What to Wear?
This couple, standing at the entrance to their building materials business, is dressed in typical Sivakasi wear. She is wearing a sari and he is in a shirt and dhoti.





This man, who was reading the morning paper, is wearing a shirt and lungi. He can shorten his lungi to a dhoti by folding or pulling it up, perhaps between his legs, and tying it.




While the dhoti and lungi are common, I'd guess half the male Sivakasians dress like Annaraj in trousers and a shirt. Sometimes the shirt is tucked in and sometimes not. Many wear sandals, but shoes and socks are also common.





Women wear saris and sandals. I've worn my sari twice and was amazed at the compliments I received. Even people I didn't know stop me. Students told me I was beautiful. I am smiled at often here, but when I've worn my sari the smiles are over the top.





A sari is a complicated outfit. It has 3 pieces: the top, the petticoat and the 5-6 meters of fabric. And we must not forget the 2-3 safety pins. There's a real art to draping the sari fabric. I still don't have it down. Viji told me the first time to just wrap myself in the cloth, get myself to school and they would take over. I really have tried to fix it right, but both times I've worn it even I knew I needed help. The Tamil teacher standing with me in the previous photo is the one who fixes me up. She also has given me a bindi (forehead mark) and loaned me a necklace because the outfit is incomplete without one. Many women also wear flowers in their hair, expensive earrings (mine are "cute") and toe rings. This is what married women wear.


Viji showed me her wardrobe. She has 50-60 saris. And a pair of trousers she never wears. I'm betting her cousin in New Jersey sent them to her. According to Viji, Sivakasi husbands want their wives to wear saris. And the wives want to wear them. Her husband buys most of her saris. In fact he buys the clothes for her , their son and himself.



Younger women, and a few of the more well-to-do mothers at school, wear the chudia thar. I once called this outfit a salwar kameez, but now think that term is for something slightly different. I find the chudia thar easier to wear, especially on my bike. For me the sari is a fussy outfit, the chudia thar less so.



When I bought my second chudia thar, the clerks wanted me to take a photo - so, here it is. This may be the largest clothing store in Sivakasi. The clothing in all stores is folded, individually stored in cellophane or boxes and stacked on the shelves behind the counter. You tell the clerks what you want and they begin pulling items off the shelves and removing packing. Soon the counter is covered with your many choices.

I bought a sari for Rs 430/$11 but the one the teachers were required to buy for special school occasions cost Rs 3000/$75. My two chudia thar averaged Rs 600/ $15 each. Mine are casual professional wear. Ones for special occasions would cost more. I also have a skirt Jolie brought me from her trip to India. I like to wear my four Indian outfits some days and my outfits from home other days. The mix seems to be working for us all.