Time To Amp Up Your Wardrobe. It's God's Own Fashion!

Kerala is a state in south India that's famous for a lot of things. Great cuisine, humidity, house boats, large estates, jeera water, boiled rice, gold, Mohiniyattam and coconut in everything. However, today we're looking at Kerala as a fashionable state, at its costumes and flavor of style. Is it truly a fashionable state? Let's find out.

The best of Kerala's fashion can be seen during the festival of Onam. Onam is the state festival of Kerala and is all about welcoming their mythical king Mahabali back to his kingdom. It is also a harvest festival in some sense since Kerala has its roots in an agrarian past.

Men, women, children, and older people get so involved in this colorful event that one needs more than the usual moment to take in the sights, sounds and smells. It makes one realize that Kerala is truly god's own country. Coming down to the fashion aspect of the people of Kerala, there is one word to describe them - Unique. Yes, everyone's unique but Keralites are a people you'll never see the likes of anywhere else.

The women have this tendency to always steal the show, don't they? And it's no surprise that the gold and white attired women look stunning every onam. It's a treat watching them dance, make flower carpets, and enjoy themselves indulging in rituals and preparations. The traditional saree for Onam closely resembles the mundum neriyathum however the Kerala sarees we commonly see nowadays are the usual 9 yard ones that are draped in the nivi fashion.

Keralal sarees are lovely, wouldn't you agree? They're the epitome of south Indian beauty and grace. The white and gold is auspicious for welcoming Mahabali back to Kerala and almost all women dress in these two colors. All accessories are in gold and very few people choose to wear diamonds or other colored stones. Gold is an important treasure in Kerala and hence, all men and women have a habit of donning gold during Onam.

Image Courtesy: bollywoodlife.com

The hair is styled into braids, buns or let down but jasmine flowers are compulsory. Don't they make the perfect crown for anyone's hair? We think they look gorgeous and smell amazing too. The Onam outfit is completed with minimal make-up and a smear of sandalwood paste on the forehead. Traditional to the core.

Cover Image Courtesy: Nallu Collection