The silk saree guide
Think of a saree you reach for again and again. Perhaps you like the way the front pleats settle, or the flash of colour when you bring the pallu over your shoulder. Those details give you a starting point when you choose another saree.
Find your guide
Get to know the cloth
- Find the body, border and pallu. Open a saree and trace where its design will fall when you wear it.
- Compare pure silk and silk-cotton. Read the fibre description, then try the same pleat in both fabrics.
- Check a Silk Mark label. Find the number on the attached label and learn which questions to ask separately about zari.
Choose a saree or care for one you own
- Choose a bridal saree. Try your ceremony drape with your wedding shoes and check the fit while seated.
- Shop for a saree by video. Plan the views and measurements you need before deciding from home.
- Care for a silk saree. Read the garment’s instructions, deal with a spill and store it between wears.
What can one border tell you?
Look at the seventeenth-century saree border in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The museum lists silk and metal-wrapped thread as materials and identifies the structure as a double weave. Try reading a shop description in the same way. Which fibre forms the body? How is the pattern made? What gives the border its colour? See the border in The Met’s collection.
See the cloth in person
At our SPP Silks showrooms in Erode and Coimbatore, you can compare two sarees in the same light. Find each address and map, and call ahead if you want to see a particular piece.
