When a kurta costs three times what a plain one does, the difference is almost always the embroidery. It is worth understanding what you are paying for, because the word embroidery covers everything from a machine-run motif costing a few rupees to weeks of hand labour by a skilled craftsperson.

Here is what the common techniques actually are.

Zari

Zari is metallic thread, historically drawn from real gold and silver and now almost universally a metallised polyester or a copper core with a gold-coloured coating. It is woven or embroidered into fabric to produce the lustrous lines you see on banarasi weaves, borders and festive kurtas.

Recognising it: a continuous metallic thread following a pattern, flat against the fabric rather than raised.

Care: zari tarnishes on contact with air, moisture and other fabrics. It should be stored wrapped in muslin, and it must never be touched directly with a hot iron, which discolours it permanently.

Zardozi

The heavy, three-dimensional, raised metallic work associated with Mughal court dress, and the most opulent embroidery in the Indian repertoire. Zardozi builds up motifs using metal wire, coiled thread, sequins, beads and stones, worked with a needle onto a stretched fabric frame.

Recognising it: it is raised and it has weight. A heavily zardozi-worked garment is physically heavy, and that heaviness is a reliable indicator that the work is genuine rather than printed.

Care: dry clean only, without exception. Store flat, never on a hanger, because the weight of the work will distort the shoulders over time.

Chikankari

A hand-embroidery tradition from Lucknow, worked traditionally in white thread on white or pale fabric. It is delicate, subtle and, when genuine, entirely handmade. Chikankari comprises dozens of distinct stitches, and a piece may use several across a single motif.

Recognising genuine work: turn the garment inside out. Hand chikankari shows a clean, deliberate reverse with the shadow-work visible from behind. Machine imitation shows a mechanical, uniform reverse with a continuous thread trail between motifs, and it lacks the slight irregularity that hand work always has.

Care: gentle hand wash in cold water, no wringing, dry in shade. It is more robust than zardozi but less so than plain fabric.

Cutwork and lace

Cutwork involves cutting away sections of the base fabric and finishing the raw edges with stitching, producing a pattern of openings. The result is light, airy and unmistakably decorative, which is why it appears so frequently on dupattas and yokes.

Care: the cut edges are the weak point. Cutwork snags easily on jewellery and rough surfaces, and a snagged edge will run. Wash in a mesh bag, and store folded rather than hung.

Aari or maggam work

Executed with a hooked needle on stretched fabric, producing a fast, fine chain stitch. Aari work is the technique behind a great deal of intricate bridal and festive embroidery, and it can incorporate beads, sequins and stones as it goes.

Recognising it: a fine, continuous chain-stitch line forming the outline of motifs, densely worked.

Mirror work, or shisha

Small mirrors held to the fabric by a framework of stitches. Traditional to Gujarat and Rajasthan, and instantly recognisable.

Care: mirrors have edges, and edges catch. Wash inside out, never scrub, and be aware that a lost mirror leaves an obvious gap. Check the stitching around each mirror when the garment arrives.

Thread and machine embroidery

The great majority of embroidery on affordable ready-to-wear is machine-run thread embroidery, and there is nothing dishonest about that. It is consistent, durable, washable and inexpensive, and it is the reason a well-decorated kurta can be sold for under two thousand rupees.

What matters is knowing which you are buying. Machine work should be priced as machine work.

How to tell hand from machine

• Turn it inside out. Hand work has a variable, purposeful reverse. Machine work has a uniform reverse with visible bobbin thread and long trailing jumps between motifs.
• Look for irregularity. Perfect uniformity across every motif indicates a machine. Slight variation between motifs indicates a hand.
• Feel the weight. Genuine metallic and zardozi work has real weight. Printed imitation has none.
• Consider the price. Hand embroidery represents hours of skilled labour, and it cannot be sold cheaply. A heavily hand-embroidered piece at a machine-work price is not hand-embroidered.

The universal care rules

Whatever the technique, three rules apply to every embroidered garment: wash it inside out in cold water, never iron directly onto the work, and store it in cotton rather than plastic. Follow those and the embroidery you paid for will outlast the fabric it sits on.

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