theva locally means “setting”. Theva is a traditional art that requires great skill. It involves fusion of 24kt gold with multicolored glass. Pure gold sheets are fitted in a bed of resin and then the whole design is pierced on the gold sheet. The finished sheet known as the Theva Ki Patti is slowly and carefully taken out and is placed on the colored glass base. This unit gets fused when heated on in open crucible. Each unit has a flat piece of red, green or blue glass usually depicting ruby, sapphire or emerald. The colored glass is given a special treatment to produce more glitter to highlight the gold jewelry. The Theva jewelry with its breathtaking intricate designs and the raging colors enjoys a worldwide appeal and popularity.

Beaded silver jewelry of Rajasthan can satisfy those who look for something trendy and colorful as various colored gemstone beads are used to embellish this type of jewelry. This beaded jewelry is available in ethnic and traditional designs and also in a variety of shapes and colors. You can design your own beaded jewelry by selecting your favorite beads of gemstones of desired shape and color as semi-precious stones are available in all possible colors.

It is only natural for a girl to dream of a fairytale wedding, perhaps the most memorable and the happiest moment in her life. The wedding day, especially in India, marks the beginning of a new life for the girl. And so she expects that moment to be perfect and grand. In India when a girl child is born her father works hard to earn enough to afford the very best for her wedding and her mother gathers jewelry, vessels and other household articles one by one to gift their daughter. Thus the parents start planning for the auspicious occasion of the girl’s marriage well in advance.

Traditional Jewelry has a very significant place in an Indian girl’s wedding. Wealthy people give very rich attractive ornaments to their daughters as gift while ordinary people give what they can afford to. Moreover the bride will be, from head to toe, adorned with various types of traditional beautiful jewelry. Jewelers, realizing the Indian family’s requirements, employ the most efficient and skilled craftsmen to produce wedding jewelry pieces and sets.

Traditional Indian wedding jewelry is made of first class quality metals. People are mostly inclined to go for gold jewelry since it has a rich and opulent appearance though very costly. However, according to latest trends, silver wedding jewelry as well as copper and white gold ornaments are becoming more and more popular among Indians due to their comparatively lower prices, especially gold-plated silver jewelry, cheaper but having the same looks and attraction of pure gold jewelry, is preferred by a lot of families. Wedding jewelry is often selected only after deciding the wedding dress, so that the jewelry can match and compliment the outfit.
Wedding jewelry embellished with Kundan work is one of the most popular traditional decorative jewelry styles. Ornaments, embedded with beautiful and radiant gemstones, are also loved deeply. Silver as well as gold and copper gemstone wedding jewelry, studded with semi-precious and precious stones are available in various colors and so they are purchased to match and highlight the colors in the wedding outfit. Ornaments, adorned with pearls and jewels having exquisite polki, meenakari work, are some other well-preferred options in wedding jewelry. The diversity in Indian jewelry is well-reflected in India’s wedding jewelry sets and individual ornaments as well.
Wedding jewelry like necklaces, pendants, earrings, bangles, bracelets, anklets, amulets, various rings for finger, nose and toe, hairpins, forehead tikka, girdles and other ornaments are often light weight and not flamboyant. Thin, delicate, light jewelry, in simpler designs and subdued colors are favored by a large section of Indians.