“I’m wearing a ghagra choli for my wedding.” announced one of my friends excitedly. “Isn’t that just a sari?” asked another friend. Well, no actually.
There are 3 main styles in Indian traditional fashion– the ubiquitous sari, the lengha choli/ghagra choli (commonly seen in weddings here) and the salwaar kameez (a type of pant suit). The first two are common options for Indian brides going for traditional bridal clothing.
Indian Bridal Dresses
Indian Bridal dresses can be made out of cotton blend, silk, crepe, satin, georgette and other luxurious materials. The fabric is usually heavily embellished with beads, rhinestones,sequins and Swarovski crystals (and yes, they can weigh a tonne, I had to carry one around for a friend’s wedding). Saris and ghagra cholis are commonly seen in Indian weddings here and red is the typical color of choice. Of course, this is up to the bride. My friend got married in an cream ghaghra choli with gold threads and sequins and looked positively dazzling.
Sari/Saree
The sari is the most well-known of Indian traditional clothing. I don’t think I even need to back up my statement. If you think of Indian fashion, the image of a fetching lady in a colorful saree will be one that comes to mind. The sari is a 5 metre-long strip of unstitched cloth. One end of the sari is plain and this end is for wrapping your waist, covering the entire petticoat; the other extreme called the pallu, to be draped over the shoulders features elaborate designs. The complete sari getup is a 3-piece garment consisting of a midriff-baring, tight-fitting blouse called choli or ravika, a petticoat(pavada), and of course the sari cloth. As there are many different regions in Indian, there are many ways to wear the sari cloth.
Lehenga Choli/Ghagra Choli
The ghaghra choli consist of a a snug-fitting blouse and a skirt. The blouse, or choli, may or may not bare the midriff. The top may be sleeveless or come with cap or short sleeves. Long sleeve versions are also available (I’ve seen this a couple of times at Indian Muslim weddings). A dupatta, which is a long scarf/shawl, usually in the same color (and sometimes as elaborately embelished) is a common addition to the outfit. The dupatta can be worn draped across the chest, as a shawl, or hung on one shoulder which may lead to some, like my friend, confusing the lehenga choli outfit as a sari.
In case you’re wondering, ghagra, ghaghra, gagra, ghagara, lehenga, lehanga, lahenga, lehnga, lengha, langa, chaniya, caniya are all the referring to same thing. These terms mean “skirt” in Hindi and other different Indian and Pakistani dialects. You may also see these associated terms: sharara, lancha and garara on some Indian wedding websites.
Salwar Kameez
Salwar kameez (the Malays here usually refer to them as baju Punjabi), consisting of a long, loose tunic or kameez and trousers or salvar (I guess now we know where the Malay word for pants or “seluar” comes from.) I’m not seen these worn at the Indian wedding events I’ve attended (I haven’t been to a Sikh wedding though) though a lot of wedding attendees are donned in salwaar kameez at most of these events. On a side note, many Malays in Singapore are adopting baju Punjabis as one of their baju Hari Raya (eid-ul-fitr festive clothing) the past few years. Is this trend popular in your country?
