Kerala is located on the southwest coast of India. It is bounded by the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, and Western Ghats mountain range. Kerala has a coastline of around 580km and total area of around 38,863 square kilometers. The traditional costumes of Kerala are simple and include the mundu and neriyathu worn by both men and women. The mundu is a lower garment worn around the hips and the neriyathu is an upper garment. Traditional attire also includes the saree worn by women. However, traditional costumes are being replaced by modern clothing like jeans and t-shirts.

2.  Kerala is located on the Malabar Coast, in
the southwest of India. It shares its borders
with Tamil Nadu to the east and Karnataka
to northeast. There is the Arabian Sea to the
west and the Indian Ocean to its south. It is
bounded by the Western Ghats in the east.
Total area of Kerala is about 38,863 square
kilometers. It is situated within the humid
equatorial tropics. Kerala's coast is about
580km in length.

3. • The major features of the
geography of Kerala are the
golden seashores, zigzag
rocky terrain of the Western
Ghats, abundant coconut
trees, the beautiful rivers and
gushing cascades, along with
straggling plantations and
paddy fields and fascinating
flora and fauna. Of course,
without the mention of
languid backwaters

4. Kerala's people are very simple, and this
innate simplicity is reflected in their
costumes. The traditional costumes of
Kerala are simple and decent. Women of
Kerala are not loaded with make-up.
Mundu and neriathu are the traditional
dresses for both men and women of
Kerala. Saree and blouse is another
popular traditional costume for the
women of Kerala. The mundu forms the
lower garment, while neriyathu is the
upper garment. The mundu is worn
around the hips, below the navel. This
hand-woven cotton cloth is very
comfortable during the summer. It is
generally cream or white in colour with
the coloured border or kara.

5. The traditional attire for men is Kasavu
Mundu. It is more popular in the rural
areas. It is 3-4 meter long cotton twin
cloth with the silk border. Kaily or lungy
is the informal dress for men. While
going outdoors, the men wear shirt and
mundu along with a small neriyathu on
the shoulder.

6. Mudu, neriyathu and saree are
integral parts of the costumes of
Kerala. On the special occasions
and festivals, it has an ornamental
kara with copper, golden coated or
artificial coloured designs of
peacock or temple. The colour of
the blouse is associated with age
and marital status of the woman.
Unmarried, young girls wear the
green blouse while the red blouse
is worn by the married women.

7. Like everything, the costumes of
Kerala are also undergoing a change.
Now-a-days, this traditional costume of
mundum-neriathum is being replaced
by the set-sari among women
The Keralite men are seen in the
modern T-shirts, and trousers or jeans.
The women also prefer to wear the
churidar kurta as well as jeans-top.
These traditional and elegant costumes
are slowly yielding space to modern
trends. Kerala is becoming more trendy,
but at the same time, losing some of its
class.

8.  Mundum neriyathum (set-mundu or mundu-set) is
the traditional clothing of women in Kerala, South
India. It is the oldest remnant of the ancient form
of the saree which covered only the lower part of
the body. In the mundum neriyathum, the most
basic traditional piece is the mundu or lower
garment which is the ancient form of the saree
denoted in Malayalam as 'Thuni(meaning cloth),
while the neriyathu forms the upper garment
added very recently to the mundu.The mundum
neryathum consists of two pieces of cloth, and
could be worn in either the traditional style with
the neriyathu tucked inside the blouse, or in the
modern style with the neriyathu worn over the left
shoulder.

9. The elegant Kerala Saree, off
white with gold border is
unique for their natural colour,
texture and golden border.
These sarees lend an
extraordinary elegance to the
person wearing it. Every
Malayali woman possesses at
least one Kerala sari in her
wardrobe.

10. The typical Kerala saree is hand woven and is 100
per cent unbleached cotton. It is known for its
fineness of count in weaving. The traditional
design of a Kerala saree had a 1 inch to 6-7 inch
pallu while the body remained plain. But now the
pallu goes up to one metre and the border and
pallu is decorated with common designs of
animals such as peacock and flowers. The sari is
now available in checks, stripes and a wide
variety of designs as well as in cotton mixed with
silk

11. Men in Kerala wear Kasavu mundu or dhothies during
festive occasions. In all places of worship, specially in
temples, the most preferred dress is the dhoti. This light
pure cotton handlooms edged with golden thread is some
times touched with contrasting bright colours. Dhoti's are
available in regular, large and extra large sizes
Kerala is also known for its unbleached cotton
handloom crepe popularly known as kora cloth which
has entered the foreign markets and occupy a proud
place in the garment industry.

12. Kasaragod sarees from the north of
Kerala are masterpieces made with
high quality yarn using traditional
hand made methods. It is known for
the design, quality, varied colour
pattern and ornamented jaris or
borders. The weaving is done in a
unique style by giving care to the
thread and applying a special kind of
paste to make the saree strong and
long lasting.