Shopping in India

and now let the stories begin...

Our first day in India all the ladies on our team went shopping in Chennai for salawar camises. Next to a sarree this is the main type of clothing worn by women in India. I heard it sometimes referred to as a suit. It is esentially a baggy pair of pants, a long tunic, and a scarf (don't forget the scarf, it is a cumbersome but essential part of the outfit - it is honestly scandalous to not wear it). Since the village we were in is still very traditional (i.e. no jeans at all!), all the women set out to purchase 2 or 3 of these outfits to wear for the entirety of our time there. It was quite an experience. We went to a department store of sorts that had floor to ceiling shelves with little plastic bags that contained each outfit. There were male workers behind a counter and we pointed to a bag, they'd take it off the shelf, show us the fabric, print, & price and then we'd point to another plastic bag and we'd repeat the process. I alone probably had the men take 30 bags off the shelf. Times that by the 10 women on our team - by the end of our 45 min. shopping spree there were hundreds of these outfits laid out on the counter. The funniest part - there are no real sizes - just child, teen, adult. This is accomplished by having the largest drawstring waist I've ever seen in a pair of pants - think quadruple the size of maternity pants. It was quite hilarious to put them on. I finally chose 3 a little more expensive, but very stylish outfits - that I was quite happy with.

My mom made the comment later that it was so nice to not worry about having to put together an outfit. They came ready made and we just chose which ones we like! Way less overwhelming than walking into a store here in the States and putting together individual pieces. Maybe we can take a hint from the Indians on this note.

here are my mom and I in our new outfits...