Get Ready to Dance the Night Away! 10 Mesmerising Gujarati Chaniya Cholis for Navratri & 5 Ways to Rock Them (2019)

Although Navratri being primarily a Gujarati festival, all Indians love dressing up in the Gujarati attire during the 9 days of festivities. During this time women love to flaunt Chaniya Choli, the traditional dress to wear for these festive nights. Also known as Ghagra Choli or Lehenga Choli, this form of attire is worn differently more from a fashion/style perspective. For instance, typically a ghagra choli comes with a two-piece that includes a top called the choli and the bottom skirt which is called the Ghaghra, with or without a dupatta. With changing times, the need for a dupatta has become selective as per individual preferences as well as style of dress. Just as attention to detail is given to the lehenga, you can choose to experiment with the style of your choli to stand out from the crowd this Navratri.

In the western part of the country, women wear the traditional chaniya choli casually that’s backless. This has now become a trend in the modern scenario with more ladies wanting to go bold in ethnic attire. An attire that comes without much handwork is a simple chaniya choli, while some women go with light prints or patterned designs, which is lightweight and easier to carry, given the long hours spent in dancing. The Kathiyawadi Choli is another Gujarati form of choli which is crafted in multi-coloured bandhani fabric, with thread work and designer lace on the sleeves.

The more glitter and colour you add to your Garba attire, the more vibrant and pretty you look. Explore incorporating neon colours like pink and fluorescent orange in your dress. While all colours look nice in a chaniya choli, colours like red, green, yellow, and orange make it all the more visually appealing. Play around with prints like 3D, block prints or floral patterns. See how your complexion matches with deep reds, vibrant rainbow hues and orange. The dandiya dress made with intricate shisha embroidery or kutch work, cowry work with a little bit of patchwork is quite in trend these days. Paired with a stylish & contrast coloured dupatta, the dress will make you stand out.

A handmade kutch choli in bright colours paired with a flared lehenga with a wide contrast border would look chic. Gamthi embroidery is another handcraft embroidery art that uses thick threads like wool, shaping the designs into lines and geometric shapes that resemble floral designs. A full flared chaniya with such vibrant hand embroidered border and buttis through the length of the blouse looks very captivating too. You can further enhance the vibe by adding a heavy georgette dupatta to complete the look. Since dupatta forms an essential part of Indian ethnic attire, if you embellish it heavy with ethnic designs, block or batik prints, these too would take your style quotient a notch up.

Add substance to your Navratri outfit by pairing oxidized jewellery with it. For a simple and elegant dress, balance with an oxidized necklace for an out of the ordinary look. Choosing the appropriate ornaments to enhance your overall look is essential, like adding a pair of earrings, a maang tika or colourful bangles, anklets and or a contrasting potli bag will bring in an element of surprise and awe. For footwear bring in the colourful mojari shoes, with multicoloured Resham embroidery work to add colour to your Garba nights. The mojari will also gel well with your other casual outfits.

Priced at Rs.2,345, the Navratri Special Mirror Work Chaniya Choli from fabja.com, is made of cotton fabric and crafted with special mirror work in multi-colours. Ideal for Garba nights, this beautiful ensemble has multi-coloured mirror and embroidery work on a black lehenga. Measuring 38” in length, the lehenga has intricate lace borders both on the skirt as well as the dupatta. The dupatta has leheriya print in orange on georgette fabric. The Navratri Special Mirror Work Multi Color Chaniya Choli can be custom made up to 40 & 42” as it is semi-stitched.

Smart and elegant, the Yellow Art Silk Lehenga Choli with a pleated border and stylish choli comes with a Sea Green Dupatta decorated with embroidery work. This beautiful and ethnic lehenga choli comes with bell ruffles on the hem and the sleeves with a contrast dupatta and a gorgeous swirl, making for a magnificent outfit. Weighing 3kg, the ensemble is made of net and art silk fabrics with print and embroidery work. While the choli has printed panels stitched on the sleeves against a yellow base, the lehenga is plain and matching in colour. The net dupatta is embellished with golden dots on the surface and onion pink pom-poms adorn the border of the dupatta. The Yellow Lehenga Choli With Net Dupatta is priced at Rs.3,399 at rajwadi.com.

Traditionally marked with resham, mirror work and dangles, this beautiful Navratri Special Cotton Lehenga comes in a semi-stitched piece. The choli is made of art silk fabric against a black blouse base with multicoloured resham embroidery and mirror work. It also has multi-coloured pom-pom adorning the edges of the choli both on the sleeves and at the base. The lehenga is black, with multi-coloured matching work through the length of the skirt with a lime green band waist and colourful danglers decorating the skirt’s design. The dupatta is made of cotton fabric and is green in colour, again with multicoloured embroidery work at the edge with gota patti work. The skirt waist and hips can be customized from 34” to 36” and 42” to 44”, while its length remains 41”. The Navaratri Special Cotton Lehenga in Black from utsavfashion.com is priced at Rs. 4,224.

The traditional Chaniya Cholis from saree.com comes with kachchi work on a red base. An unstitched chaniya choli set in cotton fabric, this ethnic ensemble comes with a blouse piece, a lehenga and a cotton dupatta, all decorated with kachchi embroidery, mirror and thread work in a circular style. It’s a beautiful melee of varied colours on a red base and a black dupatta, which highlights the vibrancy of all the intricate detailing that’s gone into the chaniya choli. Priced at Rs. 4,940, the red cotton traditional chaniya choli will win you compliments this Navratri.

The newest design of Garba Chaniya Choli from fabja.com comes to you in a combination of white and multicoloured mirror work across the attire. The black choli in different coloured mirror work and embroidery stands out against the white of the lehenga, blending well with the other colours and lace hemming through the length of the skirt, the dupatta and the choli sleeves. The chaniya choli set also includes a blue coloured dupatta in georgette fabric with leheriya print. Measuring 38” in length the lehenga can be customized to 40/42”. The White Garba Dance Cotton Navratri Chaniya Choli is priced at Rs.2,345.

The Yellow and Black Chaniya Choli from jiofab.com has been crafted in soft cotton material and styled as a traditional anarkali lehenga set. In a blend of yellow and black, the set includes a soft cotton choli with resham embroidery and seashell work on a black blouse, measuring 1.2m. The lehenga, also in matching fabric has been designed in layers, with the top layer in black and the inner layer in yellow and decorated with matching work just above the hemline. The set also includes a cotton dupatta in black, again decorated with embroidery and seashell work, in addition to colourful danglers, giving off a rich ethnic look. Priced at Rs.5,499, the Yellow and Black Chaniya Choli is just perfect for the festivities.

This beautiful and colourful festive special Garba Navratri Chaniya Choli from anvicreations.in comes with a semi-stitched white blouse, decorated with kutchi work in different colours, a blue coloured lehenga with a drawstring, apt for a 40” waist size and a length of 40-42”. The lehenga has beautiful embroidery at the waist and towards the base of the skirt with a laced border. The set also includes a pink coloured satin dupatta measuring 2.25m with a laced border. The choli has a button strip which can be custom-tailored to any size up to a bust size of 40”. Priced at Rs.1,999, the Garba Cotton Chaniya Choli 3 Piece Lehenga with kutchi work is a colourful rendition of the Navratri festivities.

This solid Orange Navratri Special Chaniya Choli brings to you an orange and black set of the choli, lehenga and dupatta with gorgeous resham work. The choli is made of orange Banglore silk fabric and designed with gamthi embroidery work, while the lehenga is made in cotton fabric in matching resham and gamthi work and danglers at the waist and the base of the skirt. The set also includes a blue dupatta in leheriya print and a gota patti border with the inner part decorated in embroidery work. The beautiful Orange Color Pure Cotton Resham Work Navratri Special Chaniya Choli is priced at Rs.2,779 and available on fabja.com.

Perfect for the Navratri festivities, this embroidered Navratri Chaniya Choli is a cotton ensemble in neon yellow and black. Inclusive of an embroidered black choli, with 3 quarter sleeves, the choli is decorated with intricate embroidery both on the neck and sleeves. The lehenga is in neon yellow colour with a black hemline, again decorated with multicoloured embroidery on the base of the skirt. The lehenga has a drawstring dangler at the waist. The set also includes a black dupatta completely adorned with multicoloured embroidery. The embroidered Navratri Chaniya Choli is priced at Rs.5,850 and available on shopclues.com.

Made in 90% satin and 10% cotton blend fabrics, the colourful Garba Chaniya Choli from amazon.in comes with multicoloured kutch embroidery and mirror work, with colourful pom-pom and tassels along the hemline with a contrast coloured dupatta. Measuring 40” inches at the waist, which is adjustable with a drawstring, the lehenga is 34” in length with a 3.5meter flare and is pink in colour. The choli is multicoloured, decorated in embroidery and mirror work with a round neckline and can be custom stitched to 42” inches chest size at the maximum for a length of 15.5”. The set also includes a white coloured dupatta measuring 2.10m with colourful mirror work through the length of the dupatta decorated with embroidery and tassels at the edges. The Garba Chaniya Choli is priced at Rs.2,499.

Navratri is all about dressing up vibrantly; Get together with your loved ones, to celebrate unity and honour Maa Durga’s presence in our lives. Given the celebratory fervour, it's only fair that your outfits reflect the same pomp and show as the festival deserves, albeit with a modern twist! Here’s how you can go bold and bright with vibrant colours and mix and match the ethnicity of the festival with your modern fashion style.