My First Saree

Ok, so a bit of a confession at first:

I never in a million years thought I would want a saree or look good wearing one….not to mention feel comfortable wearing one – guess I was a bit concerned about trying to "put on" India.

However, a good friend here (and my next door neighbor for the next 30 or so days – very sad she and her family are moving back home to Portland at the end of October) told me that folks here would feel honored that I was wearing a saree. A few other women I have spoken with here agreed. I guess I was too caught up in my impressions and I am so glad that I was given a different perspective – one that allows me to take a further step into India and it's culture.

So Sara and I went saree shopping (say that 3 times quickly) – the occasion for this excursion is I needed something to wear to a wedding Dar and I are going to Uttar Pradesh in November. She took me to a fabulous couple of places in our neighborhood and can I just say … man is there a lot of choice. I now understand why saree shopping can be so addictive – so many beautiful designs, fabrics and colors!!!

After looking at a two shops and a few dozen sarees appropriately ornate enough for a wedding, I was able to find one that seemed like it was made for me – it is a very dark blue and maroon. The pallu (the end bit of the saree which is usually more detailed and/or heavily embroidered) is what caught my eye at the beginning. It is absolutely stunning and dare I say…. quite sophisticated. It has beautiful designs, cutouts, and lots of hand detail work with sequins and tiny tiny mirrors. The blouse fabric that came with the saree has the same cutout detailing for the sleeves and detail work for the back of the blouse.

The next step is to have a test blouse made out of muslin – can't risk the fabric for the blouse that came with the sari until the test blouse is a perfect fit – and then I get to go back to the shop to have the ladies teach me how to wrap it!

I can honestly say, apart from my wedding dress, I have never been more excited about a garment before. I have included pictures of the saree laying on my sofa and not on me because I have not learned to wrap it yet….again another set of choices as there are many styles of wrapping.