When East meets West in a Sari

SIX YARDS of sheer grace and elegance is what the Indian Sari is all about. A Sari is one of the most elegant attires a woman can adorn. It is essentially an un-stitched long piece of fabric which needs to be draped in a particular way to achieve the fully dressed effect. Draping a sari is an art. The saree is worn in in different ways in different states of India. However, the most common method is wrapping the cloth around the waist, making pleats in the front and draping the final length around the shoulder. The remaining fabric that is draped over her blouse and shoulder, falling behind her is called the pallu.

Its not uncommon to see westerners and even Celebrities don the elegant Sari. Liz Hurley since marrying her Indian husband is completely taken with the Sari and has worn it on a number of occasions. Gwen experimented with the sari and bindi in her earlier days, so did Madonna for that matter. Ashley Judd went with a completely Indian look on the Red carpet and Katherine Heigl played a bridesmaid at an Indian wedding for her latest role in 27 dresses. Aishwarya Rai former Miss World and Actress never fails to stun in a Sari.




Here's How to Drape a Sari the Traditional way:

Before you Start
Two essential parts of attire, that go along with the Sari, need to be chosen carefully to compliment the Sari. These are:


A petticoat which is a waist-to-floor garment, tied tightly at the waist by a drawstring. The petticoat color should match the base sari color as closely as possible. No part of the petticoat, of course, is visible outside the Sari, after having worn it.

A blouse which needs to be tight-fitting and whose color needs to be chosen keeping the look of the sari in mind, can be short sleeved or sleeveless, with a variety of necklines. The blouse ends just below the bust.

* Step 1. Around your body. Starting at the navel, tuck the plain end of the saree into the petticoat and continue tucking till you take a complete turn from right to left. Adjust the lower end of the saree to the height required. Ideally wear your footwear so that you drape the saree to the right length.

* Step 2. Measuring the pallu. Hold the top edge of the saree where the pallu is and bring it around your hips to the front and over your left shoulder, thus measuring the length of the pallav or pallu. The pallav should hang down the back to the knee. You may pin your pallu to your sari blouse provisionally.

...Continue Reading more steps and the Different Ways to drape a Sari

This is the most common method to wear a saree. With matching bindi and jewellery you feel like a complete Indian woman.