What to Dress in India?

It is not a fashion blog post, but in the case of India, as in any country with a culture completely different from the Western one, female travelers must pay attention to how local women dress and behave to avoid misunderstandings with locals. I lived in Jaipur in 2012, so I share what I observed in my day-to-day life about what and how to dress in India, what to pack, and what to wear.

As I wrote in the post Is it safe for women to travel to India? foreign women, especially those with fair skin, draw a lot of attention due to the fact that fair skin is seen as a high standard of beauty. And dressing in a way that is provocative by Indian standards draws even more attention. So why make scandals wherever you go?

By Indian standards, what for you is a well-behaved wedding dress, for locals is the equivalent of being half-naked. Dresses, skirts, and necklines are clothes that, in India, you will only see in elite environments frequented by high-society and Bollywood people, or by the globalized middle class in big cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi.

But not on the streets. The people in India simply do not see the use of Western clothes with good eyes, they tend to see it as something very vulgar, like a “prostitute thing”. And the same goes for Islamic countries in other parts of the world. They are not used to seeing much skin on display, even in the biggest cities.

In Jaipur, which is considered a small to medium-sized city, I no longer saw many women walking the streets even during the day, it was little compared to the number of women outside I saw in Cairo, Egypt, for example. At night, then, even fewer women go outside. Most Indian women have time to go home, in addition to the risks of sexual harassment, rape, and even abductions that cannot be ignored. This is the reality in most Indian cities and travelers cannot arrive unawares.

As soon as you arrive in India, the first thing I recommend you do is to buy Indian clothes that match the typical dressing styles, which is the best way to gain respect from the locals, especially women, and avoid unwanted attention. Indians are very emotional and literally illogical; therefore, making the first impression by breaking taboos tends to cause problems and attract the attention of all kinds of perverts. There is no formal code regulating what to wear in India, but there is a cultural code, so to speak. In the minds of many Indians, exposing the body is asking to be harassed. Really? Exactly on this term! And in religious places, it depends on the rules of each temple, but at least take something to cover your head.

No sexy and flirty clothes highlighting the curves, you will need to cover your shoulders, legs, and breasts, and hide curves in every way. Bikinis are out of the question, I never saw a bikini on the beaches, actually, and whenever I saw them in pools and pool parties, they were always foreign women. Not even jeans are recommended, only modern Indian women from the big cities (in short: Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore) dress while single. Once married, the husband’s family does not usually allow them to use jeans and clothing outside Indian standards.

Clothes for Female Tourists in India

Here are some suggestions for what to wear during your trip to India in a succinct way, including examples of Indian clothes for women. I may confuse the name or the image of some clothes since I’m no Giorgio Armani, fashion designer, fashion icon and avant-garde aesthetics, whatever. Basically, you will need to dress in a layered clothing style.

Indian Tunic

It serves to cover your bum, stretching up to the knees, as it is not a good idea to walk around shaking the ass while traveling in India, no way. Tunics are also called Kurti or kurta but I’m not sure if there are differences in the size or if just the name is different. Anyway, the following picture shows what it looks like.

Loose pants

Those loose pants – baggy pants or trousers – that remember the hippie style pants. They are comfortable for the heat, which in India means temperatures above 30ºC and even 40ºC depending on where and when you visit.

Salwar Kameez

The salwar kameez combines the tunic with wide pants, looking like a long dress over the pants. It usually comes with a veil that allows you to dress up and cover the body in many ways according to the occasion. Women stuff, anyway.

Sari

The sari is an article of clothing used on festive and formal occasions, as well as in everyday life. Many Indian women go to work in a sari, for example. In this video, you will find instructions on how to wear the sari in less than three minutes.

Tops & long dresses

The tops are usually used together with pants to cover the curves of the body and part of the leg, up to the knees or a little shorter. It is used as a dress laying over pants. Or something like a long dress to cover the pant and hide the curves of your body.

And what men should dress in India?

For men, a pair of pants and a shirt are usually suited for any occasion that involves formality, including when dealing with bureaucrats and local authorities. Appearances in Indian society count, then, the rule is to appear well-groomed, with a shaved beard, and a decent pair of shoes. Leave the shirt and shorts for tourism, in everyday life it is something more common among upper-middle-class Indians. For those who stay in the country for a long time and are in constant contact with Indians, wearing a kameez and local shoes is something that draws attention in a positive way. Even at the beaches, Indian men don’t go shirtless.

And when buying clothes in India, as with any other product, be aware of the approximate prices and inspect everything you buy to avoid scams. While at shopping malls and retail chains, you can check the prices on the etiquette or on the package by looking at the MRP (Maximum Retail Price), at local bazaars bargaining is the standard. Avoid going to stores where you don’t see Indians buying, which means prices are much higher.

Originally posted 2020-10-18 04:43:52.