SK Wearing

SK stands for salwar kameez, which is a traditional way of dress of many Indian women.  The salwar part is a pair of draw-string pants; I think there are different terms to describe the ones that are loose vs. tight.  The kameez part is the tunic top (like the French word, chemise).  There's also a 3rd piece, a dupatta, which is a shawl or scarf.

When I found out that I would be travelling to India, my first (or maybe second) question was, "What will I wear?"  I was obsessed with this for weeks.  From afar,  SK looked like the right answer:  business-appropriate (modest) and comfortable. Still, I hesitated.  Would it be ridiculous, or even rude,  for an obviously Western woman to wear this outfit?  And how would I know what style to buy?  After all, I don't want to go to work looking like I'm dressed for a wedding.  I decided that the best approach was to wait and make up my mind after I'd had a chance to see how people dress at work.

As it turned out, I didn't have the energy to shop in Delhi, but I wasted no time once I got to Hyderabad (see my 5/30 post).  But I still didn't have the nerve to wear my new SK in public.  Finally last Thursday, I told the guys on my team that I wanted to wear beautiful Indian clothes and asked them if they thought that would be weird.  They were encouraging.  Besides, I was running out of my "real" clothes. So Friday was the big day.

I thought I detected more than the usual number of smiles from the hotel workers I passed as I left the Westin -- but those could have been smirks, right?  Then when I got to my cube, Dev said, "Oh, you look beautiful!"  What woman doesn't want to hear that?  And again, more than the usual number of smiles from the rest of the people on my floor.  Which I decided to take as a good sign.  At the end of the day, for the first time, I kept my working clothes on until time for bed instead of immediately changing into sweats -- that's how comfortable I felt.  This adds up to SK success.

First thing Saturday, I went out and bought 4 more SKs, each more beautiful than the last.  I was so excited about my purchases that I laid them all out on the bed together to admire.  (Sorry, I didn't take a photo.) Then, because I'm a spoiled American living in a hotel, I sent them all out to be pressed because it simply won't do to wear wrinkled clothes here in India.  Since then, I've been SK all the way, every day. 

Today I wore the fanciest one.  I think it's silk.  It's dark red with gold/copper appliques and embroidery.  A woman on the elevator told me that I looked great, the color is very becoming on me.  And a guy in the cafeteria told me that Indian style of dress suits me very well.  Wow.  I'm not accustomed to compliments from random strangers.

The only downside is the dupatta.  Theoretically, it's very practical.  You can cover your head with it, use it as a carrying-sling, or fold it up and sit on it if you don't want to dirty your other clothes.  But for some reason, it's worn like a winter muffler in reverse, with the loose ends trailing down your back.  Inevitably, it slides around so that one end is dragging on the floor or I'm sitting on it or it's choking me.  This doesn't seem to bother the Indian women, but I am constantly yanking on mine. 

Doesn't anyone here know that Isadora Duncan's dupatta was her cause of her death?