Snow-White Lukhnavi Chikan Top with Embroidered Flowers and Paisleys
Machine or hand-wash cold, inside out. Air-dry in shade. Iron on medium heat. Wash with similar colours the first time.
Complete your look
Hand-picked pieces that sing gently with this one.
Behind this piece
Lucknow's chikankari tradition stretches back at least three centuries, nurtured in the mohallas of the old city where artisans learned to coax thirty-two distinct stitches from a single length of thread. This top carries the quietly opulent vocabulary of that lineage: shadow-work petals that seem to float beneath the fabric's surface, raised paisley forms worked in murri and phanda, and the unmistakable airiness of hand-embroidered cotton that the Awadhi court once wore against the summer heat. Each motif is transferred by block-printing, then passed to a karigar's hands, where the real work begins.
How to style
Wear this top with wide-leg ivory palazzo trousers and Kolhapuri flats for an unhurried afternoon at a summer gallery or literary fair. For a nikah or intimate daytime celebration, pair it with a sharara in soft powder blue and finish with silver filigree jhumkas from Orissa. Come evening, tuck it into high-waisted cigarette trousers in ecru or sand, add a single strand of freshwater pearls, and slip on block-heeled mojris in nude leather. The white works with every season and reads as considered rather than plain.
Fabric & care
Hand-wash in cool water with a mild, pH-neutral detergent; never wring the fabric, as pure cotton distorts under pressure. Rinse twice to remove all soap residue, then press gently between two clean towels and air-dry flat in shade. Direct sunlight yellows white cotton over time. Iron on a medium-cotton setting while the cloth is still slightly damp, working on the reverse side to preserve the embroidered texture. Store folded in a muslin bag rather than a polythene cover, which traps moisture. Treated this way, the fabric will soften and improve with each careful wash.
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