With a ton of options available and an introduction of new cultures, a lot of traditional styles have been adopted into modern day jewellery. A lot of traditional jewellery have been refurbished into modern styles to suit the tastes of modern women. Many women don’t like wearing the common necklace and earrings, they like it a bit more hip. For them, we have body jewellery. Body chains have been gaining a lot of popularity so let’s talk about other things that are more traditional in origin.
Belly chain (Kamarbandh)
Kamarbandh, also known as a belly chain or waist chain is, as the name suggests, a type of body jewellery worn around the waist. Waist chains are common for belly dancers, the chunky chains that the dancers wear accentuate every hip moment and show their skills off perfectly. The body chains have traditional ties as well. In India, in some religions, the newborns are given silver or gold waist chains.
Women wear Kamarband as well. It has been picking up and modern-day chains are stylish with charms, danglers, sparklers and are usually made of metal for a cheaper everyday option. Worn with jeans or traditional, it can give a delicate hype to your outfit. A thin waist chain is a way to go with jeans and short tops
Brooch
A brooch is, in simple words, just a glorified pin. It is decorative jewellery attached to the garment either to hold it together or just for show. They are mostly made of metal but if you are fancy then there is gold and silver too. It has a practical purpose like pinning the saree or holding a cloak together. It is also used just for decorative purposes like on the breast pocket. There are hair brooches too, those are very popular. For the purpose of this article, we will stick to body brooches.
Chatelaine (Chabi Challa)
Chabi Challa, anyone? The one that our moms tucked into the waistband of their sarees. We all wanted to try it because it looked like a grown-up piece of jewellery. It had weight to it, status to it. Well, the origin is actually about having power. Not only in India, but it also served the same purpose in ancient Rome as well.
It has been meant to show power since the 16th century. At that time they were typically used as watch chains in the Dutch Republic but the real reign started in the 19th century. It is sort of a keychain with keys to everything in the house. The elder woman of the house had it and that represented her power. The household was in her hands.
Nowadays, we wear it just for the sake of it, it looks pretty, no one actually uses them for keys anymore. They have become more of fashion pieces.
It is actually fun to look at some of the pieces, we adore as fashion statements and also have a strong ancient tie. After all, everything is recycled, every style, every piece of jewellery is going to be reincarnated to suit the needs of the current times. Looking at how far we have come is fascinating, to say the least.
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