Kalamkari Nehru Dress - Aqua

A simple but sophisticated shirt dress, named for the slim Nehru collar. The slightly - fitted silhouette can be worn loose like a tunic, or given further shape with cloth belt.   

•  Semi fitted body & sleeves
  
• Center front placket with hand beaten brass buttons
• Full length sleeves close with a button cuff
• Side seam pockets 
  
• Falls just below the knees with curved hem and side slits
• Includes a self fabric sash
• Crafted from a beautiful silk-cotton blend that is both soft and has a very pleasing drape 
  

Kalamkari is crafted exclusively from natural dyes, mordants and resists - it’s a living cloth that should be treated with care and may shift shades over time. These natural dyes are painted on the cloth by hand by a women’s cooperative, in an extremely laborious process that blends art with nature’s chemistry. 

Size Details

S/M
Length 45” 
Chest 40” round 
Hip 43” round 
Armhole 20” round 

M/L 
Length 46" 
Chest 43” round 
Hip 46” round  
Armhole 22” round 

+/- a tolerance inherent to hand made clothing 

Textile Story

Kalam (meaning pen) kari (meaning craftsmanship) is an art form developed in Andhra Pradesh around the 13th century. Originally used to create religious paintings on cloth to aid the acts of wandering minstrels, later used in Hindu temples, it then flourished as an art-form under the Golconda Sultanate, the Moghuls & later under the British where it became known as chintz.

We’re enormously proud to partner with Dwaraka, a not-for-profit that trains & supports women artisans in Srikalahasthi to create the most beautiful kalamkari art work; using a kalam pen & exclusively natural mordants, dyes & resists, the artisan hand draws every every line across the surface of the cloth.

Any variations or irregularities are to be celebrated. They are part of the design & inherent to the handcrafted production process, making this item beautifully unique.