The cape could be elbow length in the front and ending till the length of the dress at the back. The dress showed women’s ‘submission to God, to men in general and their husband in particular’.A transparent cape adds a sensuous vibe. Whether it’s a gown or a jumpsuit, I’d go with the long flowing till the floor cape. Complete the look with, danglers ,gold stilettos and a glossy high ponytail.For a more fun element, keep the dress short. used frequently as a style China heather effect stretch fabric Manufacturers statement, very dramatic and very elevating in every sense... A long fitted gown with an elbow length cape gown is classy and timeless.There are different ways we can incorporate a cape into a dress. For Mennonite community women’s clothing symbolised gender roles.

Designers like Christian Dior, Dolce and Gabbana, Fendi, Missoni and more have through 2018 included various versions of this dramatic piece to their collection."Quoting Marilyn Monroe, I’d like to add, "Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. A short silk dress with a layered/tiered cape finished in organza could make this fun dress more dramatic. I’d stay stick to the pencil like tall stilettos!Which to buy you ask us? Let’s make it simpler. The woman wearing this feels no less than a queen right out of a fairy tale herself. Cape dresses were traditionally worn by (conservative) Mennonite women. Elevate the look with a pair of heels, or go for a cape dress.Tired of pantsuits? A cape over a tailored jumpsuit is the perfect androgynous antidote. Besides its historical associations with Mennonite dress, the cape dress has become a part of the fashion vocabulary. This jumpsuit cape is a refreshing and interesting style to hit the runway this season.With the New York fashion week going on, the trends are for you to see everywhere. If your choice is more narrow and tailored, then a mini makes the perfect partner. Besides that it was a statement of nonconformity to the world, especially against the rapid and dramatically changing fashion from the end of the 19th century onwards. Unlike the prayer (head) covering, the cape dress never became part of dress regulations. Among the many, that catches my attention are the capes. This piece of fabric had a square or V-shape form and de-emphasized the female form. In the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century, The cape dress had a plain style and a piece of fabric covered the bodice.. For a more dramatic effect, a full length cape attached to a figure hugging long gown screams royal and elegant. The longer the cape, the better it looks with skinny trousers.Capes are seriously fashionable.While we know that the capes in Paris is a luxurious outerwear option. The cape of the dress covered the shoulders and bust.. The women of the Holdeman Mennonite community in California wore a cape-dress that had a high neckline, loose bodice and fitted waist. I can close my eyes and visualise the effect it leaves in my head .

For as long as I can remember, I have been a staunch votary of the hand-woven saree. Even high-end designers are looking at pure weaves. I find it is like bastardising the pure form in the name of innovation. I feel that there are a plethora of weaves as options so why embellish on top, even for the most dressy occasions. The cut-paste sarees by definition become too heavy and don’t drape naturally thanks to the machine stitching and the varying weight of the different fabrics and consequently are uncomfortable. In any case, I think the fashion and trend of these cut-paste sarees is finally getting over now and even the younger people are looking at the pure weaves and revival sarees.For one, the designers have started to look at weaves with the seriousness and respect they deserve. I certainly will never advocate these sarees, especially as aspirational high points for the younger generation. I am not for a minute negating embroidery as a genre, as long as it in embroidered on the fabric itself and not cut pasted. I always point out to designers who believe that  comfort is huge factor in getting the younger women to wear sarees. The comfort factor is also one that alienates many of the younger people who wear sarees. To me, it represents the very life and breath of our nation, its cultural diversity and creative genius. I don’t care if they are doing it to curry favour or if they are fed up with the cut-and-paste sarees they were doing.  

In my grandmother’s time, they were called "Club sarees" and only the brown memsahibs wore them to the parties and clubs where as the other women sported traditional woven Banarasis at least in the north.Apart from the vital fact that traditionally we have sarees to suit every weather — from the wispiest of kotas and chanderis to the warmest pashmina woolen sarees, to the snug mugas to the resplendent kanjivarams and banarasis, to tussars in every form and type, there is a saree for every occasion on a day to day basis too. I consider myself really fortunate that I can write about  it to spread the word to a larger audience. Although, technically they might fall under the broad purview of handlooms, I find them to be ethically dishonest as they are just assemblage of yardage or embroidery created by some other weavers with a designer’s name and a whopping price tag.Of late, I have been embroiled in a rather acidic conversation with some saree enthusiasts about whether these cut paste sarees constitute handloom. Blue custom Polyester stretch Fabric CompanyAnd if that be the reason, I wish every craft pocket gets the top leaders to root for them..  

These are best suited for our weather conditions and only if they can be comfortable will there be enough takers for them. Despite the high pricetags, these sarees are thankfully being perceived as downmarket.I think some very important steps that have been taken at the governmental level have turned the entire Banaras weaving sector around, almost like a magic wand. The fact is that the Prime Minister’s Constituency has lots to do with it.But then I am purist — just as I don’t want to mix my kathak with contemporary dance, the same way I find the mutilation of the original appalling and the sticking on to another even handwoven fabric far from aesthetic.    Having said that, only once in a while, do these cut-and-paste sarees work, but mostly they are best left alone. To me it is an indicator of the breathing with one person’s breath. While there is one viewpoint that these can be considered a handloom saree, their logic being that since all the fabrics are handloom or handworked by way of embroidery, it can come under the purview of the handloom.      My contention is that embellishment should not be super imposed, but should be an intrinsic part of its very life breath. For those who don’t know what I am talking about — for half a decade or so, there came a brigade of designers who were nothing but glorified darzis or tailors whose only claim to fame were sarees that were created by lifting from the creative genius of weavers from different parts of the country, and using other weaves by stitching them in varying breadth on to another piece of cloth.Apart from being unaesthetic to look at, they are uncomfortable to wear.In some cases they used embroideries juxtaposed with the woven cloth. Of course they provide employment to nearly 49 million people — highest after the agriculture sector is one of the most important points for my advocating it by example and whatever one can do by way of propagation. So, you could have on the same saree, pieces of phulkari jostling for attention with a kalamkari or a Banarasi brocade fabric shouting cheek by jowl with a Kutchi mirror work piece. But, I have a very strong opinion on the matter and feel that they are best left alone and  shouldn’t be touched with a bargepole for the sake of good taste! I rest my case

And during the Mughal reign, it was the favoured choice of queens in India. Old time legends have it that weavers would recount how their entire production would be send to the Baroda queens as they owned dedicated looms in Chanderi, other half of dedicated looms were owned by the Scindias.Many looms fell silent but this last decade has seen some of the looms restart and return with greater energy. For good reasons, there is a fort here..
Bharati Vijayalakshmi Chhabra often remarks that the Chanderis are "rani, maharanion ki sarees." She is more often than not in Chanderis during the summer. Like the angrez moved to Simla from Delhi as the official summer capital; this metaphoric shift happens in every north Indian home — put away the woollens and silks and take out the cottons. After many years, the intricately designed or naqshi borders have surfaced with exquisite detailing. "I feel that fine discerning taste dramatises the opulence of Chanderi with the legends that punctuate it in this curated collection of Royal Chanderis," she says.four way stretch fabric Suppliers With the block prints, each saree becomes one-of-a-kind as there are no repeats. Smitten by the thick handloom weaves as a part of a typical teenage rebellion, I never touched the fabric, ditto for the diaphanous chiffons. "Few years back while I was in Sayajirao Museum in Baroda (Vadodara) to see Raja Ravi Varma’s collection, the erudite curator, told me that Ravi Varma loved to paint his women wearing Chanderi and that too in nine yards Maharashtrian kachcha-style saree because it made his women look sensuous." Woven from high count fine cotton, pure silk and gold zari by court weavers, these uniquely extravagant saris were symbolic of the sublimity personified by Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings in which women wore Chanderis. My mother would often say that the weather to start wearing Chanderis is when the mango bor or flowers start to blossom around Holi right up to Diwali when the nip in the air starts.  

Chanderi sarees and fabric from the quaint town by the same name comes from this place with its charming palaces and clickety looms in every cranny of the town. It was once the frontier of another kingdom and is a perfect place to watch potential invaders moving in on you. But with the shift in the weather, I find it is possible to drape this dream weave almost all the year round, save a few days of bitter cold. The picturesque whitewashed town is on a patch of high ground, looking up at a 14th century fort. A wedding in the family made my mother put her foot down with the Hobson’s choice between either of the two fabrics. It is our heritage and it is our responsibility to showcase it to the rest of the world. Some of the sarees in this collection are truly rare including the very special bridal sarees with hands decorated with mehndi or henna, complete with an applicator cone woven as a border that take your breath away with their artistry.As summer descends on us too soon this year, all that one can consider wearing are delicate, transparent and translucent Chanderis. Chanderi I chose.Most homes in north India are going through or have just gone through the throes of a process that is as painful and complex as shifting the summer and winter capital. Our attempt is to simply echo the royal interpretations of its glorious past into a modern idiom for connoisseurs of today," says Vinutha Subramaniam, its director and CEO."Parisera understands the need for genuine handlooms as a way of life and the royal textiles from Chanderi have always had a resonance with collector’s vocabulary. From having its mythical origin way back in the Vedic period to the Scindias and current patronage of Rajmata Shubhangini Raje Gaekwad of Baroda, Chanderis continue their legendary legacy. Most of his women are wearing gossamer translucent Chanderis with those very typical glorious borders. As an extension to the collection, I am taking it one step further by hand-block printing on the sarees to make them a truly signature collection.For several decades, plain flat zari borders were the norm. And I was smitten for life! Light like a cloud of air around you, the gossamer drape makes one feel elegant, chic, delicate and sophisticated all in the same breath!While I often opted for the very fine cotton Chanderis during the day, any evening summer celebrations and one would reach out for these gossamer dreams in silk – it is almost blasphemous to call them sarees! I love Chanderis for their easy draping and making me feel like a dreamy queen in any situation.  

The textile ministry and state government has been doing their bit for popularising the weave with many schemes for the benefit of the weavers, including advertising about it..It is no wonder that Chanderi legends and myths dot fables of royalty.Chanderi is a small town in the high and dry hills of north central Madhya Pradesh. My romance with this transparent weave goes back nearly 40 years. I even found weavers who were willing to weave the amazingly elaborate ek naali boottis that one had only read and heard about. That is it. Every household has their own magical portions to keep silver fish and other sundry enemies of textiles away — from dried whole red chillies to neem leaves to cloves… In our home, my father would just look at the process with bemused tolerance as my mother would interchange the wardrobe trunks with all of us getting in her way.com. I feel I can’t count my blessings enough that I get to do stuff that I love so much so that it doesn’t even seem like work and this collection was one such occasion!The writer is an art writer, curator and artist and can be contacted on alkaraghuvanshi@yahoo. Most of the miniature paintings – both Mughal and Rajput – have a transparent outer layer of drapery that looks suspiciously like transparent silk Chanderi." The Rajamata Subhangini Raje Gaekwad of Baroda and Radhika Raje Gaekwad have worked towards reviving Chanderis inspired by Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings from their collection. Also, I feel he must have been influenced by the royal women of Baroda.When I was recently asked by the Parisera, the crafted luxury portal, to curate a collection show of the fabulous weave, it took me on an amazing journey of the mesmeric weave with its delicate intricacies of refined bootties and stunning borders.The royalty continues to be enamoured by its sheer tales and Radhika Raje Gaekwad, the Maharani of Baroda, says, "I wear a Chanderi saree to all global receptions and important functions with pride. It has been famous for its handlooms since the reign of the Scindia royal family.. Many of these designs haven’t been seen for several decades as the weavers were unable to find markets

His latest works feature bursts of colour amid a stark black-and-white painting. The works with Durga idols are filled with fantasy forms that border on and feed from the edge of reality. Flowing garments, unrealistic figures and fabulous line work complimented by outbursts of colour which all come together in the most satisfying compositions, like a dreamscape converted to the physical realm. I wanted to capture all the rituals and ceremonies attached to the Durga festival, while giving it a very contemporary treatment.. It was during a six-month sabbatical at NIFT that I developed my style." Apart from his canvases filled with figures, he is also showing abstract works inspired by his travels to Spain and France.

Inspired by Indian folklore, Durga idols and western cowboy comics, Kolkata-based artist Nandan Purkayastha in his latest solo exhibition titled ‘Festive Fantasy’ captures the beauty of festivities drawing memories from his childhood days. I was exposed to design and line drawing in my foundation year, but during the break, I began experimenting with black and white in pen and ink," heather effect stretch fabric Factory points out Nandan. In my works, you will see stories that have emerged from the East but the drawing style is inspired by the West. Talking about his style, he shares, "I use the rotring pen for my works as it helps me make intricate and detailed drawings. "I was born in Tinsukhia in Assam surrounded by folklore, and was extremely fond of reading western cowboy comics."A graduate from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Nandan’s works include a strong element of textile design.The exhibition includes monochrome drawings and colourful paintings in which Goddess Durga is the prime figure. "My visual language reflects my background in textile design, especially the patterns that resemble the texture of fabric. Durga Puja and Bihu were part of my childhood, so they always form part of my work. "I saw Picasso’s cubist works for the first time, but I wanted to create something that combined my fascination with colour with my own roots," explains Nandan