Maroon

Nearly every bridal enquiry that comes through here starts with this colour, and a fair number of them end up regretting how it photographed.

Why it is chosen

It carries gold better than bright red, it is less severe against most skin tones, and it holds up in daylight, temple light and hall light without changing character. For a muhurtham blouse it is the safe choice in the good sense of the phrase.

The trap

Maroon photographs darker than it looks in a shop. A deep maroon with dark antique gold work can read as one flat dark shape in a photograph taken from across a hall, and all the detail somebody spent a fortnight on disappears. The fix is contrast: brighter gold, a lighter thread outlining the motifs, or pearl worked in to catch light the ground swallows.

That decision has to be made before the design is agreed, and it is why the material should be seen rather than described.

What it sits with

Maroon takes both bright and antique gold, which is unusual. It also takes ivory, gold-green and a touch of deep pink. It does not take silver well.

Bring the saree and the jewellery in daylight. Matching maroon to maroon under a shop tube light is how two pieces that clash end up in the same photograph.