You just get used to it. (What’s wrong with pins, though?) Tho the act of adjusting the dupatta becomes a sexy act, too, if you know how to do it gracefully. Also, if it really bothers you, get a silky one, and drape it down both sides and then around your neck. Or fold it and pin it onto one shoulder. like everyday and formal 1. The other thing you can do is put both ends behind your back and tie a very loose knot in the back to make it stay back there, something I did often.
I also danced a lot, so I learned ways to make it stay put. Cleverly hidden safety pins are the secret.
Kimstu- not only is the shape of salwar kameez very flattering, it also means that Indian ladies don’t need to invest in maternity clothing! Certainly, my salwar trousers would easily have accommodated even the largest lady. They fastened with a drawstring, and the tailoring we had done was just to adjust the length, so it was a one-size fits all garment.
Anaamika- the problem with pins was that we didn’t have any! I’m sure we could have asked someone for some, but we all just decided to change the way we wore the dupattas and not bother to ask.
Besides, we had an awful feeling that if no pins could be found someone would drive all the way to the nearest town (45 minutes away) to get us some, and we really didn’t want to be that much trouble (Indian hospitality can be quite overwhelming).
In West Africa, where a lot of locals wear western dress but some wear traditional robes, I think a white person who wore the latter would get some puzzled looks in most places. Where I worked in Gabon, many of the oil field workers, who were from all over West Africa, would put on robes after they got off work; I never saw a white person in local garb, no matter how long they had been there.
Oh sure, kameez with jeans looks fine, if the two items go together; I think that’s a legit part of the “fusion couture”. I was talking about kameez with no pants at all, as though you’re pretending it’s a smock or sun-dress or something. Unbelievably dorkified, especially if it’s got sleeves and side-slits, which most kameez do.
And yes indeed irishgirl, the size-adaptability of salwar kameez is pretty miraculous! (Saris too, of course, although the choli or sari blouse is much much less forgiving, unless you get the stretch-fabric ones.) It’s still worth getting one or two of them individually made for you by a good tailor, though, since the just-rightness of the fit makes the look even better.
About dupattas, ISTM that the customs changed somewhat between when I first lived in India in 1994 and my most recent stay in 2004. IIRC, it used to be considered more important in everyday wear, at least among not-especially-chic people, to have the dupatta covering your boobs at all times, like the sari pallu is supposed to. Nowadays people seem more comfortable with the anything-goes approach: wrap it round your neck, wear it over one shoulder, readjust it when it slips, whatever. (Or maybe I just hung with a more conservative crowd the first visit, or maybe Benares is just more conservative than Jaipur, or maybe it mattered more when I was ten years younger!) But yeah, if you really need to keep the thing in place, safety pins are the way to go. Or a nice brooch, of course.
Speaking as a American with Scots in my heritage, when you buy a kilt over here, you tend to wear it at the drop of a hat. Robert Burns days, Highland Games, weddings (when the groom and party wear their’s), Christmas parties, New Year’s Eve parties, St. Patrick’s Day, formal dinners, picnics, and NASCAR meets.
I like seeing them and I like wearing them. Heck, there’s probubly more kilts in America than in Scotland.
I would not wear it in Scotland unless I was damn sure I wouldn’t look like a rube.
And for soccer and rugby games… . When you see people wearing kilts in paris metro, you can be pretty sure there’s a France-Scotland game or somesuch this day.
Just another data point here: I noticed that in England, I (an American) was more often mistaken for a local than my fellow tourists. I tended to wear long pants and brightly colored shirts with a collar, whereas most Americans were in shorts and silk-screened or printed T-shirts. Several locals and one or two Americans mistook me for a local in the three weeks I was in town.
A male in the Gulf would certainly not want to be walking around in a thaube (dishdash) unless you were joking around with some local friends (as I’ve done). It’s basically a marker of citizenship and the rights that come with it, sort of a national uniform. One Pakistani can driver I know was even warned against wearing a thaube with the threat of a hefty fine by a cop because he was taken to be “impersonating” a Qatari and was told to “dress like a Pakistani.”
I went to a few weddings in a thaube with some friends and we were regarded as curiosities in a good-natured way, like the aforementioned Japanese tourist at the dude ranch. I wouldn’t wear one on the street going about my business though.
Women for the most part would not be expected to wear a hijab or an abaya unless they were Muslims. In fact really only Gulf Arab Muslims would wear the common black abaya; other Muslim groups in the country wear their own local headscarves or what have you. An exception would be Saudi where all women are expected to don the abaya and hijab outside of foreigner compounds.
There’s a site with tons of sari information: http://www.devi.net/Chantal.html - especially devoted to recording regional styles of draping the sari that are dying out. Maybe not as glamorous as those beautiful pink outfits, but filled with traditional variety.
I once saw a Tamil movie about a traditional village where the first woman to wear a blouse was assumed to be a prostitute. At one time it was only a city fashion.
"Q: I would like to travel wearing the full Scottish national costume. Can I bring my skhean dhu or traditional knife?
A: Knives are a restricted article and are not permitted in the cabin. You must place it in the hold with your checked baggage.
If this is not possible it will be taken and placed with secure baggage and returned to you at your arrival destination.
Should the national costume of any other country require items which could be construed as a dangerous item, the same will apply."
Actually, the Chicago Police Department has its own pipe and drum corps. As you can see, they wear kilts. I’ve seen them play, and while I suppose it’s possible that they all have at least a drop or two of Scottish blood, some of them looked distinctly on the on-Cletic side.
I’ve never seen a westerner wearing traditional native garb here other than playing dressup, but I wouldn’t mind seeing more young women wearing the traditional Xhosa or Zulu maiden garb. It’s just a short beaded skirt.
. When you see people wearing kilts in paris metro, you can be pretty sure there’s a France-Scotland game or somesuch this day.