पहनावा और वस्त्र

Chikan kurtaMen and women

Fine cotton, mulmul or georgette embroidered white on white. The summer garment of the region, and the one thing almost every visitor leaves with.

किस मौके पर: Summer and formal

AngarkhaMen

The cross-over court coat tied at the side, cut with a cusped chest opening in the Lucknow style — ancestor of the modern angarkha kurta sold everywhere.

किस मौके पर: Ceremonial

Farshi pyjamaWomen

A trouser cut so full below the knee that it pools on the floor and is carried over the arm while walking. Nearly extinct outside weddings and revival collections.

किस मौके पर: Formal, in Nawabi households

Sharara and ghararaWomen

Wide flared trousers joined at the knee with a decorative gota band, worn with a short kurti and dupatta. The gharara's knee seam is the identifying detail.

किस मौके पर: Weddings, Eid

Do-patli dhoti and gamchhaMen, rural

A dhoti wrapped in the shorter two-fold village style, worn with a gamchha over the shoulder.

किस मौके पर: Everyday

Lucknow Chikankariजीआई टैगLucknow, Barabanki, Unnao, Sitapur

A white-on-white surface embroidery of more than thirty named stitches, worked by hand and overwhelmingly by women in home workshops across the city and its ring of villages. Registered as a geographical indication in 2008.

Lucknow Zardoziजीआई टैगLucknow

Metal-thread work in gold and silver wire, sequin and salma-sitara, couched onto silk and velvet on a wooden adda frame. Registered as a geographical indication in 2013.

Mukaish (badla)Lucknow

Flattened metal wire twisted through the cloth in tiny dots so the fabric glints without any surface embroidery — fardi ka kaam. Very few badla-workers remain.

KamdaniLucknow

Light metal-thread work on fine muslin, historically applied over chikankari on dupattas.