India is a country with a rich cultural heritage and varied history, with every part of the country having its own unique traditions and customs in food, festivals, and fashion. However, one garment which is found anywhere you go is the saree dress. This is a long piece of fabric that is wrapped around the woman’s body, over a blouse and petticoat.

This simple garment has a different variation in every part of the country, with everything from the fabric and designs to the draping styles and blouses differing from one state to the next. Today sarees are worn across the world and a lot of international celebrities have embraced the elegance and ethnic sophistication of sarees from India.

Traditional drapes

The most beautiful sarees can often be found in the rural areas of India, where artisans have been creating gorgeous garments for royals for centuries. Earlier, these types of regional sarees were handwoven and took months or even years to produce. While such exotic hand woven and hand embroidered sarees are still available at a higher cost for extremely special occasions, the majority of options in a normal saree collection today will be machine-made using artificial looms.

Contemporary versions

Indian saree designs are extremely varied because here, there is a demand for sarees of all types for different occasions. For instance, many women wear sarees on a day-to-day basis, for office or when running errands, while for some women sarees are special occasion garments that have to be glamorous and attractive.