How to Style a Banarasi Saree

A Banarasi is a loud garment in the best sense. The zari catches light from across a room, the pallu carries most of the pattern, and the weight of the silk decides how it falls whether you like it or not. Most styling advice for them is really advice about restraint.

Let the pallu do the talking

The densest brocade is almost always in the pallu, and it is the part people see. Pleat the skirt cleanly, keep the pleats narrow, and let the pallu fall in a single fold over the shoulder rather than fanned. A fanned pallu spreads the pattern flat and makes it read as wallpaper.

Pick the blouse against the border, not the body

Matching the blouse to the main field of the saree is the safe choice and usually the dull one. Taking the colour from a secondary thread in the border gives the eye somewhere to travel and makes the weave look more considered than it did on the hanger.

A plain blouse in raw silk or matte cotton is nearly always better than a second brocade. Two brocades compete, and the saree loses.

Jewellery: one statement, not three

Heavy zari is already jewellery. A Banarasi with jhumkas and a choker and stacked bangles has four things asking for attention. Choose the one nearest your face — earrings, usually — and let everything else be quiet.

Draping weight

Heavier silks hold a pleat but resist a soft drape; lighter ones do the opposite. If the silk is substantial, use fewer and deeper pleats and pin the pallu at the shoulder — the weight will pull it out of place within an hour otherwise. A petticoat in a matching shade, tied firmly at the waist, does more for the silhouette than any amount of adjusting later.

What to leave off

• A belt. It flattens the drape and interrupts the border.
• A contrasting petticoat that shows at the hem.
• A second metallic — gold zari with silver jewellery reads as an accident rather than a choice.

Wearing it more than once

The quickest way to make an heirloom feel like a costume is to keep it for weddings. A Banarasi with a plain cotton blouse, minimal jewellery and flat sandals is an entirely different garment, and the weave is good enough to carry it.