How to Wear a Sari ? Live

A sari is a strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine meters in length that is draped over the body in various styles. It is famous in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Srilanka, Bhutan, Burma and Malaysia. The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with one end then draped over the shoulder baring the midriff.^[1]

The sari is usually worn over a petticoat (pavada/pavadai in the south, "chaniyo" in the west and shaya in eastern India), with a blouse known as a choli or ravika forming the upper garment. The choli has short sleeves and a low neck and is usually cropped, and as such is particularly well-suited for wear in the sultry South Asian summers. Cholis may be "backless" or of a halter neck style. These are usually more dressy with a lot of embellishments such as mirrors or embroidery and may be worn on special occasions. Women in the armed forces, when wearing a sari uniform, don a half-sleeve shirt tucked in at the waist. Saree developed as a garment of its own in both South and North India at around the same time, and is now a symbol for all of India.^[2]

How to Wear a Sari ? : Step 6

Step 6 of Wearing a Sari

Slightly raise the remaining portion of the Sari on your back, bringing it up under the right arm and over the left shoulder so that the end of the Sari falls to about the level of your knees. The end portion thus draped, from the left shoulder onwards, is called the Pallav or the Pallu, and can be prevented from slipping off teh shoulder, by fastening it at the shoulder to the blouse with a small safety pin.

How to Wear a Sari ? : Step 5

Step 5 of Wearing a Sari

Drape the remaining fabric around yourself once more left to right, and bring it round your hips to the front, holding the top edge of the sari.

How to Wear a Sari ? : Step 4

Step 4 of Wearing a Sari

Neatly tuck the pleats into the petticoat, at the waist, slightly to the left of the navel, in such a manner that they open to your left.

How to Wear a Sari ? : Step 3

Step 3 of Wearing a Sari

Make about 5 to 7 pleats of equal width of 5 inches, starting at the tucked-in end. Gather the pleats together, neatly, ensuring that the lower edge of the pleats are even and just off the ground and that the pleats fall straight and evenly. A safety pin may be used to stop the pleats from scattering.

How to Wear a Sari ? : Step 2

Step 2 of Wearing a Sari

Start wearing the sari by tucking its plain/upper end into the petticoat, at a position which is a little bit to the right of the navel. Make sure that the lower end of the sari should be touching the floor, and that the whole length of the sari comes on the left-hand side. Now wrap the sari around yourself once, with the sari now coming back in the front, on your right side.

How to Wear a Sari ? : Step 1

Step 1 of Wearing a Sari

Here's an illustrated step-by-step guide that teaches you how to wear a Sari - India's national dress for females - one of the most elegant attires a woman can adorn...

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.

Beautiful Indian Lady Wear Saree - 02

Beautiful Indian Lady Wear Saree