The top portion of the two-piece dress, called the chador (pronounced : Sador), is a long piece of cloth that has one end tucked into the upper portion of the mekhela above the belly button and the rest is draped around the chest and back. The other end of the chador is tucked in the belly after making a few pleats. A fitted blouse is often worn with Mekhela chador. Traditionally, in the past, another garment called riha was worn as a chador or as an inner piece below the chador. A riha is still worn as part of the Assamese bridal trousseau and sometimes seen people wearing in indigenous traditional events like Bihu and other Assamese festivals. Ornamental designs on the mekhela-chadors are traditionally woven, never printed. Sometimes a woven pattern called the paari, is stitched along the sides of a chador, or along the bottom of a mekhela. The patterns include motifs of animals, birds, human forms, flowers, diamond, and celestial phenomenon. These indigenous patterns are woven by tribal and nontribal Weavers. The motifs are known as phul. The bright-hued diamond motifs representing fine workmanship is a typical and traditional feature of the textiles of Assam. In Pat and Muga silk, delicate designs of flowers and creepers while bold motifs of geometric shapes are typically found in Eri and Cotton
