Bringing back the days of yore !

Bollywood ( Nickname for the Indian Film Industry)is rocking the churidar-kurta look this season.
Last year, it was all about saris with sexy halter necks or sleeveless blouses. This year, the 50's and 60's came calling and it's the elegant and ethnic looking churidars teamed with flared kurtas.


If this sounds Greek to you, you are not alone. Mostly it's only Indians and Pakistanis that would know what a churidaar kurta is. The sari? That's an altogether different topic. Everyone today, all over the world, knows what a Sari is. That beautiful 6 yards of fabric that can be draped around so cleverly on a woman, making any plain Jane look like a sultry siren. Practically that's what a Sari really is, don't we agree?



But today we are talking about one of its equally charming cousins- the churidaar kurta.
There are plenty of types we could discuss. The long A-line kurtas, the short fitted kurtas worn with loose (patiala) salwars and the long flared kurtas( the kalidaar ones) worn with tightly cinched at the ankle pants (the churidar)
For some time now, the salwar kameez and churidar kurta has been replaced by what can be typically called fusion wear. We have witnessed a resurgence of short kurtas worn with loose trousers, even among older women and those with not-so-perfect bodies. The tunic-like kurtas are a rage on runways.
Which is all very good, but the same fact also makes it a welcome and very refreshing change to see something totally very Indian in origin, made popular by celebrities, socialites and models.



Celebrities and fashion shows in India have been lapping up the Kalidar, Mughal and Anarkali style kurtas for a couple of months now and we are absolutely loving it.

I promptly sent some pictures that I found on the internet to my mum in Bombay asking her to find someone to stitch one of those for me when I visit. She said the stores are overflowing with these styles and it's easier than ever to go pick ready-to-wear sets rather than to wreck your brains over getting them stitched by your local tailor.

You see, the kalidar kurta is not an easy to cut and stitch kind of a garment. Only experts would know which panel goes where, the symmetry needs to be maintained and unfortunately it's something that can easily be messed up. The worst part being, you need yards and yards of fabric to get one complete outfit and hence if it's ruined, there goes your fabric too!



The authentic kalidar kurta is supposed to have at least 10-12 kalis or panels sewn into the waist to widen the flare. There are of course many versions of these available that manage to make them without panels. The sleeves are usually longer than full-length and tight, to allow cinching along the wrist, though I personally like them with shorter/cap sleeves. This style of kurta is generally worn with a regular tight churidaar in order to balance the wide-flare top.
The best part about this look is that it can be worn with all kinds of figures.



For those of us who can no longer wait to lay our hands on one of these, check out some excellent designs on www.utsavsarees.com