What Not to Wear – India
June 22nd, 2009 by Lauren Locke-Paddon
The first in our ‘What Not to Wear Traveling’ series, Lauren Theriot Locke-Paddon in our editorial team puts the spotlight on India and dress etiquette.
This is a public service announcement: Leave your hot pants at home when traveling in India. In a three-month journey around the subcontinent I saw the legs of five or six local women, notable because temperatures often topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The popular salwar kameez (a long tunic worn with drawstring pants) is a fabulous option for staying cool and keeping some credibility as a respectful traveler.
It seems common for a first time female visitor to this amazing country to be filled with warnings concerning the behavior of local men towards foreign women. It is also common to hear these women complaining about said behavior, especially in the North. However, a woman wearing short jean shorts in rural India that is talking about a lack of respect shown towards her is clearly confused. It’s her that has forgotten certain rules of decorum. After all, it’s evident to everyone that lives in that village that she’s dressed like, well, a streetwalker.
It’s true that my sense of fashion languished during my trip. It was hot, and my wardrobe needed to fit into an oversized book bag. I often favored mustard pants and a maroon tunic with gold edging I had picked up in Kerala. This was paired with a ratty straw hat, Ray-Bans and my only pair of shoes – Chaco sandals. Looking back, I seemed to have forgotten that I would be taking photos on my vacation. I didn’t look good, but at least I looked decent, which is important when one of your main activities is drinking chai with old men.
Another note: you’re not going to fit in, even when you don a sari. My friend and I spent a full day shopping for used saris in Hyderabad, finding blouses and petticoats and getting an impromptu sari-tying lesson from the shop-owner’s daughters. My delicate blue silk sari was shot through with a silver pattern and its debut on the streets of Hyderabad was about the equivalent of wearing a ball gown around Oakland, California. Attention factor went up, especially when my friend and I paused for a photo shoot at the chai stall.
An unexpected side effect of wearing saris to the Chowmahalla palace the next day was all the attention we got from wonderful ladies who approached us to help us readjust the 15 feet of fabric we’d wrapped around ourselves that morning. Upon exiting the hotel room I asked the cleaning woman if my sari was “ok?” She dissolved into laughter, and basically made me start from scratch. The offending aspect? My front pleats needed to be moved about three inches to the left. Women that would have never otherwise spoken to us, minding their own business as many normal, friendly people often do, would take us to the side and ask if they could help. The imperfections in our saris, so subtle as to be totally imperceptible to us, were the equivalent of wearing your pants backwards, or using your underwear as a hat. It’s up to you whether that’s a “do” or a “don’t”.
For more specialized information on Hyderabad, check out the Offbeat Guide here!
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