On Women's Fashion:
There is Indian fashion, and then there is western-person-in-India fashion. Rarely the twain shall meet.
Indian
Indian fashion probably has many nuances that an unrefined American like me probably doesn't see, but to break it down to basics, there are 3 things:
1) Western clothes:
Not really found in Pondicherry, but everywhere in the big cities. Usually far less grungy and a few degrees more early 2000s than current American style -lots of graphic tees and cropped sweaters. No flared jeans, though. Never flares.
2) Salwar Kameezes:
It's a simple formula for these babies: Long shirt + baggy or tight pants +scarf. Boom. Done. They come in literally every possibly pattern and color, and in conservative towns and villages, they're all that unmarried girls are allowed to wear.
3) Saris:
These used to only be for married women (because they were considered too sexy for the unattached ones), but now plenty of girls will wear them for fancy occasions. For the most part, married women outside of the big cities will exclusively wear saris every day.
Also, these things are damn hard to put on. They are like 10 meters of fabric that you just sort of wrap around yourself, but you can't even just do that because then you wouldn't be able to move your legs at all. There is a definite learning curve involved with wearing these.
This photo demonstrates everything you should not allow to happen while wearing a sari:
Faux Indian
Think of it as “Backpacker Trash Chic”. The post I’m linking to here explains it MUCH better than I’m about to.
First off, you will not fit in wearing this look. India people are ALWAYS very put-together and neatly dressed. Backpacker Trash is usually managed by picking up some of the touristy crap clothes and wearing them to the point of grunginess. It’s undeniably comfortable, and I think every American that goes to India has been guilty of it at some time or another, but it definitely has little to do with actual Indian attire. Resist the urge to do this shit. Go buy some actual nice indian clothes. Above everything else, do NOT fall into the dirty, crusty hippie look in earnest. Ew.
