The muse for this creation is an American woman of Indian descent who wanted to combine both traditions for a unique look to her wedding dress. Using the Indian lengha as our starting point, we found breathtaking hand-embroidered chikan kari from Lucknow and cut it on a bias to make the skirt. We lined it with white silk taffeta to provide fullness and to show the embroidery to its best advantage. We embellished the chikan with pearls, ireidescent sequins, and tiny mirrorwork to add radiance to dress.

For the blouse, we took white silk crepe and covered it by hand with rows of iridescent sequins. The small stand-up collar, v-neck, and sleeves are defined with two rows of mirrorwork edged with pearls. The blouse is nearly backless and ties in place.

To compensate for the daring blouse, we made a dupatta of white silk chiffon with single rows of iridescent sequins sewn on a diagaonal in the middle of the fabric, and then embellished the borders with mirrorwork and pearls to match the blouse. The bottom of the skirt also has a matching border.

This dress is perfect for either Indian or "white" weddings. The blouse can be designed with more coverage, if desired. The dupatta can be made in red or other colors as well.

Chikan kari skirt with hand embroidery :
Item Number: WL0550
Starting Price: $1500

Sequinned Blouse :
Item Number: WL0551
Starting Price: $750

Silk Chiffon Dupatta :
Item Number: WL0552
Starting Price: $300