For centuries Malayalee women have worn the Kasavu with much pride, glowing in its folds of ivory, copper or gold colors, knowing that this was a weave considered fit enough to be worn even by the royalty and even deities. In many of Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings, his muses wore the Kasavu pattu. The Kasavu saree even in the olden times had the typical thin borders in gold or copper colors and thicker the breadth of the border, the more the affluence it reflected. Even today the pure zari kasavu could cost you a packet! Most of the zari that comes for the pattu border comes from Surat where real silver wires are dipped in gold and then used for the real zari kasavu. It is this dull shine that is most desired in the real authentic Kasavu saree.
Along with the evolution of all kinds of sarees, Kasavus too have begun to look different over time. It has undergone a change in its original style, but those who wish to give its appearance a more distinct look could opt for a variety of blouse patterns and designs to make their Kasavu saree look not just different but also unique.
A Kasavu is originally in off white, ivory and a light beige-apart from this the other whites do not look as great.
The Kasavu could come with a gold or copper colored border with the same colors repeated, with some changes, in the pallu.
Green is the color of blouse usually chosen by unmarried girls in Kerala when they wear their Kasavu, and red or maroon is chosen by married women.
When it comes to choices for your blouse, there are so many that could fit into the Kasavu look.
All you need with that is flowers in your hair and some gold jewelry!
For all special occasions, the typical blouse that adds more of a look of tradition, is this choli type of blouse. The doris could be embellished with lovely hangings that could be coordinated with the colors in the pallu and the border. This design can never fail with a Kasavu.
Making a resplendent statement is this very simple design, that lends a lot of style to the back with its double dori and its softly puffed sleeve. Perfect for young girls venturing into traditional wear. The green should be in raw silk and the color deep.
The Kasavu will remain rather simple in its look till the time you team it up with a jacket blouse done in heavy brocade or heavily done embroidery, as in the case of this gorgeously styled blouse, that will make your look ready for a royal occasion.
A Clarion call to all who are looking for new blouse design this wedding season or the ones coming up soon-here is a lovely option that acts as a perfect foil to build in more formal runway model good looks. Try it with embellishments on the back and the front and leave the collar in a lovely contrasting color.
Create a more relaxed silhouette with this shirt blouse that has no collars, but the loose fitting can be tried with raw silk material, and the choli like fitting can be achieved with ample ease. Try it with fabric that is close to the color of your Kasavu or in contrasting color.
Simple in design, with plenty of scope for placing heavy designs on the back and front. One could choose black as in the picture, as that contrast dramatically with white and gold.
Note not just the beautiful usage of smoking like gathers, but also the usage of two varying styles of straps. A very modern look for your Kasavu could be achieved with gold and white colored fabric combination. Use tissue for the smoking and white lace where needed.
A delicate blouse design that could be tried with gold tissue as the base color and for the net -a white lace net could be combined with it. The buttons add that look of modernity like few designs can.
A gorgeous design that allows one to play around with heavy embellishment on the back as in this case and the neck in front could be a boat neck to keep things simple. Note the usage of velvet and net.
The simple criss cross-works best with Kasavus and the difference could be that you could use two layers of colors on the border along with the gold to coordinate with the colors on the pallu.
One can never quite over do it with heavy neck blouses because they look classy always, and these are gorgeous. One can focus on colors that go with off white and gold like –orange, green, maroon and even black.
The charm of one traditional style intermingling with another- Kalamkari in any style looks so in sync with Kasavus, and with any other handloom saree for that matter.
Here is a combination of mirror work with Kalamkarito go with your gorgeous Kasavu.
Used along with a net and an orange color raw silk, makes it most suited for white and gold saree.
A lovely maroon one that has all that it takes to make it most suitable for combination with a Kasavu.
Make the sleeve the center of attention with the combination of a patchwork that is made up of mirror work, brocade and phulkari patches, for maximum effect-try this with a white blouse with maroon embellishment.
Image Credits –saree.pix.com, indianstylediaries.com, pinterest
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