Indian Dress Styles

India is huge, and very diverse, except in Women's Fashion. Two types of dress style dominate the style landscape--the sari and the salwaar kameez. The sari is one piece of fabric, 6 to 9 metres of fabric. The winding starts at the waist, and works its way up, with the end of the fabric becoming the shawl, which drapes from front to back over the left shoulder. Often they wear a "choli" under the sari, a short fitted top with short sleeves, exposing the stomach and lower back. Fabrics are infinite, but the favorite seems to be silk, or silk-like. Often the fabric has a different print for the body of the sari, and another complimentary print for the shawl part, or, it has a band along the edge, embroidered, beaded, jewelled, printed, metalic, sequinned. I have never seen 2 saris that were the same. Each is different. You will never see yourself coming and going in the same sari. Many of my Indian friends have told me that they feel more serene in a sari. Saris tend to be more conservative, while many, many young women wear the salwaar kameez, also called a Punjabi dress, or Kashmiri dress, or churidar, depending on details such as the collar, the pant leg, etc. This dress style is so widespread that it has developed its own vocabulary. Many Indian middle-class families put their money into gold jewelry. It becomes a part of the bride's dowry at her marriage. They have gold earrings, bracelets, bangles, necklaces, anything jewelry. Married women wear red vermillion powder in the middle part of the hair, as well as bindis on the forehead, and jewels on the nose. These nose jewels can be a piercing or simply glued on. They are always clean and well groomed when they go out in public. Here in Goa, many Christian Goan women wear western style dresses, without all the jewelry, etc. This is a unique aspect of Goa. The salwar kameez is a 3 piece outfit, pants, dress top, and scarf. Every woman looks good in one of these. It flatters all body types, and variations are infinite. Any woman of any social class can put on a salwar kameez, gather her hair to the back, and it is impossible to tell her social class, or lack of it. These dresses are inexpensive, and anyone can afford one. The kameez is the top, a fitted dress, with or without sleeves. The neckline can be low-cut, high-cut, whatever the designer can conceive. It is fitted through the hips, then eases with a slit on each side. The length can vary from mid-hip area to below the knees. Often the front will have embroidery, beads, or hand work added. The salwar is the pant. It usually is the same fabric as the kameez in a coordinating or contrasting color or pattern. The leg can be close cropped or loose, patterned, buttoned or banded at the ankle with beads, sequins, anything. The top of the pant is drawsting or elastic. The duppata is the scarf, often with the same or coordinating print as the salwar, but in a floaty, silky, chiffon like fabric. It ,too, can be beaded, embroidered, or embellished in some way. It is used as a handkerchief scarf, towel, blanket, sun shade, anything that life demands. Usually, you buy the dress and pants in one bolt of fabric,with the dupatta included. The unstitched fabric ranges from about $4.00 to thousands of dollars, depending on the fabric and the embellishments. Having a tailor or seamstress make the outfit is easy and cheap, about $3.00-$4.00. Many women use the same person to make all their outfits. You can also buy salwar kameez ready make, but they tend to be a bit more expensive, with a more limited selection. I love them, but I plan on Westernizing them a bit. I will shorten the kameez to just below the hip, tone down some of the prints, and make a elasticized, pull up pant. Lose the scarf, and it looks like a sexy, stylish pant suit, all updated for the new millenium. It's India's finest contribution to the world of fashion.

Favorite Dress Makers

Here are some of my favorite dress makers, or tailors, as they are known here: Alice in Margao--phone 9421247990. She has her own shop, quite an accomplishment for women here in India. She sells bolts of fabrics for salwar kameez' as well as for saris. The best way to contact her is to call her when you are in Goa or Margao, and she can pick you up, or give directions. Her materials are reasonably priced, and her employees sew beautifully. She has a good sense of color and style for body shapes. Monzur at Persian Paradise in Calangute. He specializes in mens suits, with lots of beautiful fabrics in the shop to choose from. When I'm in Calangute, I like to bring my fabric to him, and he makes my salwar kameez' to fit me perfectly. In Kashmir, Amin of  M.A.Najar and Brothers has a great selection of "Kashmiri dress" fabrics, with lots of hand embroidery made in Kashmir. When you visit, be sure to mention that you saw them on my website. This will get you better prices and better service. In India, as in most of the world, who you know is more important than what you know.