How to wear a saree – the Maxim version

Wear your pants, Sari matters! Trouser Sarees

“They make the wearer look so slim and sexy,” says Kolkata-based designer Preeti Jhawar who retails from designer stores like Ensemble in Mumbai.

Delhi-based designer Anju Modi says , “I once demonstrated it on stage. It looks good on the ramp. But…”

These designers are discussing the latest style of draping the sari. Move over petticoats, the quintessential feminine wear now has a new, masculine partner — trousers. The ying and yang of dressing.

Yes, the hep crowd no longer prefers draping the six yards over bulky petticoats. The demure saree is now all set for a transformation, in keeping with the busy lifestyle of the modern woman, for whom comfort matters as much as classic chic.

So, the bulky petticoat which for generations served the dual purpose of keeping the saree tucked in and modesty, is being given the heave-ho. The place is now being reserved for the trendy trousers. “It’s a trend and a major one as socialites, models and just about everybody is now preferring to wear trousers underneath the saree. Even chudidars are popular with many,” says Shaina N C who showed the same at the Saree Drape in Hyderabad last year. After experimenting with double length saree for select clientele, the Mumbai-based designer seems to have voted for this trend.

A comfortable style, they all say, but then is it really? How would you deal with the practical problem of taking it off if you have to visit the restroom? Preeti is clueless about how. “God knows,” she says, “maybe they could put a zipper or something…” Even Chintan, a Mumbai based designer seems stumped. He guesses that a pre-stitched saree would be the answer.

Besides extolling the comfort value, Shaina too is unaware of the practical difficulties. “Since you tuck the pleats into the trouser, you don’t have to fear it falling off.” Right, but it still poses that practical problem — can you strut around in a saree tucked into a trouser the whole day long? Or is it just a glamour wear that you primp up in for a few hours of exotica? Can you comfortably wear a saree over trousers or chudidars and still perform all your activities?

When in doubt, consult the experts. In this case, the original diva of fashion, Shobhaa De, who long dispensed with the petticoat but didn’t replace the bulky wear with the slimmer trousers. Shobhaa shimmered around at high society dos, slim figure silhouetted in a saree and nothing else. Just a plain old nada around the waist and lo, the saree stays in place. Practicality meets glamour, 21st century style.

The ’90s woman pushed the saree to the back of her cupboard as being too traditional and impractical for the bustle of the work place, but the 21st century woman is willing to give this symbol of traditional Indian beauty its due place in the wardrobe. With modifications, to suit her needs. So the petticoat, which is seen as too bulky, too restricting and just too unglamorous is consigned to the back of the wardrobe. Just think how it hides all the curves (of course, lard too). But if you take the trouble to work out and have a well-toned figure, why hide it behind yards of material? A trouser or chudidar beneath gives a far more sexier and slimmer silhouette and makes you feel a part of the glamorous set.

The six yards of saree hasn’t had so much attention focussed on it since Zandra Rhodes tried to westernise this quintessential Indian garment in the ’80s. But now the saree is all set for another revival. In today’s world of flux where the east blends seamlessly with the west, it is but natural that the sari’s new partner is the trouser. Just think how much more comfortable Vijayshanthi will now be executing all her stunts. Just leap up and kick, secure in the knowledge that the trousers won’t trip you.

(Deccan Chronicle)

Via DesPerdes

Wordless Wednesday – Saree Self Portrait

Wordless Wednesday – we let the Saree do all the talking.

Saree Self Portrait by Aditi Kidambi

Pallu pleated to perfection

I love this picture from FunEnclave.com

Gorgeous saree, and just look at the Pallu – pleated to perfection!

When we have the SariWiki going at some point, you will even be able to identify the style.

Now, that is an innovative saree draping

A nice collection of pictures showing different styles of wearing saree

Khusbu at Talk Girly has some nice pictures of different styles of wearing a saree.

This one is especially nice.

How to wear a saree t-shirt

This is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time!

A T-Shirt with instructions on how to wear a saree! I guess sometime it can serve as an excuse for why you are not wearing a saree!

A sari is a complicated piece of clothing. Sure it’s silky and sexy and some cultural situations require you to wear one. But isn’t a tshirt so much easier? Perfect for a trip to the mall or the local indian eatery, this tshirt is super comfortable, totally modest, and comes with instructions if you change your mind!

Tulsi Saree and Question on how to wrap wear or drape a saree

Came across a delightful story and question from Gwen Berwick

After a couple of different women helped her put on a saree, she came back to the ashram she is staying in:

I got back to the Ashram and sat down on the porch in front of the Bala Shanti teachers. They all started giggling until finally one of them came up to me and said, “I’ll fix your saree. Come with me.” Again, off comes the saree and this woman goes to work wrapping it a different way, this time less pins and even less folding. It looked different than the way Vinu’s aunt wrapped it, or the woman at the battery shop. Apparently there isn’t one way to wrap a saree.

Yes, there are 150+ different ways of wearing a saree. We at Saree Dreams are working on setting up a wiki to describe each of the wrap in great detail.

And now her question is:

Now that I have been wearing it for a day or so no matter where I am some woman will take me to a corner and readjust my saree. I might know her but usually I don’t. If anyone knows the trick to a universal wrap that all Indian women will feel satisfied with, let me know!

May be it is rhetoric question, but that that never stopped me for answering before.

My thinking is that the other women are not “dissatisfied” with the particular style of wearing a saree; they are probably uncomfortable with the saree that is worn in a particular style but is not draped right.

The Nivi style is the most common style of wearing a saree. But the Nivi style includes a step of making four or five pleats in the front. And these pleats have to be of equal width. So if another woman notices a saree, draped in a Nivi style, but if the pleats are slightly uneven, that would concern her.

Some of it might have to do with the fabric too; some home spun fabrics are hard to manage and require ironing to make sure that the drapes fall where they need to, other types of synthetic fabrics are too “slippery” to manage. You put it on perfectly, walk a few steps and the pleats are no longer the same size anymore!

But the Saree looks great! There is certain sense of calmness that it projects. Thanks for sharing.