Kanchipuram Sarees

Kanchipuram sarees are South Indian special occasion sarees. They are sarees woven with rich silk and gold threads and come in jewel colors. Kanchipuram sarees are made in a city called kanchipuram in the South Indian state of Tamilnadu. The government of India in 2005 gave Kanchipuram sarees the GI status given to products which can only be made in a specific place. Kanchipuram sarees vary in price from a few thousand rupees to a few lakh rupees. A lot of kanchipuram sarees have gold thread borders and patterns on them called zari or jari. A lot of other kanchipuram sarees have non gold thread work borders instead of gold thread borders. The gold thread borders are usually worn for weddings and festive occasions while the others can be worn for more solemn occasions. If you have a lot of experience in buying kanchipuram silk sarees you can recognize from the thread and the weave and border pallu and pattern if it is a pure kanchipuram silk saree or not.

A few typical kanchipuram sarees.

A lot of kanchipuram sarees have contrast color border. Here is a brown saree with pink border.

Here is a green saree with pink and gold border.

Navy Saree with orange border.

Orange saree with green border.

Some kanchipuram sarees have very thin border. Here is an example.

Some sarees have broad border. Here are a few examples.

As mentioned before some kancheepuram sarees have thread work border. Here are a few examples. Colorful threads are woven in intricate patterns in thread work border kancheepuram sarees.

The pallu or one end that hangs from the shoulder is especially woven with gold or other threads to literally make a work of art. Here are some sarees with beautiful pallus. To be continued in the next post