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The costumes of West Bengal reflect the state's rich cultural traditions. The traditional costume of the women of West Bengal is saree, though salwar kameez and western wears are also gaining in popularity. The women of West Bengal prefer to adorn themselves with a variety of colourful sarees, which they wear in a characteristically Bengali fashion. Both silk and cotton sarees are very much popular in West Bengal. Among the silk sarees, Baluchari sarees have achieved a legendary reputation.
They are the products of wonderful craftsmanship of the weavers of West Bengal, which endow the wearer with a seminal style statement. Daccai sarees are also quite famous and popular both within and outside West Bengal. In fact, West Bengal has an exquisite weaving tradition, which has given its sarees a unique appeal. Shantipur in Nadia district, Begumpur in Hooghly district, Kenjekura in Bankura district are weavers' havens.
The traditional costumes for the men of West Bengal are dhoti and panjabi. The former is a lower garment, while the latter is an upper garment. Panjabi is similar to kurtas that are worn in north India as upper garments. The dhoti and panjabi can be of cotton as well as silk. However, very few Bengali men of this generation and even its earlier generation, wear dhoti and panjabi, except on formal occasions like weddings or Durga Puja. In day-to-day usage, they prefer to wear western wear in work and leisure.
Besides handlooms, West Bengal is also known for its intricate needlework, which even in this information age is practiced by the women of West Bengal in homes. Colourful kanthas are the products of this painstaking but emotionally rewarding embroidery and needlework. These multi-coloured patchwork quilts, stitched from often discarded pieces of garments, are not only beautiful to look, but useful. They can serve as bedspreads, as mirror-wraps or as plain quilts to ward away mild winters. Sometimes these kanthas have illustrated artworks stitched on them, which adds to their aesthetic appeal.
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