Difference Between Chaniya Choli, Lehenga and Ghagra

Customers ask us this more than anything else, often while holding one outfit and calling it two different names. The short answer: they are the same outfit, a long flared skirt with a blouse and a dupatta. The name changes with the region, and the finish changes with the occasion.

Difference between chaniya choli, lehenga and ghagra

• Chaniya choli: the Gujarati name. Light, very flared, made for Garba.
• Lehenga: the north Indian name. Heavier, with work all over, made for weddings.
• Ghagra: the Rajasthani name, and the oldest. A gathered, very full skirt.

What is a chaniya choli?

Chaniya is the skirt and choli is the blouse. This is the Garba outfit. The chaniya is made to spin: it has a full flare made of many panels called kali, so it opens into a circle when you turn. It is kept light so you can dance for hours. The choli is short and fitted, often with a tie-back. Embroidery, mirrors and gamthi work go on the blouse and the hem. The skirt itself is usually cotton, Roman silk or a printed fabric. The dupatta is tied across the body, out of the way.

What is a lehenga?

Lehenga is the Hindi and north Indian name, and the one the wedding industry uses. A lehenga choli is the same skirt and blouse, but heavier: silk, velvet or net, with zari, sequin or zardozi work all over the skirt. The dupatta is draped, not tied. The weight is part of the look. Nobody spins in a wedding lehenga.

What is a ghagra?

Ghagra is the Rajasthani name and the oldest of the three. A ghagra is a gathered skirt. In the past it could use many metres of cloth, pleated onto a waistband. It is worn with a kanchli or kurti and an odhni. In Rajasthan the everyday ghagra is cotton, often leheriya or bandhej with gota borders.

Difference between lehenga and ghagra

A ghagra is the older Rajasthani gathered skirt, usually cotton for every day. A lehenga is the north Indian name, now used for the heavier, embellished wedding version. Both are worn with a blouse and a dupatta or odhni.

Which one to wear for Navratri

Choose a chaniya choli, because it is made to move. Check three things:

• Flare: ask how many kali the chaniya has. Twelve is fine. Twenty-four makes a full circle, and you will see the difference the first time you turn.
• Weight: lift it. If it feels heavy in your hands, it will feel heavier at midnight.
• Fit: the choli must not ride up when you raise your arms. This is a fitting problem, not a size problem, and a tailor can fix it. We alter cholis on request.