Marriage Skirt and Blouse

At her wedding, the Cochini bride wore a sumptuously decorated version of her everyday dress: a short-sleeved blouse, such as this example, and wrapped skirt (lungi). She could spend up to one year embroidering the lavish gold-thread decoration, or, as in this example, gold and silver ornaments created by a jeweler were sewn on in beautiful patterns. In the past the bridal dress could be any color but in the 20th century white came to be preferred, probably due to Western influence. This clothing was expensive and made only for daughters of affluent families, but they were passed on within families and lent to poorer girls so that no matter a girl's means, she could be properly dressed and adorned for her wedding.

Source: The Jewish Museum, New York, 1985.