Sari

36 S U M M E R 2 0 0 5 TD &T Copyright 2005 United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc.

agic

ncreasingly, theatre, television, and

film productions in the U.S. involve

stories about people in Asia, Africa,

and South America. Future designers, especially

costume designers, need to gain knowledge

about these cultures, and need to develop

creative techniques for incorporating multi-

cultural elements into their designs.

I teach a costume history class which has

been almost exclusively about European styles

of dress. Following a four-week Fulbright-Hays

Group Projects Abroad in India last summer, I

am beginning to add basic Indian costume his-

tory and Indian fashion to my curriculum.

the

ByTan Huaixiang

I

M

PHO

TOS

AN

D IL

LUST

RA

TIO

NS

BY T

HE

AU

THO

R

The pallu, the decorative end-piece of the sari, is often pulled over thehead to protect the wearer from the sun or wind.

ndianI

37TD &T S U M M E R 2 0 0 5Copyright 2005 United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc.

W sewing them back together in functional, sometimes form-fitting, and often purely aesthetic ways.

In India, however, the fashion industry has never lostits devotion to the whole cloth. Many garments, includingthe sari, mundu-veshti, dhoti, sari-pants, and turbans, areamazingly held together by rolling, tucking, pleating, andfolding. These types of Indian garments are functional,simple, elegant, sophisticated, and practical. One piece ofcloth fits all—I call it “the magic Indian cloth.”

Wrapped and DrapedClothingoven cloth originated in Mesopotamiaabout 5,000 years ago. Soon, wrappedand draped garments were worn through-out the area from Samaria, Assyria, and

Egypt to Greece and Rome. Cultures east of Mesopotamia,in particular India, also developed the use of wrappedand draped clothing. For the last 1,500 years or so,most cultures around the world have made clothing bycreatively cutting the fabric into pieces and laboriously

Cloth

Three gentlemen wearingwrapped lower garments,dhotis, and turbans.


Sari Clothndian saris are woven pieces of rectangularcloth, often made on hand-looms, incorpo-rating rich colors and extravagant brocadepatterns. More expensive saris use special gold

threads. Saris are also collected as works of art and used asdrapes for the home. The designs of the pallus—the decora-tive border or end piece of the sari—are based on geometric,striped, and floral motifs and on stone carvings in Hindutemples—including stylized lions, elephants, serpents, swans,peacocks, and roosters. The most highly prized saris, madefrom Kanchipuram silk, are expensive and are very popularfor traditional weddings.

One of India’s many rich heritages is the handloom in-dustry. It flourishes today, with millions of families involvedin the handloom business, both commercial and non-com-mercial. In a 1986 census, the Indian government reportedover one million handloom workers in just one state.Weaving a silk sari takes two weeks to a month and ofteninvolves participation by the whole family.

Saris can be made of cotton, linen, silk, or syntheticfibers. Natural fabric garments are more suitable forIndian’s hot climate. Professional women prefer to wearsilk saris, but synthetic fabrics or synthetic and natural fi-ber blends are less expensive, require less care since theyare wrinkle resistant, and last longer than those made with onlynatural fibers. The natural cotton sari needs to be starched withrice water and ironed before wrapping it around the body in orderto keep the sophisticated look. When Indian women dress up in

cotton saris, they hesitate to sit down because they don’t wantto mess up or wrinkle their saris. Synthetic saris have disad-vantages too: if they are kept in the heat, the pleats may comeundone; when covering the head, synthetic fabrics tend to slipoff easily (some Indian women hold the pallu in place with asafety pin fastened to their hair at the crown of their heads).Silk saris always look beautiful, but they are more expensiveand need ironing and special care for cleaning.

I

The sari, shown here worn byprofessional women, isaccompanied by a short blouse(choli) and a petticoat.

How to Wrap the Sari


Wrapping the Sarihe sari can be five, six, or nine yards long,and about a yard and a half wide. Saris thatare five yards long are for teens, and sarissix yards long are for adults. Saris nine

yards long are for pulling between the legs. Pleats control thewidth of the sari. (See step 6 in “How to Wrap the Sari.”)

There are many ways to wrap saris. The illustrationsshown here demonstrate the most common method. Duringmy time in India with the Fulbright group, I saw Indian womenin monuments, forts, palaces, and streets mostly wearing thepallu part of the sari hanging on the left shoulder. Sometimesthe end of the pallu will be tucked into the front waistline formore control and freedom of movement. Even if the pallu ispulled to cover the head, in general it will cross the chest tothe left shoulder and go over the head as a veil. There are alsoways of wrapping saris in which the pallu goes over the rightshoulder. All of these techniques will leave one of the women’sarms free. If Indians are naturally left-handed, they are en-couraged and trained to be right-handed. Indians are trainedsince childhood to only use their right hand to eat, hold impor-tant things like gifts or pass things to others, and to shake hands.

Before the twelfth century, Indian women dressed toplesswith jewelry (Fabri 1961). The first upper-body Indianwoman’s garment, the choli or blouse, was developed in thetwelfth century and is still worn by Indian women today. Saris,as seen today, were fully developed about 400 years ago andare still stylish and fashionable for Indian women. They dressup almost every day for work in these traditional garments.

T

This dancer’s garmentincludes a sari skirt withfan pleats, a choli, andghungroos at the waist

and ankles for marking therhythmic beat.


The sari is accompanied by a short blouse (choli)and a petticoat. The blouse is usually made of the samefabric as the sari or a contrasting color. The petticoat hasa drawstring at the waistband. Elastic waistbands cannotbe used because they won’t hold the bulk of the pleatsbeing tucked inside of the waistband of the sari. Profes-sional women wear silk saris with elaborated designs andborders that are wrapped in trendy and stylized ways.Working-class women dress up in the same sari style asthe rich, but the colors are less coordinated, and the sariis made of cotton or synthetic fabrics instead of silk.The saris are also wrapped more carelessly and areless stylized.

The pallu, the elaborately decorated end portionof the sari, hangs behind the left shoulder. Women liv-ing in the county use their sari pallu for many thingsbecause it is so convenient. It can be a veil or scarfpulled over the head to hide the face or to protect theface from wind and the sun; it can cover the chest whenfeeding a baby; in the kitchen it is used to lift a hot cook-ing pan or wipe the table; it can be used to wipe tears, thenose, and mouth. Women in the city have handkerchiefstucked around the waistline area or they carry them in alittle purse or handbag.

Sari pants can be formed in a small or regular sizeby wrapping it differently on the body. This fashion is of-ten used on stage because it provides more freedom dur-ing acting/dancing movements.

The choli can be the same color as thesari or a contrasting color.


How to Wrap the Dhoti

A man in a temple wearing along tunic (kurta) over his dhoti.


Wrapping the Dhotihoti, or lower garment, is a pieceof rectangular cloth which wraps aroundthe waist without a belt, pin, or string.The top edge is rolled down tightly several

times around the waistline area and remarkably holds itself.Before the twelfth century, it was worn by both men andwomen, rich and poor. Today it is a major garment for In-dian men. The dhoti material used for the rich is usuallyin a plain solid color (white or cream) with gold threadborders or stripes. There are two type of dhotis used formen. One is two yards long for everyday wear; the other isfour yards long for ceremonial and formal wear. (See“How to Wrap the Dhoti.”)

Indian clothing styles have remained uniquely con-stant for centuries. Nowhere in the world are traditionalfashions so omnipresent. They are simple, cleverly sophis-ticated, and beautifully decorated.

D


Tan Huaixiang is associate professor in costume and makeupdesign at University of Central Florida. She holds an M.F.A. degreein costume design from Utah State University and a B.F.A. degreefrom the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, China, and is amember of USA, Local 829. Her first book, Character CostumeFigure Drawing, was published by Focal Press in 2004. Researchfor this article was facilitated in part by the author’sparticipation in the 2004 Fulbright-Hays Group Research ProjectsAbroad to India.

SOURCES

Banerjee, Mukulika and Daniel Miller. 2003. The Sari. Oxford, U.K.: BergPublishing.

Boulanger, Chantal. 1997. Saris: An Illustrated Guide to the Indian Art ofDraping. New York: Shakri Press International.

Fabri, Charles. 1961. A History of Indian Dress. India: Orient Longmans.

Kindersley, Dorling. 2002. Eyewitness Travel Guides – India. New York:DK Publishing, Inc.

Tourists at the Taj Mahal in Agrawear ceremonial style dhotis.

Sari

Documents

Transcript of Sari