Attire and appetite in India - questions

Haylo

I am planning on having HEAPS of room for clothing / fabrics / spices in my return luggage, because as well as my several "emergency ration" sachets of fruit nuts and seeds in my carryon, I'll be bringing treats for my partner who will have been in India for a few months - really good chocolate and British real ale are at the top of his wishlist!

I've heard that Indian chocolate isn't great compared to Belgian or Swiss, but according to this recent thread, peanut butter is widely available.

wonderwomanusa

Indian chocolate is mostly terrible, but it's so hot that I wouldn't recommend bringing more than a small supply; once it melts and turns a light color, it's as bad as the local stuff!

I take California raisins and Japanese rice crackers; both travel pretty well.

mani

hello lizzie,

capri style pants are fine while traveling & so are short sleeve blouses / tops. but not for business meetings. for those you will need full lenght pants.

Rain / all weather boots will be cheaper and available in India. so you can go shopping then.

have fun
mani

*jyoti*

I've seen lots of Indian woman wearing capris in Bangalore, especially the main part of the city--but definitely not short. People seem to dress nicer here, so button up tops or blouses (even casual) rather than t-shirts, and I rarely see sleeveless shirts. (much as traveller1 said).

nayan

Capris and short sleeved tops are perfectly fine for travelling around the city.

For a business setting (I dont know how formal your setting is) I would suggest more formal clothes to be on the safer side. Wear trousers and formal shirt/top for office.

Nick-H

for a woman?

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the opoponax

Re clothes -- this will depend on what you feel comfortable in. Which of course can be hard to know until you get there. I brought a couple of knee-length skirts, thinking that even if I stood out a little, it couldn't possibly be that bad. I ended up leaving them behind because I didn't feel comfortable in them, for reasons I can't explain very well (and which probably had more to do with fashion and 'fitting in' than anything else).

Aside from that, I have to say I wouldn't dream of packing shorts. Of course I don't feel comfortable wearing shorts outside my own house or the gym, so take that as you will.

Edited to echo what others have said about a slightly higher level of formality in everyday clothes. I really noticed that Indians tend to dress a little nicer. T-shirts are definitely regarded as grubby clothes, even if your t-shirt is clean, new, etc. I'll also add that the idea of "vintage" clothes or clothes that are made to look old or worn in has NOT caught on much in India.

Nick-H

"pre-aged" clothes always was a stupid idea.

Typical marketing success selling to idiots. How to make people buy twice as much? make it half-worn-out before they even buy it!

Sheesh...

Haylo

What about jeans? Are they a complete no-no, or are they okay if a loose top is worn over them? Don't want to look like a complete scruff, but I do want to feel comfortable.

puchoo

I disagree strongly , t-shirts or similar clothes are accepted in office as well on casual days in India and there is nothing wrong. While certain clubs etc may have rules which do not allow you to wear a t-shirt , at the same time collared t-shirts are not a problem.

Yes the are run of the mill but not grubby in the least. It depends to a large degree on the occasion as well, but for day to day wear there's nothing better.

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Nick-H

Jeans are fine, Haylo, especially combined with the loose top. There is a lot of mixing/matching goes on, and you will see traditional salwar kameez top worn with modern jeans. they should be clean and neat, of course, and certainly not pre-shredded!

However, you may find them uncomfortably hot! It depends where you are and when, but, light, loose cotton tends to be far better than a heavy fabric like denim.

That's the thing about local dress: it is not recommended because of not shocking the locals, who, by and large, couldn't care less what you wear as long is isn't indecent --- but because it really does suit this climate!

the opoponax

The main reason I got the sense that T-shirts are considered a little too casual is that I was out and about with locals in Pune, and we were going into a slightly nice-ish restaurant and one of them made a facetious remark about us all being dressed like beggars. We were all in neat and clean t-shirts and casual pants.

I don't know that I'd leave all t-shirts behind, or that they're not appropriate at all, but I think they have a more casual reputation in India (even in more cosmopolitan parts) than they do in the US. At home I wouldn't hesitate anywhere but the very poshest places in just a t-shirt. I think, in fact, that I wore a "nice" t-shirt out to eat at Masaharu Morimoto's new restaurant last year.

Haylo

Great news, that's exactly what I was hoping to wear. Being a bit of a tomboy, I'm not in the habit of carrying a handbag and when I do, I tend to put it down and forget it! Jeans give me the option of keeping loose change &c. in my pockets, and I do have some very light pairs for summer wear.

Plus, because of joint trouble with a big toe, I usually have to wear sensible footwear with "ortho" insoles which looks okay with jeans but frankly looks pretty stupid with a skirt. Wearing boots, I can walk for miles and miles no problem, but even flat sandals leave me hobbling for days after an hour or so.

(BTW, what IS it with women's clothes that they never have pockets? *grump*)

the opoponax

Haylo, you're in luck -- Salwar pants commonly come with pockets, as do some kameez tops. Look for that if you find yourself shopping for ready-made salwar kameez, and ask a tailor to put them in if you have any made up.

wonderwomanusa

Have some made in India and the tailor will put pockets wehrever you'd like to have them.

Jeans will be terribly hot; you might be more comfortable in khakis.