LOL, My [private] school graduation was without the normal robes, boys wore black tuxes, girls were instructed to wear full length white or off white gowns. I wore a white sari with silver threads that I found in NY. I had to wear a regular white silk ‘shell’ instead of the chola, no bare tummy allowed. sigh
I love salwar kameez, I have 5 or 6 different ones, but they are getting threadbare and I need to make or buy more. I found an Indian company that has a storefront in NJ somewhere that we are planning on heading down to. The company will make to order!!! <squee> from a nice menu if different necklines, sleeve patterns, and basic styles. They also sell “presewn” saris, all you need to do is hook the waistband together and toss the tail across [sort of takes all the fun out of wondering if some little kid is going to grab you and make you suffer sari failure:eek::D]
I have a dream of visiting India, and hitting both the Golden Temple and the Taj mahal - I found a tourist site associated with the Indian Government that has a 10 day ‘safari’ that starts out with a visit to the Taj Mahal, them you hit 2 different animal reserves, then you end up at the Golden Temple, and then a quick trip back to the start and a flight home. We would get to see tigers, and all sorts of great animals, have one of the days visits to the park using an elephant and howdah [the rest of the time the tours are in jeeps] which appeals to both mrAru and myself - I get to ride an elephant and see the 2 places I have always wanted to visit, and mrAru gets to photograph lots of animals. I have been assured by them that the wheelchair and crutches won’t be a problem, all the hotels involved are fully modernized and accessible with fully modern bathrooms. [honestly, my only worry is when we are out of the hotel, I don’t squat at all … :(]
Yeah, I didn’t notice the lurching around looking for brains before I posted …
On the other hand, why hot see if the cholis can be taken in along the seams under the arms? Put them on inside out, and have a very trusted buddy take in tucks, then stitch the resulting seams, flip it rightside out and try on to make sure it worked.
[back when I was thin, I was very hourglass shaped. If it fit my waist, it didn’t fit my ass, if it fit my hips, I could stick both hands balled into fists into each side of the waist with room to spare, so I learned how to take it in at the waist without looking horrible. Modern jeans were not ready for the absolute classic of 36" 24" 38" hourglass body, or at least not Levi 501s :smack:]
Woot! My favorite zombie! Hey, no getting brains on my pallu.
Scarlett67, congrats on not fitting your cholis anymore, but rest assured you totally have options if you feel like airing the saris out out there in the middle of nowhere.
First: Many cholis are designed to be easily taken in and let out even enough for so drastic a change. If you know a sewing person, and I’ll bet you could find one in Wisconsin unless a lot more has changed in the midwest than I realize, you could have a batch done like **aruvqan **suggested.
Second: EBay or even Amazon will sell you inexpensive generic stretch cholis in basic colors. I use the velour ones now that I live in New England. Not that I wear my saris up here a whole lot, sad to say. If you don’t like ordering online, you can usually find cholis at dancewear shops – just call ahead to ask if they stock any belly-dance wear.
Third: I may have mentioned in this very thread that one can wear any close-fitting top under a sari if one chooses, especially if one wishes to keep one’s navel to oneself either because of draconian graduation-attire rules or from plain modesty. Of course the Sari Fashion Police prefer that your choli matches your sari precisely, but if you haven’t already registered with them, I promise not to give them your address.
I’m also PM-ing with princefan, you guys. So awesome. 2012: Resurrection of the Sari!
(So I don’t know if anyone is going to read/respond to this, but I figured I’d ask anyways.)
I just rediscovered a beautiful red sari that my dad brought me from India several years ago, and I really want to try wearing it (might be a while before I have the guts to wear it in public, but I reading through this thread is helping to build that).
The problem is I dont have any of the undergarments that go with it (the petticoat or the top). Could I just wear it over a pair of black shorts and a plain top (like a tank top or a camisole)? And would it be alright for me to use the sari as a skirt (just wrapping it around my hips a few extra times [to use up the fabric] and then making the pleats with the end), or is that weird?
I love saris and salwar kameez. I don’t care what I look like in them because I am dressing to please myself these days. They are made from beautiful fabrics which make me feel happier.
Go for it – I have often worn saris with camisoles and with t-shirts. It will be much easier if you use a cropped one or at least a relatively short one, whose bottom hem doesn’t come close to where the sari begins at your waist or hips. You will look more traditional if the shirt is very close-fitting but it doesn’t have to be.
I’d recommend a skirt underneath instead of shorts because otherwise you’ll have to disassemble and reassemble every time you have to pee. Unless you can figure out how to wrap it the way you’re thinking of without using the waistband of your undergarment to tuck the sari into – which is possible but not easy, especially for a beginner, especially if you’re making it up without directions.
Some things to think about re wrapping that will become clear when you try it…
Sari cloth is about 42 - 46" wide, which is longer than most people wear skirts unless they are very tall. This is because you are expected to fold over the top few inches and tuck them into the waistband of your undergarment. If you’re not tucking, you will still want to fold, or you’ll have a more-than-floor-length skirt making you trip.
Pleats are usually worn in the middle of the length – rather than at either end – for a reason: those pleats supply loose cloth where your legs need to move. If you wrap around yourself several times and put pleats at the end, you’ll have loose cloth decorating the outside of a hobble skirt.