Saris, Skirts and More from Rajasthan

I am thrilled to open my mailbox and find a dinner party invitation from a certain Indian friend. She’s a fabulous cook and my mouth waters to think of her cumin-tinged roasted eggplant. But mostly, I’m eager to see what she’s wearing.

Invariably, she greets us in a richly hued sari so stunning that it leaves her dinner guests feeling utterly unimaginative. This time it’s embellished with embroidered swirls and tiny reflective mirrors, the kind of textile decoration associated with her native Rajasthan, a partially desert region bordering Pakistan.

Photo: Peter Barker via Flickr

Indian textiles count among the richest craft legacies on Earth, encompassing literally thousands of local styles and techniques. Textiles from Rajasthan represent an entire tradition with many sub-specialties, from wood-block prints to tie-dyed cottons and a litany of embroidery techniques long enough to fill a glossary of their own. Through the centuries these rich regional fabrics have constituted a valuable part of women’s wedding trousseaus and dowries, identified social status and class…

Read more of Laura Morelli’s “The Genuine Article” at National Geographic Traveler…