Cultural observation and analysis

Clothing is a very important concept in India and a person is likely to focus on adopting a certain dress style according to the circumstances he or she comes across. Factors like ethnicity, geography, climate, and cultural background are essential in determining the attitudes that a person is likely to take on with regard to dress style. Dressing styles have evolved from Langotas and loincloths to more elaborate costumes that Indians are probable to wear when they attend festivities. While most people would like to adopt a superficial attitude when regarding what they want to wear, conditions are different in several Indian communities, taking into account that dress styles are treated with a form of intellectual seriousness there.

The Sari is the most popular form of dress for Indian women and is typically wrapped around the lower part of the body with one of its ends and taken over the upper body. Most Saris are made from cotton or from silk and their vivid coloring is due to decorations by dyeing. Even with the fact that Western influences pervaded Indian culture, women in the contemporary society continue to wear Saris and actually express particular interest in this dress style.

Saris are normally worn only by women who are married, but is has gradually come to be perceived as the traditional dress of Indian women. "The Sari themselves are very different, a whole variety of weaves, prints, borders, and textiles are made, many regionally marked." (Bruzzi & Gibson, 183) For example, weddings normally require an expensive Banarsi sari that has heavy silk or gold threads in order to emphasize the beauty and the value of the bride. A religious occasion is likely to require women to wear silk saris and many religious women are even probable to wear silk saris on a series of occasions that seem less meaningful when considering Indian tradition.

Women are used to wearing different colors of saris in accordance with the significance of their feelings. "The choice of color is also important: red, green, and yellow are the choice for festive occasions; widows traditionally wear white or pale colors; black is not a popular color, being worn largely as a Western fashion." (Bruzzi & Gibson, 183) This makes it possible for someone to understand that Westerners fail to understand Indian dress codes complexly and that they simply believe that wearing a sari is simply a clothing option in order for someone to emphasize particular aspects of her body.