Hmmm... What to wear?

Q: What kinds of things do Indian women wear?

A: Saris, Salwar's, Dupata's, & Western Clothes

My favorite things the women wear are saris. They are beautiful & complicated at the same time. They have a short "tank-top" like shirt underneath (with short sleeves) and they are one long piece of fabric that the women drape around themselves & up over their shoulders. I have no idea how they do it and walk around in it all day. I borrowed one to wear to a wedding once & had to have a friend wrap me up in it & then was afraid to move all night! Traditionally, it's married women that wear a sari, and like a dress at home would be, some are very simple, plain fabrics while some are be-jeweled, elaborate fabrics for fancy occasions. You will even see women construction workers on the side of the highway doing construction work in their saris.

This is Moushie (my friend's house helper) in her sari that she cleans the house in! You can see her stomach the way she has it wrapped. Even though India is a very modest culture, you will often see women (especially older women) with their sari wrapped where you can see their stomach & back and that is not considered immodest but very common!??

The other traditional outfit is a salwar (I'm pretty sure that's not how it's spelled!) :) and it is long pants (like loose leggings) with a long tunic-like shirt over it. They wear a dupata with this outfit, which is a really long, thin scarf that they drape over each shoulder and it dips in the front. This is the outfit that Annie wears every day. She says that it is more comfortable to work in than a sari.

This is a picture of a girl wearing a salwar with her dupata

You will see lots of Indian women, especially the younger generations, in western clothes. Jeans, t-shirts, etc. You will almost never see an Indian woman in shorts, though. They are a very modest culture and women don't show their legs & do cover their rear-ends (hence the long tunic-shirts).

I wear jeans & a shirt every day here but now that it is so hot, I am really missing my shorts! :) Wearing jeans when it is over 100 degrees wouldn't be my first wardrobe choice, but I think I'm actually getting used to it! If you see me wearing a cardigan this summer when I get home you'll know my body temperature must have acclimated! Ha!