Friday, April 19, 2013

My grandmother's sari, with a blouse

Today I picked up the pink blouse the tailor made to match my 50+ year old sari that belonged to my grandmother. I think the color is OK, or maybe even nice, with the sari, but I'd like opinions, please! I will say that the pink of the blouse matches the pink of the um, warp (or weft?) of the sari pretty much perfectly.

As an added bonus you can see my "still have a lot to learn" sari draping!

Here is my sari in what I believe is a pretty standard sari drape, worn by women across India.


I think this is called the nivi drape actually. Here's another of same, with the shoulder bit sort of pleated/bunched. If I did this properly it'd be pleated, and not bunched at all. It would also use a pin, and I have no pins whatsoever at the moment.



Here's a closeup of the really beautiful pallau.


I've noticed that a lot of women here in Karnataka wear their saris with an extra wrap around the body and tucked at the waist. I have no idea what this drape is called, or if it's distinct to this region or not, but I'm really fond of it. It brings part of the pallau to the front, and makes the sari feel extra secure.


So, that's my heirloom sari! Please tell me what you think of the blouse-- does it match well? If not, what would you suggest for a better match? I asked my friend Bitasta, who took my blouse fabric shopping if she thought that the color I'd picked out was an OK match or too bright and she said, rather enigmatically, "Are you going to wear the sari in India?" I said something like, "Um, I don't know. Maybe?" and that was the end of our conversation. I'm not sure if she meant that the color was a terrible match and any Indian would know it, so if I was only going to wear it in the US it was OK, or if she meant that the color was too bright for American tastes, but fine for the Indian palate, or??? So any thoughts are greatly appreciated! I totally adore this sari. 

3 comments:

Bhama said...

I think it looks fabulous, the blouse is a great match and works really well.

Jo said...

I adore the sari too!
Looks to me like it matches beautifully!
I also like the extra "tuck". I would like the more secure feeling.

Beverly said...

Stunning!