How do you know if a silk saree is real?
Real silk feels smooth and warm, has a soft, slightly uneven sheen, and burns slowly with a smell like burning hair, leaving ash that crumbles. Synthetic "art silk" feels slippery and cool, shines evenly, and melts into a hard bead. In India, the Silk Mark label certifies pure silk.
The touch test
Rub the fabric between your fingers. Real silk warms up; polyester stays cool and feels slick. Real silk also crumples softly, and its colour shifts slightly in the light.
The burn test
Pull a single thread from the edge, never from the body of the saree, and hold it to a flame. Silk burns slowly, smells like hair, and leaves fine ash. Polyester shrinks, melts and smells of plastic.
How to identify a real Banarasi saree
Turn it over. A handwoven Banarasi shows loose floats of thread on the reverse and small irregularities in the pattern; machine-made versions are perfectly even on both sides. Pure silk Banarasis often carry the Silk Mark or a handloom mark.
What MahiElegance tells you about each saree
Every saree's page names its fabric as our supplier describes it (for example "soft Banarasi silk", "tussar silk" or "muga cotton"), and gives its length, blouse piece and care instructions. Not sure? Ask us on WhatsApp before you order.