Men's clothing: Here or there

canyoncamper

Direct me if I've missed the threads (so to speak) that discuss what men should/ shouldn't wear in India. I'm thinking mainly of on-the-street everyday clothes. I've heard shorts are considered childish. Can I buy cheap (throwaway at trip's end) pants and shirts most anywhere? I'm typically a sandal wearer. Will those work? I'm heading out end of October. I've read these for hours and promise to post my hotel experiences, Paneer.
Thanks for all the help, past and future.

john.sw

Long trousers, shirt with collar and shoes (sandals if you prefer) are fine.

Shorts are frowned on in many places, but you're a foreigner, so people expect you to be a bit strange!

At the beach or at a resort you can wear shorts and a T-shirt.

You should be conservatively dressed if you are visiting temples, shrines, churches, etc.

Women should not wear revealing clothes - it is impolite to your Indian hosts.

You can buy cheap clothes anywhere, or can have them made.

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skell

In the south you can wear a lungi like the middle man in john.sw's photos above.

I've heard they are more comfortable in the warm weather than long pants.

john.sw

I only wear a lungi in the privacy of my own home, and in my garden.

My staff are polite about it - they know it is convenient and comfortable - but I do not think it would be right for me to wear a lungi in a public place.

skell

Really? I would think it was just as acceptable as a western woman wearing a sari or salwar kameez.

A friend of mine (6'4" Aussie) worn one most of the time.

etin

The middle man in the above photo is not wearing a Lungi, he is wearing a Kasavu Mundu, a traditional kerala mens wear with gold linings at the edges. A lungi is the multi coloured ones and are usually worn in the privacy of your house.

White or Cream or even Safron mundu(dothi) are traditionaly worn outside. Some temples dont allow men wearing long pants, u need to wear white or cream mundu and may be remove ur shirt too (Sri Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Trivandrum, is an example).

From the above picture it is pretty clear that the man has just visited a temple or some place of worship because of the melmundu he wears instead of a shirt and also the presence Sandal paste on his forehead.

belkin_wonder_boy

Slacks, shoes, and a button-down Oxford-type of shirt would be appropriate. They do not have to be expensive but they shouldn't be throw-away, either.

skell

I'm sure you know more about it than I do!

But the majority of the men in South India wore, outside the privacy of their home, what looked a lot like a tablecloth, in a variety of colors besides white, and which they were constantly fiddling with; raising and lowering. That's what I was referring to, whatever they are called.

BTW, cool avatar. Are you having trouble finding Confoederatio on the map?

etin

Its true, u can see a lot of them in lungis outside the privacy of their home but its not considered decent. I am sure they wont tread very far from their home in lungis, they will change to some white or cream however poor they are.(exceptions r there too!!!)

spot on... even today morning, I got lost in Zurich trafic for 1 hour on my way to a konferenz!!!!

somari

lungis can be worn outside the privacy of your home too. Many people in karnataka wear that. You can see many people going for walks wearing lungis (multi-coloured) or dhotis( white ones, with or without gold border). Many elders wear only dhoties both inside and outside their homes. It is a more traditional attire. lungis are casual clothes You can see shop keepers, labourers and generally many men wearing that outside, nowadays more in rurual areas.

rangss

I wear a lungi at home...white dhoti when I shop locally....nothing wrong with it unless it looks too garish.

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...and I took the road less travelled.

Maheswara_shishya

Is it ok for a non-sanyassa to wear a safron dhoti? My whole life is based around the divine, and well as i'm not initiated(as of yet) I would like to wear a dhoti in my ventures.

Heheh although it may look strange, a caucasion from the west wearing a safron dhoti and proudly wearing the tilak of Shiva on his head with holy ash. Even though there are a number of caucasion sadhus in India.

emjoi

No offence, but from what I've seen, bad 1970's business shirts with the top buttons undone to who off your hairy chest, and polyester pants, seem to be the standard men's wear.

Maheswara_shishya

I suppose thats better than wearing hip-huggers to show off ones hairy ass

skell

Finally, some support. Thank you!