#6 Drape a sari perfectly

As  a part of my 30 before 30 list, I learned how to drape a sari well. Special thanks to my mum, and the internet!

I love the sari, it is a beautiful garment,makes me feel elegant and grownup. I learnt to drape it fairly late in my youth, and even made a little comic about it. The only problem is I don't love it on myself. Post-wedding, I accumulated a lovely collection of silks and chiffons and net saris. But something was still amiss, saris always seemed a little "off" on me. 

That's when I realised I need to learn how to drape it well. There are a few little tricks of how to do it, and you need to adjust it to your own body type. 

 For instance I am a small person, with a few extra pounds in the middle. I have slim hips and broad shoulders. I don't have the typical large hipped small-waisted Indian figure(which looks so amazing in saris). So I made up a few tenets for myself, especially when it comes to the traditional silk saris.

1) No long pallus  for me, sadly. I stick to neatly draped accordian pleats, that is the only way I will not look over-whelmed by the sari.  The folded section of the pallu cannot extend too much beyond my shoulder blade. Otherwise I look like one of those rugby players.

2) A tiny bit of waist exposure is essential, for people who are blessed with no hips & a paunch. This falls nicely in line with a gathered pallu.

3) Front pleats are a bit of an issue for short & not-very-wide-hipped people. Especially since some saris these days seem to be long and tall and make up for a nice "pouf" right in front of your tummy. My solution(courtesy my mum) is to move them ever so slightly to the right.

4) Heels! Buy(and wear) the most comfortable high-heels you can find. Wedges always work for me. Many people dislike the look of wedges,but I like to think that having small feet can let you get away with chunky shoes.Wearing heels under a sari elongates the lower part of the sari, and makes you look elegant. 

So these are my four observations for draping a sari well. There was a wedding in the family recently, and I think I managed to pull off the sari pretty well.

Sari-draping for dummies

 

I am trying to document all the knowledge I gained during the process of getting married. One of the crucial learnings was how to sucessfully drape and be comfortable in saris. Sari-draping is a complex process, and you can only improve with practice. I say this from personal experience. And here's a shout out to my ex-colleagues R. here who inspired me to wear saris to office :) and Nabs for all the styling tips.

happily married

married

(photo credits: Arindam)


though it is still difficult to comprehend for me, i am a married woman now! marriages are big and chaotic, and exhausting! there is so much to do; socialising, dressing up, eating, and feeling big pockets of strange feelings which are hard to define.
i have moved to banglore now, and trying to set up house and learn some basic cooking...

the consequences of my cooking

since last year, i have discovered a new found love for cooking. though i don't get to do much of it at home (our kitchen is dominated by my mum and my grandma), i guess i will have some more time to experiment once i get married.
also this is a rather lame way of telling you, dear blog, that i am getting married. to a boy. who is based in Bangalore.But don't worry, bloggy dear, nothing's gonna change between us. I still feel the same way about you.
one more comic i made a long while ago. this is a little more girly than usual.