Any unusual wedding outfits?

[Pacion]

Inspired by reading about Laura going to a Hindu wedding and wearing a sari, has anyone worn anything different to what you normally wear?

Before anyone asks, yes, it is an excuse to hear/read more about Laura's experience :lol: I have always thought that saris were interesting but one of those things you had to practice wearing so that the whole thing did not unravel on you or the bit that goes over the shoulder did not keep sliding of. One of the things that always amazes me though is the vibrancy of the colours :shock: they are such beautiful colours and when worked in with gold, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!

[pygmalion]

I haven't done anything unusual, personally, but I did attend an unusual wedding. A Chinese friend had a two-part wedding. For the traditional Chinese part, she wore a bright-red silk robe; for the American part (the groom was American) she wore a white satin wedding gown. Very nice.

It's amazing how the symbolism of colors is so different between cultures.

[Pacion]

Yes! I have seen something along those lines. What does the red mean? I think goodluck no?

[pygmalion]

Yes. Red is for good luck. This girl had her gown custom made and imported to the US by her extended family in mainland China. Apparently, the red is very important. The invitations were also custom-designed, and they were red.

[MacMoto]

Most Scottish men marry in a kilt these days, so I suppose that makes a formal suit (trousers! :shock:) an unusual outfit for the groom around here. :lol: When a friend of mine married a Japanese guy, the groom and his best man (also Japanese) wore a kilt. I wonder what the groom's family thought of it... The couple then went to Japan to have a traditional Japanese wedding, complete with a kimono and a huge wig for the bride.

[salsachinita]

Almost everyone I know had married someone from a different cultual background.....so mixed wedding attires are the norm :lol: !

[Laura]

I had forgotten that I mentioned the sari on the Insomniac thread!

When we were invited to the wedding my husband asked the groom if it would be okay if we dressed in Indian clothing. The groom said it would be great, and the bride gave us some advice as to what to wear. There's a number of Indian clothing stores in Berkeley, so on Saturday we went over and stopped at Sari Palace, which is the biggest and nicest of the shops.

We started in the men's department. The clothes were beautiful, there were tailored suits with Neru collars and gorgeous embroidery, loose flowing silk shirts, long coats embroidered with gold thread, and these three-piece sort of pyjama sets. My husband was most interested in the pyjama sets. The pants are loose fitting from just below the knees to the waist, and the waist is tied with a drawstring. The pants are cut close to the leg below the knee, and are purposely extra long so that they will bunch up loosely around the ankles. The shirt is long and flowing with long sleeves, and buttons up the front from the mid-chest to the neck. Over this goes a long vest that hangs straight from the shoulders to below the knees. My husband settled on a pair of dove grey pyjamas with a dark blue vest. The vest had very nice burgundy, black, and sliver embroidery along the edges. He also bought a pair of traditional slippers, which were cream colored and turned up a little at the toes.

With him settled, we then went to pick out an outfit for me. I started out with a heavily embroidered chiffon skirt with a matching blouse that came down to my hips, but I didn't like it at all. I felt very dowdy and decided I'd try a real sari. The saleswoman asked me what color I wanted, and I had no idea! I told her I was going to a wedding so she pulled out one that was a deep shade of lavender and another that was a rich mango shade. I really liked the mango one, so I tried it on.

First, I had to put on a petticoat. It was actually an ankle-length lightweight satin skirt with a drawstring waist. The petticoat was a rich rust color which coordinated nicely with the sari itself. Then I had to put on the blouse that goes with the sari. The blouse is very snug fitting and comes down to just under the bustline, with short sleeves. It hooks up the front, and has laces up the back so you can adjust the fit. The blouse is made from the same fabric as the sari, and is embroidered with gold thread and gold sequins.

Wrapping the sari wasn't that difficult. You start by tucking it into the waistband of the petticoat. Since the waistband is tied snug with a drawstring, it doesn't shift around or stretch so everything stays put. After you've wrapped it around once, you make a series of pleats (like when you fold a paper fan) in the front, and tuck them into the waistband. Next, you wrap the free end around behind you and diagonally up over your chest in the front. There's a few things you can do with the free end, I pleated mine and put it over my shoulder, using a few hidden saftey pins to keep it in place. No, it's not considered cheating to use the pins :-)

Here's a web page showing how it all goes on. (http://www.shijucreation.com/wearingasari.htm)

I put it on about 3pm and wore it until 11pm and never felt like it was slipping or going to come off. It was incredibly elegant and comfortable! I wore it with a pair of beaded velvet flip-flops that I had bought a while ago in Burma, they just happened to be the exact same color as my petticoat.

[cl5814]

Thanks Laura that was very interesting..... I have quite a few indian friends but have never asked about the detail of wearing a sari.

[cocodrilo]

I was invited to a wedding in Madras a few years ago. As I only had sexy disco wear or casual wear, my (Dutch) friend suggested I wear a salwar-kameez and took me shopping. They had some lovely, flowing ones(a long, loose dress with matching pants underneath and a long scarf which is draped over the shoulders) and I bought a lovely turquoise one. My friend & I both wore them to the wedding and didn't seem out of place. I wanted to buy a sari, there were so many beautiful ones, but the tight-fitting top(they said the tops are custom-made to fit) is just much too hot for me and I think I would sweat too much in it. All of the young ladies are wearing salwar-kameez now as they are so comfortable, and don't show that spare tire, if you happen to have one, that the bare midriff of the sari top reveals. (Please correct my spelling, Sagitta!!!)

[salsachinita]

Yep, Cocdrilo, I wore one of those to my friend's wedding too :D !

*I will dig for pics*

At the time, I DID have a few spare tires :oops: .......so while my saris were all sitting ready to go (ok, also needed to get the blouses made), I opted for the pants set.

[Laura]

The nice thing about wearing a sari around other women wearing saris is that no one cares about the spare tire. It was very liberating to not be all paranoid about my fat rolls -- everyone had them, even the bride (just a little).

[cocodrilo]

I think that spare tire is a status symbol in India, as it shows the womens' wealth by indicating that they have enough money to feed themselves so well. My affluent Indian friend however, said that trend among the younger, "fashionable" Indian women these days is mimicking that of western countries and it is popular to be thin. (Wonder if they're eating low-carb curries?! :shock: )

[Laura]

Too bad. The western emphasis on thinness has gone way too far. It's gone way beyond fitness and health and become a symbol of moral strength and value as a human being. People who are fat are assumed by many westerners to be lazy, slovenly, weak-willed, and dumb. That's not necessarily true, it's just predjudice, and I really resent it.

[cocodrilo]

Most definitely young ladies in our society are influenced by all the skinny, anorexic-looking models in the fashion magazines, then at the same time, more than half of the people in the US are obese! Where is that happy medium?!

Over here in Japan, average weight for young ladies is actually on the decrease, although you see an occasional heavy person. Men are getting fatter and fatter, partly due to the Japanese work ethic not changing(no holidays, lots of overtime) and the introduction of western-style convenience & fast food! As in the US, lifestyle disease has become more rife these past few years... :cry:

[Laura]

Yeah, where is the happy medium? I know several women who wear size five and six, which is a very nice small-to-medium size, and they all complain about how fat they are and list all their "figure faults" and things they "hate" about their bodies. I look at them (and have taken the measurements of several of them) and just shake my head...these are beautiful talented women who are NOT fat and don't even have cellulite yet they are obsessing over their bodies because they aren't a size 0 or 2. I just think there's something wrong when a size 5 girl is calling herself fat.

[cocodrilo]

WOW! Size six is a MEDIUM? I am an 8 1/2(dress) and wear a "medium" shirt size. When I order from Victoria's Secret, I occasionally have to return some size 8 items as they are huge for me! I always thought I was a medium, and anything from 10 upwards a large. :shock: I do understand the garment manufacturers are making US sizes larger to accomodate the growing waistlines of our society, but I sometimes get confused. Nothing can be "true to size" in the states anymore... :?

I don't think anybody should complain if they are a demure size 5, unless of course they're only 5 feet tall!!! :lol:

[love2swing]

Yeah, where is the happy medium? I know several women who wear size five and six, which is a very nice small-to-medium size, and they all complain about how fat they are and list all their "figure faults" and things they "hate" about their bodies. I look at them (and have taken the measurements of several of them) and just shake my head...these are beautiful talented women who are NOT fat and don't even have cellulite yet they are obsessing over their bodies because they aren't a size 0 or 2. I just think there's something wrong when a size 5 girl is calling herself fat.


You know, I feel this way. I'm a size 5, and most days I just feel huge. I don't know what it is either! I know I'm healthy-- I run about an hour a day almost every day of the week, lift weights, eat right, etc. I wish I didn't feel the way, but I do. Oh well. :D I know it irritates people when I complain about being fat, so I only complain to my mother and fiance! (and now, random internet people :D )

[Laura]

It's not about who you complain to, it's that in the act of complaining about yourself, you are saying bad things to your self about yourself. My feeling is that there's enough people out there who will say mean things about someone no matter what they look like, so no one needs to add to it by being mean to themself.

[love2swing]

My feeling is that there's enough people out there who will say mean things about someone no matter what they look like, so no one needs to add to it by being mean to themself.


You know, I really like that thought. I think I'll remember it for when I hear someone beating themself up over something they don't need to be (myself included)

Anyway, I'm off to a lesson. Yay!

[salsachinita]

Isn't it funny that threads like this work its own way into the old self image issues :shock: :lol: ?!

This is what I wrote ages ago on this: "Dancer's bodies": http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?p=13944&highlight=body+image#13944

[MacMoto]

Most definitely young ladies in our society are influenced by all the skinny, anorexic-looking models in the fashion magazines,
Ironic thing is, when you are slim (even though not as skinny as fashion models), all guys tell you you are too thin and need to fatten up :(. Only women tell you you look good. Guys want to see curves -- they don't want to be able to count your ribs.

size 0 or 2
US sizes are puzzling -- size 0 sounds as if you should be invisible. What if you are smaller than size 0? Do you have negative sizes, like "size -2"?? I ask because...
WOW! Size six is a MEDIUM? I am an 8 1/2(dress) and wear a "medium" shirt size. When I order from Victoria's Secret, I occasionally have to return some size 8 items as they are huge for me! I always thought I was a medium, and anything from 10 upwards a large. :shock: I do understand the garment manufacturers are making US sizes larger to accomodate the growing waistlines of our society, but I sometimes get confused. Nothing can be "true to size" in the states anymore... :?

I've noticed the same thing. I went to a shop to buy a pair of jeans and asked for a US size 4 (they use US sizes for some reason -- very confusing), which is supposed to be an equivalent of UK size 8, but it certainly wasn't! So I bought a US size 2, but it was still too loose. I ended up moving the waist button so the jeans wouldn't slip down past my butt. Next time I'd have to ask for a size 0 (UK size 4) -- which is ridiculous because I know that's not my size! I think it's more of a marketing ploy. Manufacturers are deceiving us in order to make us feel good. I think they do this because a girl who's really (say) a US size 8 would be pleased to find herself fitting into size 6 clothes, which would increase the chance of her buying the garments -- a sad reflection of the "thin = beautiful" propaganda.

[salsachinita]

Yep, sista, precisely.

We explored issues such as size = wills to purchase etc during uni years as fashion students.

I'm starting to think that Australia is one of the last country to still consider Size 10 a standard Small.

These days I'm finding myself buying sizes 6-8 sometimes, so I think somebody definitely mucked around with the sizes :x .......

I'm starting to think maybe they are doing the same to shoe sizes too :? .