Sari means a strip of cloth, which is a word of Sanskrit. It is said to be one of the most versatile garments. It is an unstitched piece of cloth, which is in between four to nine yards. Females mostly in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Srilanka, Burma, Singapore, Malaysia and Bhutan wear it. It was traced by the Indus valley civilization.
How it is worn
It is worn over a petticoat, as it is also known as choli. One of the most common styles of wearing a sari is to wrap the sari around the waist and then drape it over the left or right shoulder. Many designers say that there are more than 80 ways to wear it. A very famous designer says that she knows more than 50 ways of how a sari is worn.
Drapings
Some of the famous styles of draping are Oriya styles, Nivi style, Gujarati style, Maharashtrian, Bengali style, Kodagu style, Dravidian style, Kunbi style, Tribal styles, Malayali style, gond and many more. The most popular style is the nivi style.
Fabric and other embellishments
The fabrics used for making it are net, chiffons, georgette, silk, crape, tissue, banarsi and satin too. To make the saris more elegant you can have tila work, mirror work, zardozi work, makaish, diamantes and cut dana work done on them. Pearls and sequences can also be seen on saris. Block printing and stonework is also done on them.
Politicians and celebrities
Very famous female politicians like Indra Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Sushma Swaraj as well as many celebrities wear it too. They wear it in movies, dramas and even on awards ceremonies. They also promote their culture when they wear it.
All around the world
It is also worn all around the world. It is very famous in countries like Bangladesh, India, Srilanka and Nepal. In Srilanka it is worn in two different styles, one is the Kandy style and the other is the Indian style. Many people in New York or in other countries have opened their shop and they sell saris for their Indian, sri lankan or western crowds who love saris.
As a uniform
Many females who are an air hostesses, army officers, army doctors, police officers and hotel staff also wear saris. Women in different professions wear saris of different colors and material, which are given to them.
Different occasions and styles
In the Indian subcontinent, different regions have introduced different styles in the past years. Some of them are Central Styles which includes Chanderi, kosa silk or maheshwari. Another style is eastern style which includes muslin, tussar silk, moga silk, bapta silk and many more. Western, southern and eastern styles are other styles. On many occasions like Diwali, wedding ceremonies, dandiya, reception and sangeet the saree is worn with different colors and elegant work on them.
For daily wear
In villages and mostly the female servants in India, Srilanka or Bangladesh wear saris during their daily routines as well. They wear saree of a very light fabric like lawn or cotton of different colors and motifs.
Newly wedded brides
In many countries like Pakistan where sari is not mostly worn but newly wedded brides wear saris, which are usually of banarsi or chiffons with beautiful stone work.
Online shopping
They can be bought online too. People sitting in any country can choose any sari and make some changes if needed and order them. They can easily get their ordered sari within the time limit given to them by the designer.