10 Reasons Why Salwar Suits Are Every Woman’s Wardrobe Essential?
21 August 2023What is Lehenga Choli? What is Ghagra Choli?
Lehenga Choli also called Ghagra choli is a kind of ethnic dress for ladies from the Indian Subcontinent, eminently in the Indian territories of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, as well as in the Pakistani regions of Punjab and Sindh. Lehenga is a three-pieces dress comprises of the lehenga (the bottom)- a long lower leg length skirt, the Choli- the top, a well-fitted blouse, and the dupatta- a scarf to wrap around the outfit.
Young Girls and Ladies of all classes and ages love to decorate their wonderful bodies with gorgeous Lehenga dresses. The style, patterns, colors and designs of Lehenga varies as per the occasion, for example during marriage, women go ahead with the bridal lehengas which may be of red colors, many women like green and yellow. During festival, they may like different patterns and colors or design. Even for party, they may wear sensual lehenga. So, it depends on person to person and the mood.
In this post you will know about the history, definition, styles, patterns and also when to wear and how to wear it.
What is the history of lehenga choli?
Historically, the gagra choli evolved from the three-piece attire worn by women in Indus Valley ancient India. The attire consisted of the antriya lower garment, the uttariya veil worn over shoulder or head and stanapatta a chest-band, which finds mentioned in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist Pali literature during the 6th century B.C. (Wikipedia).
How lehenga choli's were made?
Until the early 20th century, women irrespective of class largely wore Gagras which reached down to ankles, especially in the Hindi belt. This was largely due to jeweled toes indicating the marital status of women, as both married and unmarried women observed the ghoonghat veil. Gagras were made out of two to three layers of coarse khadi fabric which created large flared look and remained largely plain but were decorated with gota and badla embroidery on special occasions. Most commonly used dyes were indigo, lac and turmeric. This style can still be seen in rural areas of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar & Madhya Pradesh particularly during folk festivals.
The lehenga choli is the favorite female apparel worn during festivals, weddings or special events in India. This is due to traditions as well as of the fact that it is available in a number of fabrics with many different decorative choices. Traditionally the sari and the lehenga choli are the most popular garments for the bride in India. This is a common bridal attire mostly in North India and is also the traditional wear of Garbha festival in Gujarat.
How to choose a lehenga choli?
Before you buy a lehenga choli, you need to keep these five important points:
- Determine your body shape. Every one is a different shape and size, body shapes can be determined by bust, waist, and hip measurements. Check the measurement chart.
- Check the Occasion, accordingly you can select the color, style.
- Decide the Types of Lehenga Choli you want? Below you would see different types of lehenga choli.
- Decide the Fabric you want for your lehenga
- Decide the Budget. Price of Lehenga choli can vary from market to market and as per the design, styles, work done like embroidery, can-can, material used, etc.
What are types of lehenga choli?
There are various types of Lehenga choli. Nonetheless, the three most common types are:
- Normal Lehenga Choli.
- Sharara type Lehenga Chole- include a kurta, dupatta, and a long skirt that is fitted till the knee length, then frills like a skirt
- Lacha type Lehenga: Main variable is its blouse that’s often designed to go down to the knees.