The Beautiful Attire of Kullu - Himachal Pradesh

                          

A Kullvi Look 

It is always a pleasure to get connected with tradition and heritage - and dressing up in a traditional dress is a pleasure no woman can resist. Himachal is a beautiful hill state of India -  rich in its distinct culture, with unique colorful dresses adorned mostly with silver jewelry heavily influenced by tribal style.

A dear friend of mine, Shruti Sharma, offered to dress me up in the her traditional dress and jewelry of Kullu and I was delighted at the offer - dressed up and clicked some pictures.  The dress has many important components as described below starting with Pattoo - 

“PATTOO” - is basically a longish shawl which is thicker and heavier than normal ones, with bright coloured weaving on a khaddi (hand loom). The price is according to the amount and intricacy of weaving done - it’s counted by the flowers weaved - as is visible in the dress.

The weaved Flowers on the Pattoo - its worn to showcase it at the back

Women drape “PATTOO” over their normal clothes (like a slawar suit) and pin it with local silver broaches called “BOOMINI” ', which is a long silver chain with pins at both the ends. The beauty is in its style of draping that the weave of flowers is properly displayed. One will require assistance to drape a “PATTOO”. It covers the whole body. To give the dress some shape, a piece of cloth is tied around the waist called “Gachchi”, which acts as a belt. ‘Gachchi’ can be of silver also.

“SILVER JEWELLERY”- The look is further enhanced by wearing traditional “Silver Jewelry” which is almost similar in whole of Himachal. The intricate designs and blue and green ‘Meenakari’ add to the charm of the jewelry. Toke, Dodmala, karn phool, athannimala, langari are some of the names of different jewelry pieces.

The different silver jewelry pieces

“PULLAS “ - On my feet I am wearing ‘Pullas’ which are handmade grass footwear. These vibrant chappals are made from grass that has been twisted into rope and then topped with creative colorful cotton upper.

Earlier the people of Himachal would wear/use leather shoes made from cowhide. But being a Land of Gods, this practice was considered inappropriate and so the “PULLA” chappals came alive. These extremely lightweight chappals are worn during religious ceremonies, within temple area and are also used for walking on snow. Contrary to their looks and weight they are quite comfortable and warm.

“KULLU TOPI” - The look would not have been complete without the glorious crown of Himachal Pradesh - which is now a recognized fashion logo in every hue.

The traditional yet stylish headgear derives its name from the place of its origin. That’s why we have Kullu topi, Malana Topi, Kinnauri Topi, Bushehri Topi and they are an important part of a local men/women attire/apparel/garments. The designs of the caps represent the area.

The Phulle and the Topi and my pleasure visible in my smile

I loved wearing PATTOO, the jewelry and learning all about this beautiful traditional attire.