Women's Fashion in India

Everyone knows that Indian women wear saris. But that's really just for women. As soon as they can walk, little girls start off wearing a blouse and skirt combination made in the same gorgeous fabrics which make the saris. Little girls walking in the villages along the roadside look like flower girls at an American wedding. Their hair is always in braids that are looped into pigtails. As they become teenagers and right up through Junior College, girls wear a uniform consisting of a knee length tunic- style top draped with a long scarf that is worn across the front of the chest and hangs down the back. They also were pants with this outfit. The tunic and pants are in contrasting school colors. They wear their hair in long braids, often trimmed with flowers. Only women wear saris, each measuring 5.5 meters in length, with no seams or buttons or snaps, worn wrapped around their waist then thrown over their shoulders. A cotton skirt is worn underneath the sari like a slip and a short blouse is worn on top.
The variety of fabrics that they are made of seem endless. Each one is more beautiful than the next. The broad center aisle at the Cathedral looks like a fashion runway and I never get tired of looking at the brilliant colors. There is every color of the rainbow, except black which is generally reserved for the Muslim chadors. But don't be fooled about the modesty of the Muslim women. They still wear colorful saris underneath and their chadors are often trimmed in black lace or sequin trim. They might be modest, but they still want to be a little fashionable. One thing everyone has in common is that Jewelry is not an option, it's a MUST-have. Earrings, a silver ankle bracelet for all, even babies and bangles as soon as they will keep them on are added as a lifelong accessory.

It must take years to figure out how to tie a sari since every time I try I end up needing help. The first time I tried to dress myself in the sari I brought with me, I had the blouse on backwards. It would take years for me to master wearing one with the elegance and grace that women across India possess even when they are doing manual labor. I think I'll stick to good old fashioned blue jeans.