Beauty of the blouse

Sarees have always been the most sensuous feminine piece of garment in the world. No doubt about that. But of late, a piece of the full saree ensemble has been grabbing more attention than the saree itself. It is none other than the saree blouse.

Once a kind of t-shirt, preferably fully covered from the neck to the wrist to the waist, women are now becoming more and more experimental with their saree blouse. Newer cuts and designs are emerging in the market every day which are then popularised by film actresses. What to say about the choice of fabrics in blouses which add further oomph to one’s saree look.

Fashion designer Meena Alankari of the Ragini label says, “The choice of a woman’s saree blouse says a lot about her personality and sense of dressing. Her style of blouse could easily reflect if she is tough, playful, young or mature. If you notice, even actresses adorn blouses as per their age, position in the industry and even the kind of films they are seeking.”

“Aishwarya Rai, who’s patronised sarees for long before they become fashionable, sticks to full and quarter sleeve embroidered blouses these days. It’s an indication of her status in the industry as well as her being a symbol of Indian culture. Vidya Balan adds more power to it by adding collars to her blouse. She sports all kinds of collars ranging from round, V to Chinese.”

“On the other hand,” adds designer Pallavi Kumar, “Actresses with a more ‘sexy’ image like Deepika Padukone, Bipasha Basu, Shilpa Shetty and Malaika Arora like their blouses in halterneck, racerback and bikini form. In South India, where actresses combine traditionalism with sensuality, you will see them wearing blouses with strings (dori) on the sleeve and the back.”

Both Meena and Pallavi point out that of late sheer and lace blouses have become very fashionable. Kareena Kapoor wore a red sheer blouse in Ra.One’s popular song Chhammak Chhallo.

Recently, Priyanka Chopra created a sensation by wearing a fine lace sleeve blouse to the Marrakech Film Festival. It is probably the most creative saree blouse we have seen till date. What’s your pick?