Pithi Ceremony Outfits
Pithi is the Gujarati turmeric ceremony, and it has a shape of its own: two homes, one morning each, and usually a puja on the same day. What everyone wears to it, and why.
For pithi, wear light cotton, mulmul or a soft silk blend in yellow, ivory, mint, peach or pale pink, with light hand work — gota patti, thread, a little mirror — and short or no sleeves, because the paste stains and goes on the arms. The groom wears a white, cream or yellow cotton kurta. Guests follow the same palette, a step quieter.
Pithi is what much of India calls haldi, and the turmeric behaves the same way. The Gujarati version has its own habits, though. The paste is often turmeric with chickpea flour, sandalwood and rose water. It is applied to the bride and the groom at their own homes, by the women of each family, usually a day or two before the wedding. And it very often falls on the same day as the grah shanti or the mandap muhurat, which means the pithi outfit has to live beside a puja outfit worn a few hours earlier.
The general rules for turmeric are on our haldi outfits page. This page is about the pithi as Gujarati families actually hold it.
Pithi outfit for the bride
Cloth that takes the paste and washes, or that you accept will not: cotton, mulmul, a light silk blend. A light lehenga, a sharara, a short kurta with a flared skirt or a simple saree all work. Keep the hand work light — gota patti and thread photograph beautifully in morning light and cost little to lose. Short sleeves or none, and a neckline that leaves the shoulders reachable, because the paste goes on the face, arms, shoulders and feet.
Many brides wear flowers instead of jewellery for pithi: phool jewellery is light, photographs well against yellow, and nobody minds when it is stained.
Pithi outfit colours
Yellow is traditional and practical. Ivory, cream, mint, peach, pale pink and marigold orange all work as well, and a family that wants a palette rather than a uniform can have one: the bride in yellow with the women in ivory and pink is common and photographs very well.
Two things do not work: dark colours, on which turmeric reads as a stain, and anything heavy, which turns a cheerful morning into a worry.
Pithi outfit for the groom and the men
The groom has his own pithi at his own home, and he is in every photograph of it. A cotton kurta in white, cream, lemon or pale yellow with a churidar or pyjama, short enough at the hem not to drag through the paste, is the usual answer. A plain kurta is fine for the brothers, fathers and cousins; the groom’s is worth making properly. Men of the family follow the same palette, which makes the group photographs far easier.
Pithi outfit for women and girls in the family
The same rule as the bride, one step lighter: cotton or light silk, a colour that sits beside hers, little hand work. Mothers and aunts often wear a light cotton or chiffon saree; sisters and cousins a short kurta and skirt or a light lehenga. Girls are happiest in cotton they can run around in. Made together, the women of one family look like one family.
What guests wear to a pithi
Guests at a pithi are usually close family and friends, and they are expected to be daubed too. Wear something light in yellow, ivory, pastel or a cheerful print, nothing heavy and nothing dark, and nothing you would mind being marked. A cotton kurta set, a light saree or a simple lehenga is right. If the family has chosen a palette, they will tell you.
When pithi shares a day with the puja
Grah shanti or the mandap muhurat in the morning, pithi afterwards: two outfits in one day, and often a change in between. Plan them as a pair. The puja outfit is the traditional one you sit in through the ritual; the pithi outfit is the lighter one you change into. Choosing them together stops both from being yellow, and stops the good one from meeting the turmeric.
Pithi outfit ideas
A marigold or lemon lehenga in a light fabric with an ivory dupatta. An ivory skirt with a yellow blouse and gota trim. A short mint kurta with a flared ivory skirt. A yellow cotton saree with a narrow border. For the groom, a lemon or white kurta with a light jacket he can take off before the paste. For a family, one colour in different cuts.
From outside Gujarat, or outside India
Each person is measured on a video call of about twenty minutes and the pieces are couriered. Light cotton pithi outfits are among the easiest things we make to send abroad, and they travel well in a suitcase if someone is flying in for the wedding.
From the collections Light premium silk from the Navratri collection, in the weight a pithi morning wants.
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Questions we are asked
What should a bride wear for her pithi ceremony?
Cotton, mulmul or a light silk blend in yellow or another light colour, with light hand work and short or no sleeves, so the paste can go on her arms and shoulders without going on the garment. Phool jewellery rather than gold is common.
What does the groom wear for pithi?
A white, cream, lemon or pale yellow cotton kurta with a churidar or pyjama, short enough not to drag through the paste. He has his own pithi at his own home and is in every photograph, so his is worth making properly.
What colours are best for a pithi outfit?
Yellow, ivory, cream, mint, peach, pale pink or marigold. Avoid dark colours, on which turmeric reads as a stain, and anything heavy.
Is pithi the same as haldi?
Pithi is the Gujarati name for the turmeric ceremony. The paste is similar, often with chickpea flour, sandalwood and rose water, and it is held at the bride’s and groom’s homes, usually a day or two before the wedding and often on the same day as the grah shanti.
What should guests wear to a pithi ceremony?
Something light — yellow, ivory, a pastel or a cheerful print — in cotton or light silk, that you would not mind being marked with turmeric. Avoid dark colours and heavy embroidery.
Can you make pithi outfits for a family living abroad?
Yes. Each person is measured on a video call of about twenty minutes, the pieces are made in Vadodara and couriered, or carried by whoever flies in for the wedding.
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