I have great respect and admiration for Indian fashion and one of my particular favorites is the Indian sari.

Saturday 19 January 2008

Indian Sari


The Indian sari is a fantastically versatile garment and at the same time it's elegant and beautiful; wearing a sari you can’t fail to turn heads. I love the fact that it can be worn by women of all shapes and sizes; it masks any imperfections giving the wearer an air of femininity and grace. Just look at its track record, it has been worn for thousands of years and will probably continue to be worn for thousands more.


The Indian sari is made up of a continual length of cloth usually four to nine metres long depending on the style in which you want to drape it. I think this has only been surpassed by the Japanese kimono which can be up to 15 metres in length. The colours available are innumerable and range from delicate creamy pastilles to vivid vibrant shocking shades of pinks and purples.



There must be over 100 different ways of draping a sari; just think you could create a different dress for every day of the year. The method most often adopted by the women in India involves wrapping the sari around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder (pallu); it then crosses over covering the chest. The length of cloth continues round and down to wrap over a petticoat, it is then pleated and neatly and tucked and draped around a blouse.



All around the world India is renown for its fashions and not least for the classic styles of the Indian sari. Indian fashions reflect the remarkable culture and heritage of the country bringing together a rich mixture of different castes and religions.


The younger generation are now greatly influences by western trends; they demand a new and fresh approach from the fashion designers who manage to successfully marry the traditional styles with modern influences creating unique and innovative fashion statements.


However they do continue to preserve the beauty and mystique of the Indian culture. If we look at what is happening in western fashion, we see evidence of the influence modern Indian sari designs are having on the western fashion scene.
India shares the same stage as the top designers of Milan and New York
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