New Delhi, July 17 - The traditional sari is making a stylish comeback in the wardrobes of young women in cities, with corporate honchos, politicians and actresses inspiring the new generation to drape it not only as evening wear but also to office.

'Most of the young generation wears saris to parties, evening get-togethers because you stand out and it is a most sensual attire. It looks great on every woman, irrespective of their body type,' ace designer Ritu Kumar, known for her ethnic Indian saris, told IANS.

Kumar feels the sari will remain special because of its elegance.

'There is a lot of mobility in the young generation, so they prefer to wear salwar-kurtas or Western dresses at their workplace, but the sari is still worn by many urban women. It will never disappear from the fashion circuit,' she said.

Puneet Nanda, the owner of well-known sari brand Satya Paul, agrees. 'Young working women are not accustomed to wearing saris to the workplace. But that doesn't mean saris are not selling. You would be surprised to know that in the past few years, the sale of saris has gone up by 20 percent,' he said.

Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee has earned a name for himself by experimenting with the six yards. The same goes for Anamika Khanna and Bollywood's favourite style guru Manish Malhotra.

Young girls are making sure their wedding trousseau has an impressive mix of designer and ethnic saris.

'I wear saris for special occasions like Diwali or for a formal dinner party. I wore the sari for my court marriage. Saris are elegant and make me feel feminine,' said Sunaina, who got married recently.

'I love Benarsi saris and I also like Sabyasachi's collection. The great thing about saris is that you can pass them on to the next generation. On my wedding, my mom didn't buy any new sari, she wore her wedding sari that I thought was special,' added 26-year-old Sunaina who is a working woman.

Canada-based Indian filmmaker Deepa Mehta wore a tissue sari that was part of her mother's trousseau for the Oscar night in 2007 when her Hindi film 'Water' was nominated in the best foreign film category.