How appropriate is it for a woman like me to wear a Sari?
I think sari's are beautiful!! I am a light-skinned American woman with British and Polish ancestory (no Indian heritage and no friends or aquentances with Indian background). I know very little about Indian dress or culture. I see women of apparent Indian heritage in my area (Milwaukee, WI) wearing very beautiful clothing! I don't know them well enough to ask them about their clothes. Sometimes it's a modest sari, other times it's more like a tunic... I'm not sure what these clothes are called or where to find them.
My question is, if I wear a sari, will I get stared at, approached or harassed? Will people think it is strange, inappropriate or ignorant? What about this other style, the tunic style? I think they are so beautiful and they look comfortable and would like to try them, but I do not know how to wear them! When is a good time for someone like me to wear a sari or one of these tunic style outfits, like to what kind of events? Where do you find them? How do you get fitted for one? How much do they cost for a simple style?
Any thoughts, opinions or advice would be helpful! Thank you!
-Scarlet
I'm not overly worried about what people will think, though I'd rather not offend anyone if I'm able to prevent it. I'm more worried about how they'll react, such as coming up to me and saying something. I'm somewhat shy and would be too nervous to wear something if I thought someone might come up to me and make a comment about it (especially if the comment was from someone who was annoyed at me or I didn't understand the comment/question).
Where would I even begin to look for these types of clothes?
For example... I have a "Hand of Fatima" necklace that I love, but I've found that it occasionally tends to attract men (of apparent middle-eastern descent) who want to chat me up, want to tell me about the meaning of my necklace (one story about which I'm already familiar) and have made inappropriate requests about going places with me making me wonder if my necklace is some covert signal for "easy" women! I just would be moritified if someone read what I was wearing the wrong way!
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July 14th, 2010 at 4:39 am
Nothing wrong in you wanting to wear a sari. Plenty of sari shops around London, UK as we have many people of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladesh origin. The tunic or salwar kameez is the other garment you mention.
In the UK the sari is normally worn at special events, e.g. weddings and the salwar kameez for more general use. My work colleague said the sari (especially the blouse) is too difficult to put on for day-to-day use. The salwar kameez is easy to wear as it consist of trouser (pants) and a long tunic. Can be worn both casually and for special occasions.
July 14th, 2010 at 4:39 am
It doesn’t matter what others think. If you like how they look and feel, then you have every right to wear them. America is a melting pot. Indian-Americans are free to eat pizza and wear jeans. Why shouldn’t you be free to wear a sari?
July 14th, 2010 at 4:39 am
Ir’s acceptable, in think it looks nice.
July 14th, 2010 at 4:39 am
it you wear one then you must wear thongs also, and make sure us men know you’re wearing thongs