The tale of Sequins and Sarees

What are Sequins?

Sequins are small, plastic discs that are typically sewn onto garments for an enhanced, posh look. The concept of adding shiny objects to our garments probably started when we used gold and other metallic coins sewn onto fabric for royalty, slowly trickling down to our everyday wear now.

Sequins in use Today

Today sequins are mostly vinyl polymers, extra sturdy to their original counterparts and have found a new ally- sarees! This combination is so unique, instantly making even the simplest of sarees look super posh. It makes for an interesting read to me. Why did this combo click the most?

1. Attachment: As saree is a woven fabric, it is easier to attach sequins to sarees. Also, Most sarees are created by skilled artisans and there is always someone in every cluster who is good with needle and thread and can do this as opposed to a mass produced garment like shirts.

1. A better , rich look: Weavers are always on the lookout to make their products look richer and more appealing at a same or similar price. Sequins come in very handy as they can immediately change the look of the product with minimal investment. Depending on the kind of saree being made, the amount of sequins used can change. For office wear, elegant sarees, sequins are used along the border and maybe on the pallu. Whereas, for partywear sarees, they will be stitched all over the same.

1. Wash care is the same: One major reason that sequins became quickly unpopular in the readymade industry is the difference in the wash care between the garment and the sequins. As most garments need a good wash before re-wearing, the sequins do not have that much resistance to water and soap. This made sequins sag and look cheap. However, mostly expensive sarees are dry cleaned or we just dry them in the sun( they dont touch our sweat much) making the sequins have the same wash care as the base fabric. This gives sarees and sequins one more opportunity to collaborate and win hearts!

This is a small attempt at capturing the beautiful love story of sequins and sarees. Do you own a sequined saree? What’s your type? Full blown partywear or a luka chuppi here and there?