Fashion Blogs

Coorg is one of the biggest coffee producing regions of Karnataka. The women in this region drape their sarees in a special way, which has been called the Coorgi Saree. This drape is identifiable by the pallu that is tucked in at the shoulder after it has been taken over the front of the torso as well as the pleats of the saree that are seen at the back. This drape is also called Kodagu style saree or Kodava attire. Brides wear another saree like garment over their heads and it is known as the Vastra which is basically a head scarf.

The Coorgi saree has a mythological tale surrounding its origin involving King Agasthya and his wife Cauvery. Women in Coorg wear the pleats of their saree at the back as homage to the sacrifice made by Cauvery. Besides this, the saree also has functional benefits as it makes it easier for the women to scale the hilly terrain of Coorg and also climb trees when needed.

Since the region of Coorg is hilly, it is also chilly for the better part of the year. For this reason, women wear another calf-length underskirt made of cotton wool along with the customary petticoat.

Cotton sarees worn in the Kodagu saree offer the advantage of crisp pleats. This style of saree is especially highlighted when worn in luscious fabrics like silk and satin. However, the use of satin and silk only came during the British rule of India. In this era, the blouses worn with this style of the saree also underwent many changes, introducing the band collar and high neckline styles.

At the time of a wedding, the Coorgi woman wears a red colored silk saree with golden dots in the Kodagu style. This is combined with a red colored blouse, red colored Vastra and heavy, traditional gold jewelry.