Pattu Pavadai Chattai

A little girl dressed in a long skirt and blouse made of silk with gold border, a pattu pavadai chattai .
South India. 1967

Pattu pavadai chattai was worn during weddings, birthdays and on all festivals especially during Navaratri and Diwali. I used to get at least two sometimes three outfits every year.

I loved to wear them. The skirt had a bodice and I could easily slip into them like putting on a frock. The blouses were either fastened in the front or at the back. I had to keep them tidy and not let the skirt border trail in the mud. I loved to spin around and round until the skirt billowed up with air.

In my mind’s eye I was a colorful top spinning around in the same spot playing in the courtyard, dizzy no doubt while waiting eagerly for the guests to arrive.

Pattu pavadai chattai continues to be a popular outfit worn by girls between the ages of five and fifteen. In the later teens they would wear a sash or davani on top of the pattu pavadai chattai.

Source: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-951377?ref=feeds%2Flatest

Pavadai Dhavani

Pavadai Dhavani is a traditional attire worn by the young girls of Tamilnadu. This clothing represents the cultural heritage of Tamil Nadu and is worn by the girls as soon as they attain puberty till they get married.
This dress is also used in other South Indian states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. It is called as Langa Voni in Telugu, Langa Dhavani in Kannadam and commonly known as two-piece saree or half saree.


The origin of half saree is said to be Tamilnadu. However, the exact records of origination have not yet been found. As a matter of fact, padavai dhavani is being worn by the Tamil women for more than three to four centuries.

The grace of pavadai dhavani has attracted Malayalis and they adopted this style with open hands. Dhavani was defined as the symbol of rural beauty. But, the trend of salwar kameez set back pavadai dhavani for few years and it is considered as old fashioned. Even the girls who had the desire of wearing this traditional dress, stayed away from it just because of the reason that people may consider them as old-fashioned. But, the new form of padavai dhavani is on track, which is the blend of both the rural style as well as the urban style.


There is a tradition in Tamilnadu to conduct a function whenever a girl attains puberty. The girl is presented with the half saree by her maternal grand parents and she has to wear the dress for the first half of the function. Her paternal grand parents should present her a saree that should be worn in the second half.

The tradition of presenting pavadai dhavani by the grand parents starts with Naamakaranai (naming ceremony) of the baby girl, followed by her Annaprasannah (first rice feeding ceremony) and finally during her age ceremony.

Due to the influence of western culture and due to the inconvenience & time constraints, the girls made switch from traditional attire to modern outfits. In recent years, the trend of wearing half saree has come back by the attention of media and also by the interest taken by few entrepreneurs. In olden days, padavai dhavani simply meant a long silk skirt with the same color blouse and a contrasting color dhavani draping over the left shoulder.

Source : http://tamilnadu.com/fashion/pavadai-dhavani.html