The magic of the sari
What to do with just an unstitched length of cloth!
The sheer versatility of a 6+ yard length of cloth is mind boggling. At once a fire ladder, tent, mosquito net, sheet, towel, turban, curtain (against roving eyes on Indian railways), pillow, rope, sling, sunshade, insulation, veil and at once the sexiest and the most chaste garment on earth. Oh, and my Malayali friend reminded me: "If attacked you can choke him with your pallu - and then tie up the villain and leave him for the dogs."
Many of you wear it like a costume and transform yourselves, experiencing the magic of the cloth and it's ancient beauty. Many of you drape the sarees around your living space, stitching them into a graceful light show for your windows. Others stitch the most amazing outfits from them. And some covet them in boxes in their closets and take them out and marvel them from time to time. And then there are those very smitten sari lovers that have to wear them all the time. One of my customers reports that her neighbors do look a bit curious - here's a woman in a silk sari with a parka over it, snow boot outfitted against the elements, shovelling snow from her driveway.
The sari is worth wearing, even if it's around your house (with the heat turned up for many of us!). The sari is really all about the experience of wearing it, draping it, washing and ironing (phew!) But a sari is also the most amazing thing to experience with your body. The way it feels against your legs when you walk, the tender touch of the pallu as it billows in the slightest breeze.
For those of us that sew, or just those of us that would like to. (I mean all the stuff's in the closet: the high tech sewing machine and way too much fabric complete with patterns never sewn, matching thread and buttons!, and at least double that in good intentions.) The sari is a doorway to a profound understanding about drape, about the geometry of your body as it interfaces with cloth. And a source of inspiration for design. Buy Chantal Boulanger's book exploring all the different varieties of drapes and try wrapping them - you'll be even more smitten. Wearing a sari changes the way you feel about your body and clothes, and about your idea of clothing in general.
Indians run around in sarees, like westerner's in jeans. They don't always look like they are going out on the town. Their pleats are more of a pile, their unmatched petticoats are showing and their choli has suffered one too many beatings against a rock. They live in their sarees and they have a naturalness with the cloth that's wanderful to witness. It's always moving on their bodies, so it gets retucked and tightened as needed. When walking they hold their pleats up to walk fast or climb stairs. They do all this with a kind of grace that anyone who's worn a sari will immediately appreciate and enjoy: The tinkle of bangles as the hand lifts to adjust the veil. The bundle of keys dangling at the end of a Bengali woman's pallu as a practical counterweight. Waist knots tied into a bundle for valuables, anchals as a child carrier.
Read more about sarees: Why handlooms are special.
Get an overview of the saristyles in the sarishop.
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