Dreaming Out Loud - Sizing up Saris

Photo via here

Despite having a first generation Indian-American roommate in college for a few years, I didn't really get the desire to wear a sari until recently*. We were just too busy in college and the opportunity never really seemed to come up. I am trying to remember if S---- ever wore one on campus, for a formal or in heading off to an event, but I don't think so. Since she didn't really bring it up, and we were no where near the City to "drop by a shop" I didn't even have an inkling of a desire to try one on. It also wouldn't have been appropriate for a Halloween party, and we didn't have "dress-up balls" like that, at least not that I ever attended.

As the years have gone on, I've had the opportunity to attend a variety of functions with many of my international friends, and even then Western formal wear was the default.

More recently, however, as I've spent more time crafting, I've really begun to appreciate textiles, textures, the workmanship, and the possibilities of color and embellishment that  goes into a sari. Even if they aren't wedding saris, bedecked in more bling that one could possibly imagine, even the "everyday" saris are alive with a rainbow of colors that can't help but brighten your day.

I mean, look at these colors, combinations, and BLING:

Sri Lankan Saris via here

Photo via here

Wedding Saris via here

And this ... this color, this photo, just ... this! Can someone drape and dress me and make me feel like this? And then show me how to pose so I actually take a good photo? (Maybe that's another dream? Actually yes -- another post.)

From here

The thing about saris I've also been realizing is that they can be draped carefully to conceal a multitude of those "things" that women don't (in any way shape or form) want to show, and can also be draped carefully over layers to be modest. Do you know how hard it is with traditional modern Western formal wear to even get a dress that's not strapless or plunging, or both? Or in a size for most of the "normal" American women?

The other reverie about getting dressed up in a sari would include satisfying my urge for a tattoo - by getting a henna one instead. This kind of tattoo would wear off, eventually, not be a permanent reminder that I would probably regret as soon as the ink started to flow, and oh yeah -- not cause pain.

A foot and/or leg henna tattoo would be fun. I'm not so keen on my hands or forearms, just given that they are harder to hide as the henna wears off and, if you are like me, and you wreck your hands two seconds after you look at them. I know feet are sensitive, but it'd be worth it if they looked like this when they were done:

Photo from here

I'd ALMOST think about wearing heels if my feet looked this awesome. Almost. I don't have the heel gene (and that's ANOTHER post.)

Now that I've compiled all these pieces, I realize it's a weird multi-layered dream "ensemble" .. like a sari:
~Dress-up in pretty fabrics and colors
~Faux Tattoos
~And the component of trying on a bit of the exotic without having to travel to the far distant lands.

Not to mention the lurking underlying, real nightmare of having strangers size you up, mentally critique your foundation garments, posture, grooming, and lack of photogenicness ...

So it's a pretty normal REM cycle type dream scenario,

Once I hit Publish, it's like jerking awake to the alarm clock. You can't really get the dream back. It's out there ... and taking on a life of it's own.

I just hope it smells of night jasmine ... and not of desperation.


*I also blame The New York Times for being one of the catalysts for this. See this November 22, 2012 Article on a Jackson Heights Shop that serves South Asian Brides and other clientele and this September 2012 article on the evolving fashion of saris. I'm traditional. I'd go for the full coverage styles, thank you very much.