A pale taupe body, grey and brown at once, closing into a black pallu.
Why this piece
Taupe, not beige — grey and brown held together in one pale shade, which is why it reads understated rather than washed out.
Gold on a quiet ground — with the body kept low, the thin zari line at the edges and the wide pallu panel do all the ornament.
Measured cloth — 350 to 360 g at 44 to 46 GSM, semi-sheer body, soft pleat-holding drape.
The colourway
Taupe is the shade in this range that does not announce itself, and it is the one that goes with the most. Black at the pallu gives it a definite end, and the gold reads clearly because there is nothing bright competing with it.
How it is woven
It was woven in Maheshwar, in Khargone district, Madhya Pradesh. The loom is a pit loom, sunk into the floor so the weaver works with the treadles below. Every pick of weft goes in by hand, and a dobby sets the buti and the border on body, border and pallu alike. Nothing we sell is machine-woven, and the weaver confirms each piece off the loom.
Expect the small unevennesses that hand weaving leaves behind. They are evidence of how the cloth was made, and the piece is checked and finished before it leaves us either way.
The border, and how it wears
The border is woven bugdi: its design reads the same on both faces of the cloth. It is the detail in this weave most worth turning over and looking at.
It weighs 350 to 360 g at 44 to 46 GSM — weighed here rather than guessed at from the look of it. That is a saree you can wear through a long evening without feeling it on your shoulder, and the body is semi-sheer, so a petticoat goes underneath.
Specification
Total length: 6.3–6.5 m, including an 80–90 cm blouse piece
Width: 45–46 inches
Weight: 350–360 g, measured in-house
Fabric weight: 44–46 GSM
Body: semi-sheer; wear it with a petticoat
Drape: soft, holds its pleats, and stays soft after the first clean
Loom: pit loom, with the weft inserted by hand
Patterning: dobby-set, on body, border and pallu
Finishing: pallu kuchu, selvedge and edges finished; fall and pico on request
Woven in: Maheshwar, Khargone district, Madhya Pradesh
Country of origin: India
Net quantity: one saree with attached blouse piece
Care: Dry Clean Only
Care and storage
- Professional dry clean only. Home washing is not recommended.
- Air-dry in the shade, without wringing.
- Iron inside out on a low-to-medium setting, under a cotton press cloth.
- Store it wrapped in breathable cotton or muslin, in a cool dark cupboard.
- Refold along fresh lines every three to six months.
Dispatch
This piece is held in stock rather than made to order, so hand weaving does not put you in a queue. About half of all orders leave the next day, most go within two to three days, and most orders inside India arrive in three to seven days.
A note on colour
This piece is a pale taupe through the body, with a black pallu. Screens, camera settings and the light a photograph was taken in all move a shade a little, so the piece that reaches you may sit slightly away from the image on this page. Every colour in this range has been tested for fastness on wash and rub.
Product details
Country of origin: India. Net quantity: one saree with attached blouse piece. Care: Dry Clean Only.