What to wear...What to wear?

(Written last weekend...)
My wardrobe of long pants and short-sleeve, loose-fitting tops has also been tolerable despite what the thermometers read. Today’s excitement involved picking up my new “South Asian” wardrobe from a nearby tailor, all “stitched” and ready to go. Five outfits made just for me, all for the price of a shirt back home. Niiice.

While this may seem excessive, this was the staff’s recommendation for the work I have been (and will continue) doing. The wardrobe I am referring to consists of drawstring pants called “salwar.” Salwar put every other pair of drawstring pants I’ve ever owned to shame…they could easily fit around a baby elephant and still have enough string to make a bow. Besides having to tie them around my ribcage, they are extremely comfortable during the long road trips that are a regular part of my job.

There is another popular style of pants, which boasts a similar waste to the salwar. I will have nothing
to do with these, as I’m pretty sure they were originally intended for circus-performers on stilts. Being
on the short-legged side, these tight, mile-long leggings that barely allow my feet to pass through are best avoided.

Over the salwar, women wear dress-like tops called “kurta.” These can be short or long-sleeved depending on one’s preference and/or the material. The tailors cut wildly imaginative collars in the kurta. No, no. “V-neck” and “crew-neck” would not compliment the loudness of my cloth’s pattern. All the poor tailors’ efforts seem to be in vain, however, as we then hide the intricate details of our collar under the “dupatta” (we “cool” folks simply call it the “dup”…actually, in my case, its more because I cannot seem to pronounce “dupatta” the same way twice).

This light, scarf-like piece of material hangs over both shoulders, with the center pulled down in somewhat of a v-shape over the chest. Two things are still a mystery to me: 1) what exactly I’m supposed to keep covered (my collar, or other “things”…or all of the above-and sadly, this would be a rather inappropriate question); and 2) how the national women manage to keep the ends from constantly falling off their shoulders. Some pin them, but what about the rest?? Balancing the dup in place for an entire work day is a skill I strongly desire...perhaps even covet. Please forgive me.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

Saris, or sarees, are actually more common, and I’d say, even more beautiful. But, when I consider the challenges I face in the supposedly easier number, I don’t have a hope in the world with these mounds of fabric. For some reason, however, I dropped off nice material for just such an outfit today. I need something appropriate for a co-worker’s upcoming wedding.

My first outfit took 5 days to make, and it was awesome (I’m wearing it in almost every photo in the field-see above). This particular tailor took fifteen days, which seemed reasonable for such a large order. So, when she asked me when I would need my saris by, I thought “I have at least fifteen days,” so I said, “oh, there is no rush.”

Now, the tailoring on a sari involves stitching the edges of the material, and making a tiny little blouse to avoid total indecency. While I cannot even make a simple A-line skirt (as my Mercy Ships buddies can attest to), this does not seem like an enormous task (especially compared to arranging it on one’s body!). When I asked the date, however, that I should expect my sari to be ready, the proprietor told me “right before Christmas, on the 20^th.” Hoping I had heard her wrong, I clarified, “you mean November 20^th?”

“No, December.”

“Um, well, I actually need it by December 3^rd!”

“You said there was no rush.” Darn, she was right. Strangely enough, I had thought 18 days would be plenty of time to not feel rushed. Silly, Kim.

In the end, she said she would do the stitching on the sari, but could not get me the blouse by December 3^rd. Well, lesson learned: clarify from the start what the terms “long time” and “no rush” mean…Grrr. Oh, and don't go back to that tailor, as she certainly gets plenty of business.

Please say hi to Target for me!