Daiquiri-Green Cape from Kashmir with Aari Hand-Embroidered Flowers
Dry clean recommended. Store with natural cedar or neem leaves. Avoid direct sunlight and moisture.
Description
A cape the colour of a first monsoon leaf, worked over with flowers that seem to have bloomed overnight. This piece is made to order in Kashmir, where the Aari tradition of chain-stitch embroidery has been passed down through generations of craftsmen who work with a fine hooked needle, coaxing each petal and tendril from a single continuous thread. The ground is pure wool, warm without weight, with the quiet lustre that only natural fibre holds against winter light. The floral motifs follow a sensibility that is distinctly Kashmiri, rooted in the garden imagery that has defined the valley's textile vocabulary for centuries. Because each cape is made to order, the embroidery is worked fresh, ensuring the stitches carry the particular attention that mass production cannot replicate. Wear it over a simple ivory kurta for a gathering where restraint speaks louder than ornament, or layer it across the shoulders of a silk saree to let the embroidery hold its own conversation with the weave beneath.
Complete your look
Hand-picked pieces that sing gently with this one.
Behind this piece
In the shikhara-dotted valleys of Kashmir, Aari embroidery has been practised for centuries by craftsmen who learned the hooked needle technique as children, inheriting it the way one inherits a mother tongue. The craft takes its name from the aari, a fine awl-like hook that pulls thread through fabric in continuous chain stitches, building up floral motifs with a precision no machine can replicate. On this cape, those flowers bloom across pure Kashmiri wool in daiquiri green, a colour that recalls the first turning of the chinar tree in early autumn.
How to style
Wear this cape over a ivory silk kurta with wide-leg palazzos in cream or champagne for a literary festival or a winter wedding reception. For an evening gallery opening, layer it above a fitted black turtleneck and tailored cigarette trousers, letting the embroidery speak without competition. A diaspora occasion, Diwali or Eid, calls for pairing it with a tissue-silk saree draped simply, secured at the shoulder so the cape sits above the pleats. Complement each look with antique silver jewellery from Rajasthan; juttis in nude or gold complete the silhouette.
Fabric & care
Pure Kashmiri wool is resilient but responds best to gentleness. Dry-clean this cape whenever possible to protect both the fibre and the Aari embroidery threads. If hand-washing at home, use cold water and a mild, pH-neutral detergent, submerging the garment briefly without wringing or rubbing. Press out water gently between two clean towels. Dry flat in shade, never on a hanger, as wool stretches under its own wet weight. Store folded in a breathable muslin bag with a cedar block to deter moths. With this care, the piece will outlast seasons.
More from made to order
Sale
Sale
Sale
Reviews
No reviews yet — be the first to share your thoughts.
From the Journal
Stories about the craft, the loom, and the wearing of a piece like this one.
