Sarees for Women

Sarees for Women - Buy Designer Sarees Online

A saree is a single length of unstitched cloth, about six yards, wrapped and pleated rather than cut to your measurements. No fixed waist to fit into means one saree survives weight changes, a pregnancy, or two sisters of different builds. What you are really choosing is the cloth, the border and the pallu.

Our range at Shree Shivam runs from woven silk and banarasi for weddings and receptions to lighter organza, tissue, net and cotton for festive and everyday wear, with zari, thread and embroidered work across it.

What is the difference between a saree, a lehenga and a gown?

The difference is structural, not decorative. A saree is unstitched and draped, so the silhouette is made on your body and adjusts each time you wear it. A lehenga-choli is stitched — flared skirt, fitted blouse, separate dupatta — so the volume is built in and the waist is fixed. A gown is one stitched piece shaped from shoulder to hem: least fuss, least adjustment. A sharara is trouser-based, flaring from the knee, and lets you dance freely.

Silk saree, banarasi saree or cotton: which fabric should I choose?

Silk sarees

Silk has weight, and weight is what makes a saree hang in clean vertical folds instead of collapsing. It holds a pleat and takes zari well. It is warm, so it belongs to weddings and winter evenings, not a June afternoon.

Banarasi sarees

A banarasi is a silk saree woven in Varanasi: brocade patterning in zari, a dense border, an ornate pallu. The motifs are woven into the cloth rather than printed on top, so the design survives the life of the saree. That is why a banarasi gets passed to a daughter and a printed saree does not.

Georgette and crepe sarees

The fluid fabrics have little body of their own, so they trace your shape and the pleats fall narrow and soft. They resist creasing, which suits travel, and they are kinder than silk in a crowded hall.

Organza and tissue sarees

Organza is sheer and crisp; tissue carries a metallic shimmer through the weave. Both add a slight stand-away structure, but they crush more readily than silk, so they suit an evening rather than a long day.

Cotton and tussar sarees

Cotton breathes and does not cling in humidity, which is what an Indian summer or temple visit asks for. Tussar is a wild silk with a textured surface and natural gold undertone, dressy enough for a daytime function without the heat of full silk.

Which saree suits my body shape?

Three levers do the work — pleat width, pallu treatment and border weight. If you are petite, keep pleats narrow and the border slim, because a broad heavy border cuts your height. If you are tall, a wide contrast border and a heavy pallu will not overwhelm you. A fluid georgette or crepe skims rather than grips around the middle, and a pallu pinned flat draws a long vertical line. If you are slim and want presence, silk and organza add the volume fluid fabrics avoid.

Which colour saree for which function?

Colour is read as a message, not a preference. Yellow, marigold and mustard belong to a haldi, where the point is to look like sunlight. Green is the mehndi colour, and the one shade almost every skin tone wears well. For a sangeet, jewel tones carry under artificial light: wine, teal, purple, deep pink. A reception is the occasion for black, midnight blue, gold or deep maroon. For a puja, red, cream and gold sit inside tradition. For office or daytime, take the tone down: pastels, lavender, minimal shine.

How to choose a wedding saree

Work out where you sit in the day before choosing the cloth. A bride or close family member needs weight and presence, so woven silk and banarasi with zari and embroidered work earn their place. A guest wants to look considered without competing, which is where georgette, organza and lighter silks belong. A morning ceremony asks for cloth that breathes; a reception saree can afford weight. Dressing a whole family is what our wedding clothing and girls' ethnic wear ranges are for.

How to drape a saree

The nivi drape is the one most Indian women wear. Wear the petticoat and blouse first, and match the petticoat to the saree, not your skin: the wrong one shows through a sheer fabric. Tuck the plain end in at your right hip and take a full turn around the waist. Make the pleats at the front, each about a hand's width, keeping the lower edge level with the floor, then tuck them in slightly left of the navel. Bring the pallu over your left shoulder to fall to the back of the knee, then pin at shoulder and waist. Two details separate a good drape from a poor one: the lower edge level all round, the pleats all facing the same way.

The seedha pallu comes over the right shoulder and falls in front, suiting a heavily worked pallu you want on show.

How to style a saree

Let the saree lead. A heavily worked silk or banarasi wants one strong piece — a temple necklace, or jhumkas — and nothing more. A plain georgette or cotton can carry a statement neckpiece, oxidised silver or a stack of bangles. Match the metal to the zari. A heel keeps the lower edge off the ground so you do not tread on your pleats. Carry a potli or clutch; a shoulder bag drags the pallu out of place.

How to wash and store a saree

Silk, banarasi, tissue and organza should be dry-cleaned, and zari should never meet detergent or a hot iron — press on the reverse, under a cotton cloth. Cotton can be washed at home, but wash it separately at first, because deep colours bleed. Storage is where most sarees are lost: refold along different lines every few months, because a permanent crease in silk eventually cuts the fibre. Wrap silk and zari in cotton or muslin rather than polythene, which traps moisture and yellows the thread.

Buy sarees online at Shree Shivam

Shree Shivam has been an Indian ethnic and bridal wear house for over a decade, shipping free across India with seven-day returns, so a saree that does not sit right when you drape it at home can go back. If you want the occasion without the drape, our indo-western and co-ord sets cover the same events in stitched form, while kurti sets handle the everyday end.