Extensive Definition
A choli (lengha in Pakistan or ravika
in Telugu)
is a midriff-baring blouse worn in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, and
other countries where the sari is worn. The choli is cut to
fit tightly to the body and has short sleeves with a low neck. The
choli is usually cropped, allowing exposure of the navel; the cropped design is
particularly well-suited for wear in the sultry South Asian
summers. Cut-out backs and front-opening buttons are some of the
features of contemporary designs.
Saris are often woven with an extra length of
material meant to be cut off and fashioned into a matching choli.
The choli may be sewn so that the elaborately woven borders of the
sari material form the bottom edges of the choli sleeves. However,
cholis need not match the sari. There is a growing trend towards
stretchy, comfortable cholis made from knit materials.
The traditional choli was worn without a brassiere, as is evident from
the images in the Choli Art Gallery, below. However, many modern
South
Asian women wear a soft bra under the choli, for a firmer
appearance of the bust. Expensive designer cholis are sewn with
padding and reinforcements so that a bra is not needed and backless
or off-the-shoulder cholis can be worn with ease.
Women of the Gujarat and
Rajasthan
countryside may also wear the choli with a gypsy skirt, or lehnga.
Their cholis are often loosely fitted and heavily ornamented with
embroidery and mirror
work, or shisha
embroidery.
When wearing a semi-transparent kameez,
women usually wear a sleeveless choli as an undergarment similar to
a camisole or a
bustier.
Office dress codes usually prohibit cropped,
sleeveless cholis; similarly, women in the armed forces, when
wearing a sari uniform, don a half-sleeve shirt tucked in at the
waist.
Some Western women have started wearing the choli
as part of their belly dance
costume. They typically wear backless cholis (held together with
strings) so that the audience can see a dancer's bare back as she
sways.
A Lehenga is a dress worn with a choli. also
called a gypsy skirt or lehnga. While women of the Gujarat and
Rajasthan
provinces of India usually represent the outfit for foreigners, the
lehenga is native to various parts of India. Based on what part of
India one is referring to, the lehenga is worn in different styles,
made of different fabrics and includes unique patterns. The lehenga
of Rajasthan and gujarat is known for its bandhni work which is a
technique in tie-dye mastered by Hindu women of the
region. In the Southern states of India, the lehenga skirt is not
as voluminous and is worn without a chunni/chunri but with a kurti
that covers the midriff. The Lehenga worn in the Northern states of
Uttar
Pradesh and Uttarkhand has a
voluminous skirt and kurti/choli that covers midriff with a long
chunni.
Choli Art Gallery
A bra is often used in order to conceal the
nipple of the breasts.
External links
choli in German: Choli
choli in Hungarian: Choli
choli in Swedish: Choli