Chikankari Lawn Suit — Ivory

Description

Chikankari is white-on-white shadow work, and the part that separates the real thing from a printed copy is the jaali — the pulled-thread mesh where threads are drawn out of the cloth by hand rather than printed onto it. Hold this one up and the light comes through the mesh instead of sitting on top of it.

Every panel is worked by hand, so no two repeats are identical. Small variations in the density of the stitch are the signature of hand work, not a fault. A machine-run copy is perfectly regular, and perfectly flat.

It arrives unstitched as a three-piece — shirt, trouser and dupatta — so your own tailor can cut it to your fit. The lawn is light enough for a Lahore summer, and ivory takes tailoring well.

Wash separately in cold water the first time and dry in shade; direct sun on white lawn dulls it. Cash on delivery across Pakistan, free delivery over Rs 5,000, and seven days to exchange it as long as it comes back unstitched, unwashed and uncut.