What to Wear in India..Helpful Hints for Women

Haylo

In August, I saw Indian women in Delhi wearing kameez with jeans. No way could I do that, it was far too hot for me, but yes "western style" bottoms would look fine!

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kristinm

I wore Indian tops and western bottoms and also men's kurtas over jeans or salwar pants.. and no one seemed to care. The style that is not the very baggiest but also not the tight calves style seems to be the most comfy and flattering with a long Indian style top or kurta - Now that I have the pants at home - they look awful unless you wear a long top over them, make you look enormous! But once you put the long top on they are quite slimming - Those Indians are so clever!

I doubt I would have got those tight ones over my chunky calves quite honestly and they look uncomfortable,

lmanley9330

Hi, My name is Laura and I was just reading your posts. I leave for India Dec 10. What do you think about capri style pants that go just below the knee? I will be spending 2 weeks in the north and 2 weeks in the south.

Kangaroo1

kristinm

That's what I wore - with a kurta or kameez style top - nice and cool for the warm days, add a shawl and change to long pants for the cool evenings!

brishti

absolutely! positively - YES, you can get away with it
absolutely! positively - NO, you will not look ridiculous!
most girls/women who're in jeans, often wear kurta's on top.

there are 3 lengths of kurta's though!
1. Them short tops - that come just till the waistband of the jeans
2. Kurti's - they just about cover the butt
3. Kurta's - length varies from just above the knee, to just below the knee

The most favoured of the 3 with jeans is the kurti.
i've got this sneaky feeling - they were designed just for them jeansies in the country

here's a simple guideline with them kurta lengths -
the baggier the bottom [ patiala / salwar ] - the shorter the kurta [ but always covering derriere ]
the tighter the bottom [ churidar ] - the longer the kurta




:brishti

Aishah

This is just what I need to hear, in your post, Brishti! Now that I'm getting more 'modern' in dress and throwing out the chunni, dupatta thing, I'm shortening all my skirt lengths. Your last tips make a lot of sense, and are a terrific guideline! Thank you.

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"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

K_Shel

Yes thankyou girls!

Any idea of prices?

Nick-H

First you tell us how long the piece of string is!

I was noticing in the newspaper only yesterday, fashionable creations with three zeros following --- in fact, up to 16,000.

But you can start at a hundred or less!




Life is a shopping trip: Enjoy

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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

K_Shel

Even for big heffers like me!?! UK size 16 - almost 6ft....

Nick-H

The question was not intended literally, K , you can buy wonderful fabrics here for a couple of hundred Rs a metre. The fact that you may require a little more won't add that much to your bill.

wonderwomanusa

I haven't found ready-to-wear salwar-kameez since I was somewhat smaller. For stitching, it depends on where you are and whether you bring the cloth or the tailor provides it.

Delhi tailors will be much more expensive than those in Jodhpur, for example.

You can get SK cloth pieces (already coordinated) at the various State Emporia on Baba Karak Singh Marg (in Delhi) and have a tailor in a smaller town do the stiching for you.

Just bring something comfortable to wear for a couple of days ... I'll be in aloha shirts and some sort of cotton trousers until I find a tailor. You have to wear something on the plane over, so make it something comfy!

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The map is not the territory. --Alfred Korzybski

kristinm

OMG Look out Jaisalmer Aishah's on the razzle!

Aishah

LOL, Kristin! Not 'on the razzle' more into comfortable in the heat. That extra scarf adds weight and makes me feel more hot.

jackwass

How long do you mean by 'long skirts?' (how long is a piece of string, hahaha). Below knee? Ankle-length? Floor length? I'm planning to sew a couple of dresses to wear before I buy stuff there, and floor-length requires a lot more yardage than knee-length!

Aishah

Are you wearing these as dresses without pants underneath? Because if so I would make them mid-calf length for when you're in 'backward' areas and away from big cities. Short skirts, bare legs, stand out like a sore thumb our way, and the boys and men will have fixated eyes on your legs!! It's the legs that attract attention more around our area. They hardly ever see bare legs, only ankles.