How To Style A Kancheepuram Saree

INTRODUCTION:

Kancheepuram sarees are known to be one of the most beautiful types of sarees that have been made in India. They have been considered to be an essential part of the Indian woman’s wardrobe for ages! 

However, times have changed and there aren’t always grand events where you can traditionally wear your kancheepuram silk. What’s more, your saree can’t be kept hidden away in your closet waiting for those rare occasions - it is far too beautiful for that!

So, let’s go through all the ways you can style your kancheepuram saree so that you can wear it to a wide variety of events, and what’s more, let’s ensure you won’t look overdressed or out of place while still showing off the beauty of the piece.

Some of the different aspects you can change:

You might think changing things up when wearing a Kancheepuram saree is a herculean task, especially since it’s such a traditional piece of clothing. Well, we’re here to tell you there are quite a lot of ways in which you can adapt this timeless beauty, and change your look to match your style! Let’s go through some of them.

• Draping: 

This is perhaps the most obvious way in which you change the style of your saree. There are many different methods you can use to drape your saree, and each of them has its own appeal. 

The first is the simple traditional way, of course! You start by making the pleats for the pallu and then working your way down to the pleats on the lower half of your body. This method gives a very uniform and elegant silhouette to you as it conforms to your body in a not-so-obvious, yet flattering way. 

 

The next method would be to simply leave the pallu open instead of pleating it. Such a small change might not seem like it would make that big of a difference, but it absolutely does! Of course, you will have to be very careful when wearing the saree this way but this allows you to showcase the intricacy and beauty of the design in the best possible way.

You could also do the next best thing and wear the saree with a long pleated pallu. This method is quite similar to the traditional one but here, we make the pleats in the pallu go down to below the waistline before bringing it back around. This gives the saree a cowl effect which not only showcases the beauty of the pallu but also emphasizes your waist!

Of course, draping is not limited to just changing up the pallu! There are other ways of draping in which you change the way you wear the saree itself. 

You can tie it up in a dhoti style! This is one of the most comfortable ways of wearing your saree as it allows a lot of freedom of movement without actually taking anything away from its beauty.

You can also wear it as a half saree! There are quite a few ways of achieving this particular look. The first one includes pleating your saree until there is only enough left for you to be able to drape it around one shoulder in a faux lehenga style! You can also simply use the saree in such a way that it works as a skirt and add a dupatta or a shawl as a top.

If you want to be even more modern with the way the saree is draped, you can go for a pant style! As the name suggests, you will replace your petticoat with a pant and style your saree around it, leaving just enough of a gap for the pants to be seen. 

• Jewellery:

This is quite an important part of styling when it comes to wearing a Kancheepuram saree. The set of jewellery you wear sets the atmosphere for your ensemble. 

The most traditional pairing of jewellery with this saree is with temple gold jewellery. This is also the most common pairing as this is what brides wear before they are to be wedded. Additionally, they are worn as a symbol of eternity for the brides. 

However, say you are going to an event that is a bit less formal. You can swap out the temple gold set for some pearls! While the pearls are a huge dress down from the temple jewellery, they are sure to give you an aura of elegance and royalty, all without trying too hard. 

You can dress this down further still by switching the pearls for a contemporary pair of earrings and necklace, and even round it all off with a simple strand of a bracelet, which will have you looking chic and ready for a dinner out with family or friends.

If you want to keep up with the latest fashion trends, then you absolutely have to try wearing the saree with a silver jewellery set! This has come into popularity after people have said that wearing gold and pearls is a bit much, especially for some of the more casual events. And a lot of people don’t typically have such grand sets of jewellery. So, they have come up with this solution of simply wearing silver instead! It works extremely well as it suits a lot of the different types of sarees. 

 

• Blouse:

Much like jewellery, the blouse helps set the tone for the saree. Since there are so many new types of blouses, it might be difficult to find what would suit your kancheepuram saree best and for what event. Let’s help you with that!

If the event is an extremely formal one or if you want the focus to be on the saree, it would be best to pair the saree with the traditional blouse it comes with. This is because the material for the blouse would have been made with the intention of showcasing the saree in the best way. 

However, if you are not satisfied with the way the saree alone, you can always wear an embroidered blouse! It is one of the easiest ways to spice up your outfit without adding anything extra. 

Yet another type of blouse that would give your saree a wow factor would be a jacket blouse! As the name suggests, these blouses are literally jackets so they give your outfit an edge. You can also take it a step further by making the blouse in a contrasting colour. 

Of course, you can also experiment with parts of the blouse, mainly the sleeves. There are so many different ways in which you can stitch the sleeves of your blouse to give it a new look. For example, you could have off-shoulder sleeves, noodle sleeves, or even add tassels to your sleeves! All these work in the way of making your blouse look more extraordinary!

Crop tops have slowly started making their way into everyone’s wardrobe. And they are really useful as a blouse. Say you have an event coming up and you don’t have a blouse ready. And it will take far too long to have it stitched. You can just wear a crop top instead! It is becoming a fashion trend to wear these tops instead of the more traditional blouses as it is much more convenient to procure and there is quite a variety. You can wear the same saree with different crop tops and each one will have a different vibe!

• Hair & Makeup:

Makeup could play quite an important role in deciding whether to dress up or dress down a saree.

A full beat of makeup would be best suited for formal events where you will be dressing up due to the occasion. But for something more informal like perhaps a dinner party, you could go lighter and simply highlight your eyes and put on some lipstick. 

Now, your look doesn’t end with just the makeup! You also experiment with different hair styles as this just adds to the beauty of your makeup. There are various styles you can choose from and each of them makes your look have different sorts of vibes. An elegant bun would suit a lot of the more formal looks. You could leave it free or tie it up in a half-up-half-down style for a more casual look. For extremely formal events, you could have it professionally styled!

• Accessorize:

This is something a lot of people forget about when it comes to wearing sarees but this is such an interesting and easy way of sprucing up your outfit and it can absolutely add to the vibe you want to go for!

For example, you could wear a belt with your saree! This is the latest fashion trend as people have started to try and modernize traditional looks. But if you want to keep to a traditional look, you can always wear a kamar bandh which will keep the traditional vibe while also emphasizing the waist.

Maybe you don’t like belts. That’s fine! You can simply add some flowers to your hair! A string of flowers you can either weave into your hair or simply pin would work just as well. It will give your look an added scent, especially if you use jasmine.

People tend to forget about this but watches can also make a difference in the way your look comes together. You can match your watch to your jewellery or you could match your watch to the colour of your saree. You could also wear a smartwatch if you have modernized your whole fit!

Hopefully, with the help of this article, you will have some idea of how you can change the way you look with just one saree. However, it is also important to know what are the things you should avoid and what are the limits of what you can change. Let’s take a closer look at this. 

THINGS YOU SHOULD BE CAREFUL OF:

We have gone through the various ways in which you can add to your look when wearing a Kancheepuram saree and how you can complement it in the best of ways. But there is always scope for mistakes, so let’s go through some of the more common mistakes made when wearing these sarees:

• Too much jewellery - 

It is very easy to keep layering on too many chains or bangles to the point that they are either overshadowing the rest of your look or do not fit the vibe of the event you are going for. 

• The wrong type of draping - 

When it comes to draping, it is important to keep your body type in mind. It is easy to choose a style of draping but it should be done with the intent that it suits your body type without making it look unflattering. 

• Not dressing for the occasion -

The Kancheepuram saree is an extremely regal and elegant saree all by itself. While it might be hard to dress it down, it is even worse if you go to an event and do not fit in. It could be quite an embarrassing thing. 

CONCLUSION:

And there you have it! Hopefully, this blog helped you realise that Kancheepuram sarees are worth the investment and the care you will need to lavish on them. There are so many ways in which you can change the way your saree is worn and how it looks so that you will be able to show off your Kancheepuram silk no matter what the event is!

These methods are not limited to only Kancheepuram silks, however. They can be used for any sort of silk saree. Don’t believe us? Take a look at our collections and see for yourself! Give yourself a treat and shop online at Anya today!