How to Wear a Saree?

A saree is an Pakistani subcontinental women's garment. It has been worn historically many times, being the native dress of Pakistan. There are today several types of sarees and many different fashions. The main section is about 6 yards long, but don't let that frighten you! Dressing in a saree is very easy and it looks gorgeous on anybody. Here are a few steps that you can take to be sure that you dress in your saree appropriately.

1)  Determine the shoes that you plan to wear. The height of your heels is important for determining where the bottom of the saree should reach. Since some sarees might be transparent, try to wear an underskirt too. The shoes should be elegant, like golden sandals.

2)   Hold the saree so the fall is facing towards you. The fall is a long piece of unadorned cotton.

 

3)   Wrap the saree around your waist and tuck it in once. The pallu (decorated side) should be on the outside. 

4) Wrap it around again, but don't tuck it in. Pull the pallu until it is as long as your outstretched arm when your arm is by your side. Tuck it over your shoulder.

5)  Tighten the cloth and tuck it in 3 to 4 inches to the left of your belly button.

6)  Pleat it. Stretch your left hand and hold the cloth with your thumb and pinkie fingers. Wind the cloth with your right hand through the thumb and pinkie holding with alternating fingers. You should end with 5-6 pleats, but you can have more if your hands are small. 

 

7) Tuck in your pleats. It is a good idea to pin the pleats together so that they stay in place the whole day. Generally speaking, 20 centimeters below the waist is a good basis. 

 

8)   Drape the remaining fabric around yourself from left to right, and over your shoulder.

 

9)  Secure the end portion on your shoulder with a safety pin.  Get saree blouses of different styles, some of sexy ones which you can find on the Internet.

Tips

• Some tuck in the pleats right in the center front, and some place them so that they begin at the front and end on the left side. Both ways are correct.
• Try wearing bangles with your saree to bring attention away from your bare arms.
• Normally, the saree is a bit longer in the back than in the front. In the back, your saree should almost reach the floor.
• For your first time, choose a saree of synthetic material that is easy to drape and wear.
• The pallu should come over from your left shoulder and fall on your back.
• You can get a beautiful lace-embellished petticoat or add lace to an ordinary one. It looks sexy when accidentally exposed while climbing steps, etc. Such petticoats were worn in India by wealthy women in the times of the British empire.
• Accessorize more with simple or plain sarees, and less for sarees that are heavier and a little more fancier.
• The saree will look better if it matches your shoes.
• Wear the saree long, so that only the tips of your toes show. A short saree with visible ankles does not look very elegant. Think of a saree as you would an evening gown.
• Wear it with elegant sandals, boots, or any other elegant shoe. No sneakers please !

Warnings

• Make sure that your pleats are clean! Uneven pleats give an awkward appearance.
• When bringing the pallu over your shoulder, make sure the bit behind falls above your knee, or you may trip.
• Be sure that your petticoat is tight! It's better to be a bit too tight, than too loose. Otherwise, your saree will start sagging, and the pleats will come out.
• Make sure that the fall is on the inside near your feet.
• Make sure to pin your saree to your blouse because if it falls it will be considered taboo.
• A starched cotton or tissue saree is for the pros, as it can get crushed easily. So is an extremely slinky, hard-to-drape material.
• The petticoat should never be visible from under the saree when you stand.
• Make sure your pleats are deep enough. Otherwise, you may have problems walking without having them slip out. 

How to Wear a Sari in Videos?

#1, #2, #3 Nivi Style (the most popluar way to wear a sari) – traditional

There are three different ways to do this sari drape as shown in the video below. This can be is the simplest way to to drape a sari and the best one for beginners.
Nivi style originally comes from Andhra Pradesh and is now worn all over the world.

 

#4 The Seedha pallu way (Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar) Traditional

#5 The Bustle – modern

With this drape,  you make bunches instead of pleats because we want as much volume as possible. The thin starched saris work the best IMHO but you can try it out and see what works for you. The photos show different types of saris being used. The red and yellow one is a very heavy thick silk. The blue and white is a very thin starched to heck cotton and the peach one is thin cotton with out starch. I also find that having a full slip helps with the look. Have fun!
The video is to give you an idea of how I do it. Its not the best video but its the only one we could do since my niece wanted the camera. She’s only one and a half. I hope it gives you the idea

 

#6 Mermaid style – modern

  

 #7 Karaikal Fisher woman style (Pondicherry) Traditional #8, #9 Rajrani style – traditional I have found that the names Rajrani style, Seedha Pallu, Gujarati style and Rajasthani style are interchangeable and are used for post #4 and for this one #8. Below are two videos one showing a V neck version and one showing a version with the drape across the back tight instead of loose. When it is loose it is usually put over the head to protect form the hot sun or when going to a temple.  

 #10 and #11 Bengali style – traditional #12 Hip hop style – modern The video shows a two piece sari being used but you can do this with a full length sari too.

  

 #13 Empire Waist – modern This style works best with a sari that is reversible, and would probably look even better with a blouse that matched the sari.  

#14 The Cocktail twist – modern This is a modern version of Nivi style. Courtesy of Benzerworld  

#15, #16 Maharastrian style(Nuvari) – traditional  

#17 Dancing Sari – traditional I don’t really know what this drape is called. The video is titled Odissi but I’ve seen Bharatanatyam dancers wear it too. So I’m calling it the dancing sari. It would also be great for riding a bike or mucking around in the garden or forest. Its short and fun! The video is in Chinese I think. #18 Odissi fishtail – traditional  

 #19 Flower seller style (Madurai) – traditional This is one of my favorite styles. You will need a good long sari at least a full 6 yards for this to work if you are my height, 5’7″. 9 yards would be even better. #20 Butterfly style – modern Here is another belly baring style. 

 #21 Skirt style – traditional I’m pretty sure it was traditional to wear a sari as a skirt so I’m marking this one traditional. If you know different let me know. You can wear this with a dupatta like the girl in the video or put on a tank top or t-shirt. Or if it’s a really fancy sari you can put on a fancy matching top for an elegant evening style.

  

#22 Bengali(casual) – traditional This style is a traditional everyday wrap for Bengali women. They tie their house key in the end of the pallu and then throw it over their shoulder. Its quite simple and one of the easiest IMHOP.

#23, #24 Mumtaz – modern This is Mumtaz style and was first popularized by the actress of the same name. There is a specially made sari so its easy to get the look, but there are many variations so you can do it with any light weight sari. The first two videos are basically the same wrap. I did one so you could see the whole thing. But the first video shows the modern sari that is made so you can get the look exactly like mumtaz if you want.

#25 Coorgi style – traditional This video seems to wrap the sari the opposite direction of every other Coorgi style sari tutorial/picture I’ve seen but its the best video. Most of the videos pleat in the front which is not traditional. So maybe wrap it the other direction for the most authentic drape. Otherwise I don’t think it really matters.
#26 Tamil/Telugu brahmin – traditional
#27 Classy style – modern They call this “classy style”…you can call it what ever you want
#28 Sri Lankan Osari – traditional This is not in English but the video doesn’t need to be heard to be understood
#29 Ceylonese dancer style – traditional I have never seen this worn by a dancer but maybe its a really old style, and they used to wear it. Its interesting anyway.
#30 Tamil Brahmin style (Madisar) – traditional OK so this is not the most polished video but it is cool to see some women trying to preserve their traditional dress. When I get a 9 yard sari I’ll try it out and post some pictures here. If you go to Youtube and read the description, they say that the style can be worn with the pallu thrown over either shoulder. Traditionally this was done over the right shoulder by the Iyer and the Gurukkal Brahmins and over the left for the Iyengar Brahmins Check out these ladies traditional dress…
#31 Cross Style – modern This one kind of reminds me of Hawaii
#32 Lingayat style – traditional
#33 Madurai style – traditional
#35 Mytho style – modern
#36 The head turner – modern
#37 Designer’s Dream – modern Call it what you like. Wear it if you like it :P Most modern styles are better with a nice showy choli/blouse, because they tend to expose it. So make sure it is well fitted.
#38 Andhra style – traditional
#39 Velankanni style – traditional This style is from one village called Velankanni in Tamil. It is quite old and is probably not worn very much anymore but it was meant to allow the women to carry their babies around with them while they worked. The pallu was made very strong in order to hold the baby. Sounds pretty cool to me
#40 Ramp Model – modern Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I’ve been moving into a new house in Ireland. Here is the next installment
#41 Classic Style – modern Here is another Benzerworld sari drape. A dramatic seedha pallu.  

#42 Bollywood style – modern Bollywood style is a version of Nivi but the pallu pleats are very thin and they are not opened up to cover the chest and stomach. They are kept pleated and the part that comes around the right hip is draped loosely.
#43 Trendy Style – modern This is like a combo of Nivi, Seedha Pallu, and coorgi style.  

#44 Indowestern Style – modern Here is an interesting mix of modern and traditional.
#45 Nivi style for Hijab – modern This is an interesting take on the Nivi for full coverage. If you would like a couple of styles for full coverage a modified version of the Gujarati style would probably work too. I believe it is very easy to get full coverage with the seedha pallu. Also the casual Bengali style (#22 on my blog) might be an easy style for full coverage as well.
#46 Settu Mundu, Namboothiri – traditional