History of Indian bomkai saree

India has a rich tradition of sarees that are worn by the women of this country for a wide range of occasions. From the earliest time, sarees have been an integral part of the Indian culture. Moreover, these garments are ideal for the tropical weather of this country as they keep the wearer perfectly comfortable throughout the day. Women in India wear sarees both for special occasions as well as for day to day purposes. The sarees that are made in different parts of India have their very own characteristic style and uniqueness. Moreover, the fabric of one type of saree also varies greatly from another type of saree.

Of the different types of sarees that are made in India, one of the most well known types is the Bomkai saree. Notable for its exquisite beauty and simplicity, the Bomkai saree is a testament to the rich saree manufacturing practices of Orissa. The Bomkai saree is also referred to as Sonepuri and is made on an extraordinarily beautiful fabric that is made by combining two different Odisha textile components. Insimple terms, Bomkai is made by a technique that involves creating an extra weft on a pit loom. The fabric used for Bomkai sarees is created by interweaving Ikat and embroidery seamlessly into each other. The motifs and themes used in Bomkai sarees are taken from tribal art and nature, which gives them a marvelous look that makes them ideal for aristocracy. The pallus of these sarees are adorned with intricate threadwork and the borders are frequently done in contrasting colors. These sarees are usually available in silk and cotton fabrics.

Traditional Bomkai Sarees available Online

Traditional Bomkai sarees are crafted by the most adept artisans of Odisha who are known for creating the signature style of these garments. The basic elements of these sarees are created by using the needle in the most skillful ways. The Bomkai or Sonepuri sarees have their origins in Sonepur, a placelocated on the western parts of Odisha. Ever since early 1980s when this variety of saree first came into limelight, it was named after Sonepur, the village where they were originally discovered. The artisans of Odisha make use of the Jala technique on the handlooms to create the Bomkai sarees.
     

The art and craft of weaving had been present in Odisha since 600 B.C. and the scriptures found in theKhandagiri Caves bear testament to this truth. While the modern Bomkai saree has evolved over many decades, it can be said that the artisans of Odisha developed the skill of creating this Bomkai design(locally referred to as the Bandha design) by around 1980s without implementing any additional shedding mechanism. The Bomkai fabric with its exquisite finish and beauty was originally made for thearistocratic families and the local maharaja as well as the Brahmans of chikiti tahsilm of ganjam district. 

The Bomkai design is created by using both the weft and warp and dyes are implemented according to the requirements. Only the warp is used for making the border design, and the weft is processed for making the anchal and palavas. Both the weft and warp are used for making the whole saree design. The traditional artisans of Odishastill make use of the traditional jaalas in order to weave the Bomkai sarees. The wooden jaalas are utilized for designing the sarees and are tied by the jaala bandhaks in a traditional manner. To make the Bomkai design, the yarn is properly tie dyed. However, at this stage the main focus is not on creating the patterns of the saree but to properly set the contrasting colors within the garment.

Why Indian fashion garments are famous in foreign countries as an ethnic wear

Indian fashion garments are high on demand in different countries of the world. Fabrics like cotton, silk and other handloom products are recognized and highly appreciated in these countries. It can be rightly said that Indian fashion has carved its essential niche in the world map. Indian wears are known as ethnic wear in these countries. Though you cannot pin point a particular reason behind it, yet there are several logics that can be attributed for that. Some of them are as discussed as below: 

1. Ethnic dress is something which is attached to the cultural history of its citizen so much so that both the dress and the country become synonymous with each other. Our traditional wears like saree, salwar kameez, sherwani or kurta have made a grand comeback in the fashion scene and have represented the Indian background, thus have been named ethnic wear. 
2. The Indian fashion garments essentially mean gorgeous dresses like sarees, salwar suits and lehenga.  The  one  that  are  popular  in  foreign  countries  are  usually  gorgeous  with embellished  and  heavy  zari  and  zardousi  works  that are  worn  in  festivals  and  formal occasions  like  wedding  or  engagements.  Since  these dresses  are  related  to  ethnicity  of India, overall Indian  garments are named ethnic wear. In  short it can be  said,  garments which represent the ethnic India are known as its ethnic wear. 
3. In India,  every  state has  a unique dressing  style. The main  dresses of women are saree draped in different styles, lehenga and salwar kameez while for men, it is dhoti or pajama with  kurta.  These  are  the attires  that  are  represented  in  international  market  as  Indian fashion  garments.  If  looked  from  this  perspective, they  are  truly  ethnic  wears  of  the country.  
4. India is known for its rich cultural background. It is much different from the way shown in Hindi films which has a huge international market. In reality, people are much grounded and socially conservative. Though the change in mindset has brought about a sea change in the fashion industry,  where both  men  and women prefer  western  outfits for office  and regular  wears,  Indian  fashion  garments  still  mean  and  denote  the  formal  Indian  wears which are regarded as ethnic wears.  
5. Formal  wears  of  both  men  and  women  that  are  popular  in  the  national  as  well  as international markets are hugely inspired from the royal history. If you browse through the pages  of  history,  you  will  find  rajas,  maharajas  and  maharanis  flaunting  dresses  like embellished lehenga, silk sherwani, tussar dhoti, heavily worked saree etc. Now the word 'ethnic'  originates  from  Greek  word  'ethnos'  which means  people  or  folk.  Since,  these traditional  Indian  dresses  represent  the  folks  of  historical  India,  they  are  called  ethnic dresses.  

No matter why  and what do  you call the Indian fashion  garments, the bottom line is they  are becoming popular with every passing day. Young Indian designers are winning accolades, awards and hearts in all prestigious events related to fashion. Indian designs like handloom, kalamkari, zardousi, aari, kantha etc are high on demand because they represent India. 

Though in mainland India, ethnic dresses are exclusive to women as on any day you will find a huge number of urban women  in  traditional  regular  dresses  like  sarees  and  salwar  kameez  while  men  wear  shirts, trousers, jeans etc. 

It is only on formal occasions where women wear heavy traditional dresses, men are seen wearing typically ethnic wear for men like sherwani, or kurta with pyjama or dhoti which are improvised to make more popular. And, in this way, Indian fashion garments becomes ethnic wear to the whole world. 

Top 10 reason women fashion models look more stunning with saree

Saree is a magic-attire. People who don’t know how to drape one, is left wondering how five and half feet woman drapes a five and half meter long piece of cloth around her body. It looks tricky, but once you master it, the saree is as comfortable wear as any other outfit. Such is the charisma of this Indian traditional wear, that no matter what, women fashion with saree never loses the limelight. Fashion of the fabrics may come and go, but it remains the  most popular  dress  style.  It  is  its  versatility  that  irrespective  of  age, complexion, personality, and body structure, you always look best in it. Here are primary reasons behind it. 

1. Elegance and Sophistication- When you drape it properly in the way it is supposed to be, saree becomes synonymous with elegance and sophistication. Skin is exposed compared few other Indian dresses, yet when you see a woman in saree, you will find her elegant. 
2. Flatters the Figure- Whether you are stout, petite, slim, tall or voluptuous, it always turns out that you look best in saree. There is so much variety in the fabric and there are fabrics for every body structure type which brings out your best look. For example,  short  women  should  wear  sarees  without  border  while  stout  women should wear light fabrics like chiffon and Georgette.  
3. Make-up and Accessories- Usually, young women wear sarees on special occasions like festivals, weddings or some other social functions. On these occasions, they take special care of their look and what they wear. So, when they wear sarees, they match it with jewelries, shoes, bags and hairdos as well. It is not the makeup, but this complete look which floors everyone else.  
4. No Monotony- There are so many varieties in fabric and draping style, that if you incorporate these permutations and combinations into your dressing, it will take years to exhaust your stock of sarees.  



5. Versatile- Whether it is some festival or a fashion show, with proper accessories a saree can change your look completely. A cotton or silk saree with mega or full sleeve blouse with strings at back will give you a simple and classy look while in georgette or net saree with backless or halter blouse, you get a whole new avatar. No other outfits have this range of varieties that woman fashion with saree has. 
6. Hide the Hideous- If you have some drawbacks in your appearance like height or paunch, you can hide it well with saree. Pot belly is a perennial problem of Indian women, especially after child birth. And with this bulging tummy, they feel shy to wear western dresses. However, they can retain their same stunning look with saree.  
7. Price Range- If you can carry off the saree well, you really don’t need designer ones to flatter yourself. There are many artificial georgette sarees available price less than Rs 500 in which you can rarely find a good top with right fitting. Thus, you can look stunning even at a low cost. This is one of the major reasons that woman fashion with saree is accessible and favored by all.  
8. Heavenly Designs- With five to six meters length, designers get huge canvas to showcase their creativity and beautiful designs and embellishments are created on saree strategically. Thin borders and heavy aanchal are the meant to fall in place accentuating the curves making you look beautiful. 
9. Epitome of Culture- When you carry the beacon of one’s culture, you also carry some extra grace for that. And it is this grace or call it woman fashion with saree which is reflected to look fashion models so stunning in saree. 



10. Because it Rocks- And this is the ultimate truth. Saree is designed in a way that body part exposed makes you look sensuous while covered part gives a traditional look. In this unique combination, you look fabulous. 

Odisha handloom rare ikat art saree