An apology to those fashion sari divas that I may have insulted in my first saree attempt. I did the best I could after waiting till right down to the last minute for my first sari purchase and donning of my attire... saree- I mean, sorry.
Adam and I were invited to attend a wedding reception of an Indian friend Adam works with at Target. Both of us were excited to go, but with moving and then a vacation to the Phillipines- we did not realize how quickly the day approached us. All of a sudden Monday appeared and the reception was this night. I looked in my closet that morning and saw the one dressy outfit I had brought with me to Bangalore- a cute, simple black cocktail dress. Perfect- I thought to myself.
Perfect... perfect if I want to wish bad luck to the bride and groom by wearing black as if I were attending a funeral. Black is seen as an inauspicious color of mourning. And white- forget about it- it lacks colour and festivity. Indians rock all colors and brilliant shades and patterns. Thank you to one of Adams co-workers for this insight. It was time to buy a sari.
Anything else would have been easier. Especially, when you have a deadline in India of one day and when India's favorite saying is, "tomorrow."
OK, I thought to myself: I can do this. "It's no big I deal- sarees are all over the place. I just need a big piece of cloth and wrap it around a little...how hard can it be? I'll be set by the afternoon with hours to kills before the reception..hmmm. maybe I will make some bread in between in my new oven. That'll be nice. Right? Right? right? "
ummm..yeah, so wrong.
I do wish I had looked up the appropriate sari or saree etiquette before embarking on my first sari endeavor. And that I had a week or ten days or a month to do it. Here is some advice to save you a lot of trouble if you are ever invited to a traditional Indian wedding or reception.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sari
To begin. What? I have to show my belly? Umm, yeah. no thanks. I couldn't quite understand why I can't wear bare sleeves, expose my shoulders or knees in India without gentlemans stares, but my midriff can be completely exposed without a glance in my direction? I get it now.
In ancient Indian tradition and the Natya Shastra (an ancient Indian treatise describing ancient dance and costumes), the navel of the Supreme Being is considered to be the source of life and creativity, hence the midriff is to be left bare by the sari (an insert from wikipedia above).
The timeline:
1p.m. (6.5 hrs before reception begins). Ok, I thought, it could be fun to enhance my own feeling of being the life of a party :) I was lucky to meet a woman from the U.S. who lived in India and helped me select the right color sari to "best suit my skin tone" as well as finding one colorful enough. This was the easy part.
A bit of a nervous rush flowed through however when I found out I needed a blouse which they didn't have in my size, a blouse here is essentially a sleeved top that bares the "yearning for a six pack" tummy. (too late now for crunches miss Buddha belly) shoot.
2:00 p.m. (5.5 hrs before reception and counting): The gentleman who drives us so kindly then drove to not 1 but 2 other locations (amongst many confusing phone calls to determine the right color/size) to redeem the blouse in the right size.
3:00p.m. I treat myself to a mani/pedicure during which I am told I need to purchase a petticoat to wear underneath my sari. A what??? This sounds like Elizabethan times to me... Where do I get this Pantaloon I mean petticoat thing??
3:01: Another frantic call to my saint, our driver. "Imran, I need you to go to Commercial Street (the street that literally sells it all) and find a petticoat?" Little did I know this was like asking a guy to go and pick out a bra for you! Later he will tell me, "M'am, I the only man in the shop, all women looking at me when I ask for small petticoat. I am very shy..." Saree!!!! (sorry I love the play on these words. I know I am a dork.)
3:05: I am told by the gal painting my nails that I need to match my nail color to my saree as this is common. nope! I like my plain jane browns. not gonna happen. I am also told I need lots of bling- well gold jewelry that is. Also, not going to happen. I will be lucky if I can pull this crazy scheme off by tonight.
5:00p.m. Check my jewelry stock- hmm one pair of pearl earrings in my possession. ok. check. no bangles, but I look in the mirror. Thank God for the impulsive nose ring piercing that I did in Canada a few years back. Maybe this white girl will fit in?
6:00p.m. OMG- how am I going to wrap this thing around me. Indian women have been practicing this art for oh, um forever? Not with 1.5 hrs. to departure. Oh, and hubby- you are late getting home! As the lady who helps me in our house (and is teaching me to cook Indian food) says all the time, "What to do?"
7:05: This saint, Mary, came to my rescue, much like Cinderella's fairy godmother. She helped me dress- quickly gathering, pleating and folding, tucking the fabric in out, around, up, down, making do with the lack of pins that most ladies use for support-With a grin on her face she spun me around towards the mirror- and viola! I felt like one of those ladies at the end of the TLC's show "What not to Wear"- sporting a complete transformation.
Now, It was left up to me to not unwind myself, to remain with good posture and to walk in heels- (this is asking a lot!) as we made our way to the reception and awkwardly exited the car.
7:35: Success. Saree mission accomplished. (Where is Nordstroms when a gal needs it?)
I have to admit- I did feel like Cinderella going to the Ball. Especially with my handsome prince!
Thanks for sharing in my Saree journey!
As a side note- In my humble opinion, sarees definitely reign over the "little black dress" option.
Oh la la!
Adam and I were invited to attend a wedding reception of an Indian friend Adam works with at Target. Both of us were excited to go, but with moving and then a vacation to the Phillipines- we did not realize how quickly the day approached us. All of a sudden Monday appeared and the reception was this night. I looked in my closet that morning and saw the one dressy outfit I had brought with me to Bangalore- a cute, simple black cocktail dress. Perfect- I thought to myself.
Perfect... perfect if I want to wish bad luck to the bride and groom by wearing black as if I were attending a funeral. Black is seen as an inauspicious color of mourning. And white- forget about it- it lacks colour and festivity. Indians rock all colors and brilliant shades and patterns. Thank you to one of Adams co-workers for this insight. It was time to buy a sari.
Anything else would have been easier. Especially, when you have a deadline in India of one day and when India's favorite saying is, "tomorrow."
OK, I thought to myself: I can do this. "It's no big I deal- sarees are all over the place. I just need a big piece of cloth and wrap it around a little...how hard can it be? I'll be set by the afternoon with hours to kills before the reception..hmmm. maybe I will make some bread in between in my new oven. That'll be nice. Right? Right? right? "
ummm..yeah, so wrong.
I do wish I had looked up the appropriate sari or saree etiquette before embarking on my first sari endeavor. And that I had a week or ten days or a month to do it. Here is some advice to save you a lot of trouble if you are ever invited to a traditional Indian wedding or reception.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sari
To begin. What? I have to show my belly? Umm, yeah. no thanks. I couldn't quite understand why I can't wear bare sleeves, expose my shoulders or knees in India without gentlemans stares, but my midriff can be completely exposed without a glance in my direction? I get it now.
In ancient Indian tradition and the Natya Shastra (an ancient Indian treatise describing ancient dance and costumes), the navel of the Supreme Being is considered to be the source of life and creativity, hence the midriff is to be left bare by the sari (an insert from wikipedia above).
The timeline:
1p.m. (6.5 hrs before reception begins). Ok, I thought, it could be fun to enhance my own feeling of being the life of a party :) I was lucky to meet a woman from the U.S. who lived in India and helped me select the right color sari to "best suit my skin tone" as well as finding one colorful enough. This was the easy part.
A bit of a nervous rush flowed through however when I found out I needed a blouse which they didn't have in my size, a blouse here is essentially a sleeved top that bares the "yearning for a six pack" tummy. (too late now for crunches miss Buddha belly) shoot.
2:00 p.m. (5.5 hrs before reception and counting): The gentleman who drives us so kindly then drove to not 1 but 2 other locations (amongst many confusing phone calls to determine the right color/size) to redeem the blouse in the right size.
3:00p.m. I treat myself to a mani/pedicure during which I am told I need to purchase a petticoat to wear underneath my sari. A what??? This sounds like Elizabethan times to me... Where do I get this Pantaloon I mean petticoat thing??
3:01: Another frantic call to my saint, our driver. "Imran, I need you to go to Commercial Street (the street that literally sells it all) and find a petticoat?" Little did I know this was like asking a guy to go and pick out a bra for you! Later he will tell me, "M'am, I the only man in the shop, all women looking at me when I ask for small petticoat. I am very shy..." Saree!!!! (sorry I love the play on these words. I know I am a dork.)
3:05: I am told by the gal painting my nails that I need to match my nail color to my saree as this is common. nope! I like my plain jane browns. not gonna happen. I am also told I need lots of bling- well gold jewelry that is. Also, not going to happen. I will be lucky if I can pull this crazy scheme off by tonight.
5:00p.m. Check my jewelry stock- hmm one pair of pearl earrings in my possession. ok. check. no bangles, but I look in the mirror. Thank God for the impulsive nose ring piercing that I did in Canada a few years back. Maybe this white girl will fit in?
6:00p.m. OMG- how am I going to wrap this thing around me. Indian women have been practicing this art for oh, um forever? Not with 1.5 hrs. to departure. Oh, and hubby- you are late getting home! As the lady who helps me in our house (and is teaching me to cook Indian food) says all the time, "What to do?"
7:05: This saint, Mary, came to my rescue, much like Cinderella's fairy godmother. She helped me dress- quickly gathering, pleating and folding, tucking the fabric in out, around, up, down, making do with the lack of pins that most ladies use for support-With a grin on her face she spun me around towards the mirror- and viola! I felt like one of those ladies at the end of the TLC's show "What not to Wear"- sporting a complete transformation.
Now, It was left up to me to not unwind myself, to remain with good posture and to walk in heels- (this is asking a lot!) as we made our way to the reception and awkwardly exited the car.
7:35: Success. Saree mission accomplished. (Where is Nordstroms when a gal needs it?)
I have to admit- I did feel like Cinderella going to the Ball. Especially with my handsome prince!
Thanks for sharing in my Saree journey!
As a side note- In my humble opinion, sarees definitely reign over the "little black dress" option.
A photo with my handsome (and stylishly coordinated) prince!
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