A Youtube presentation of sampling of Dulhan kA Jo'Ra
About the Choli and the Lehnga:
A choli is a midriff-baring blouse worn in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh.
The choli is tailored to be body tight and has short sleeves and a low neck line. It is also usually cropped, allowing exposure of the navel; the cropped design is particularly well-suited for wear in the sultry South Asian summers. Cut-out backs and front-opening buttons are additional contemporary designs.
Saris are often woven with an extra length of material meant to be cut off and fashioned into a matching choli. The choli may be sewn so that the elaborately woven borders of the sari material form the bottom edges of the choli sleeves. However the choli need not match the sari. There is a growing trend towards stretchy comfortable choli’s made from knit materials.
Some women in the rural areas may also wear the choli with a gypsy skirt, or lehnga. Their cholis are often loosely fitted and heavily ornamented with embroidery and sheesha embroidery – the latter uses very small mirrors sewn into the dress making the clothes shimmer with the light.
When wearing a semi-transparent kameez women usually wear a sleeveless choli as an undergarment similar to a camisole.
A lehenga is a skirt worn with a choli, also called a gypsy skirt or gopi skirt. The lehenga has become stereo-typed with women from Gujarat and Rajasthan provinces however the lehenga is native to several other parts of the sub-continent as well.
For this reason the lehenga is worn in different styles made of different fabrics and includes unique designs in different parts of the subcontinent.
The lehenga of Rajasthan and Gujarat is known for its bandhni work which is a technique in tie-dye mastered by Hindu women of the region. In the Southern states of India, the lehenga skirt is not as voluminous and is worn without a chunni/chunri but with a kurti that covers the midriff. The lehenga worn in the Northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarkhand has a voluminous skirt and kurti/choli that covers midriff with a long chunni.
To see some samples click here:
For the same reasons mentioned in "its all about the Dress", the other important members of the retinue also have to place their orders for their respective dresses well ahead of time if they expect to get them back in time for the shaadi.
These include the mother of the Bride. The Bride's sister(s) and others who will be taking an important role in the Shaadi function such as the "sahelian" - the sahelian are friends of the brides and the Christian Equivalent might be Bridesmaids.
The dresses for the sahelian are designed and color coordinated with the Dulhan ka jo'Ra in mind. While the sahelian clothes ought to complement the Dulhan's they do better if they are not of the same exact color as the dulhan ka jo'Ra. The idea being to identify the sahelian as special and distinguished by virtue of their dress coordination and matching the design features of the duhlan ka joRa while at the same time not competing for attention with the dulhan.
After all no one will dispute the fact that this is the "Day of the Dulhan".
