{ I get angry with athletic ease. }

[delga]

So, these are the saris that we've bought over the past fortnight that I will be wearing at my cousins' weddings in June and August. Believe it or not, I still need to buy a couple more.

These two saris are very cheap; I'll be wearing them to the pithi which gets quite messy, so we needed to buy saris that we wouldn't mind throwing away. That said, the yellow one has some pretty awesome beading considering it was only £10, so I might swap it out for something else.

This print sari is the one that I'm going to wear to both receptions. It's simple, elegant, and most importantly, really light. I'm going to have to stick myself full of pins to keep it on, though.

This is the sari that I'm wearing to the wedding in June. I went into the store hoping to buy something in red (note how none of the saris I've bought are the colour I had in mind) and ended up buying this one. Sari production is kind of ridiculous. Day-to-day saris are fairly cheap, but ones like this are ridiculous in price. And this one is pretty simple, although the beading makes it heavy. I've chosen saris that don't have a lot of embroidery because those tend to be too heavy to wear. (Um. Ignore my fugly bed cover.)

This is the sari that I've bought to wear to the August wedding, but I might have to save it for one of the pre-wedding functions and buy something else because I'm not sure if it's detailed enough for the actual wedding. We'll see. If all else fails, I'll have to wear ornate jewellery to make up for how plain it is.

I think this is mine. I'm not entirely certain; it could be The Sister's. The Mother couldn't tell me one way or another, either, so that was a lot of help. Other than this gorgeous bead work, this sari is super, super plain. If it is mine, then I think it's for one of the pre-wedding functions in August. Thing is, I can't see The Sister wearing it, so it probably is mine.

The saris we've bought this time around are seem simpler than the ones we bought for the last wedding (compare). I learned my lesson - don't choose something too heavy! Not just that but fashions and pries have changed a lot in the past three years, so the kinds of choli suits that I wanted to buy for the receptions are now too expensive to buy (which is ridiculous because the same suits used to be half-price).

--

The way it works is like this: you go into a store where there are thousands of saris on the shelves. You have a price-range and you have possibly some idea of a colour. Then you start pointing and the staff pull out the saris. This is the colour; do you have different designs? No, too heavy; too light; no, no. Yes, this design; different colours? I like this one, too, and this one. Okay, then, now try it on to see if the colour suits you. At which point one of the sales assistants helps you to try it on.

Once you've got the sari you have to buy a fall for the hem, make sure that there's a blouse piece (or, if it's a ready-made blouse, that the blouse is included in the purchase), and buy an underskirt. Then you go to the tailor and he makes up your blouse. You have to buy shoes (that's actually the easiest part), bindis, bangles in the right colour (I buy two sets and mix my own but some stores have sections where the assistants mix the bangles for you, picking all sorts from across their range). You have to buy a jewellery set - earrings and a necklace. It has to match your bead work in colour and weight and pattern.

I haven't bought any of my jewellery yet - I'll do that when I get back from Soton. That's the easier part for me because I know what colour I need to buy, and I know what style I prefer. The Sister only wears a few bangles; you tend to buy them in sets of 24 (12 for each arm). The Mother tends to wear 12-24 on each arm; I always wear 24. It's my single extravagance because I buy simple saris and simple jewellery (these terms are relative, mind you). After the last wedding I spent weeks making use of my day-to-day jewellery because I was so used to wearing it. Right now I'm not wearing any (not even my watches!) but I guess that will change this summer. But yeah, shopping for saris is the most stressful part for me. And I still have a couple to buy, aie!

Comments

[zeitheist.livejournal.com]

I really like the red one, with the beads. Also: the blue one. The whole thing sounds supremely awesome, and I'm going into little girly "jewelry eee!" squeals. I'm guessing that the wedding is apparantly traditional Indian because that's your heritage, right?

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

I can't tell if that one is red or just burnt orange? The camera is weird with the colours, but that one looks different in different lights. So.

Yeah, Very Traditional. See here for how traditional (http://delgaserasca.livejournal.com/246609.html#cutid1). Every family wedding we have is like this. (INSANE. Also: hugely fun.)

[daygloparker.livejournal.com]

UGH IT IS ALL SO PRETTY

(I'm in love with the print sari.)

[asemic.livejournal.com]

I love the hot pink one. Gorgeous! The cheap print one is also lovely.

[viciouswishes.livejournal.com]

I love the blue and the pink ones.

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

The print one is my favourite. I believe that you would LOVE the sari-buying experience. It's also a great arena for competitive haggling. \o/

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[russianvelvet.livejournal.com]

grrr. those are so pretty. especially the blue and the pink one. i very nearly got an emerald green and gold sari for the prom, as my sister was getting my dress made in Goa. but i got that black one with the sari silk as a belt. plus i really think im too monstrously pale and caucasian to wear one. lolz.
:)

sorry i havent been around in a while. ive been incredibly ill. but hey. how are you???
im in S.hampton this next week mon-fri may see you about unless youre home. haha!
:)

[elysium1996.livejournal.com]

so beautiful all of them i am not sure if you will share pics of you in them or not ..

anyway again.. these are beautiful

soooo JEALOUS!

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I remember my sister telling me about that - but I liked the one you wore anyway :)

HEY YOU! I'm okay - knackered and annoyed at the London underground, lols. I hope you're feeling better; miss chatting to you! I'll email you with my mobile number (caseus, yes?) - text me when you're in Soton and we can meet up/you can come and hang out at my place, lols. *hugs*

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

Hee, depends if I like any of the photos, lol.

Aw, thank you :)

[rv-icons.livejournal.com]

thanks :)
whats the beef with transport?? haha.
ooh yay, that sounds cool.
bit hectic though. don't know what free time ive got yet. but that would be uber cool :)
xx