India

Attire

As a result of the culture variations all over the country, the local traditional clothing varies from state to state, from culture to culture, from community to community. However few types of attire are normally worn all over and are quite ethnic to India.

Sari

A charming folktale explains...

"The Sari, it is said, was born on the loom of a fanciful weaver. He dreamt of Woman. The shimmer of her tears. The drape of her tumbling hair. The colors of her many moods. The softness of her touch. All these he wove together. He couldn't stop. He wove for many yards. And when he was done, the story goes, he sat back and smiled and smiled and smiled."

Legend has it that when the beauteous Draupadi - wife of the Pandavas - was lost to the enemy clan in a gambling duel, Lord Krishna promised to protect her virtue. The lecherous victors, intent on "bagging" their prize, caught one end of the diaphanous material that draped her so demurely, yet seductively. They continued to pull and unravel, but could reach no end. Virtue triumphed, yet again in this 5,000 year old Indian epic, the Mahabharat. Legend, fantasy, history or fact, it is the first recorded reference to the enduringly attractive SARI - the most enduring of all items in the history of women's fashion.

The traditional six-yard sari, is a classic that is almost Grecian in its elegance. Allowing for generous pleating and draping around the body and over the shoulder, it could be of shimmering silk or the finest gauzy cotton, embroidered with golden threads, it speaks of romance or riches, of sobriety or gaiety, of sophistication or innocence.

It is an instant and eternal fashion, created by the hands of the wearer and subject to none of the vagaries and changes that plague the fashions of the western world. The success of the Sari is attributed to its total simplicity, practical comfort, and sense of luxury a woman experiences when she wears one.