Indian Accessories

Brahmin ladies of southern states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala in India wear nine yards sari in an

entirely different style. This style, known as Madisar style, does not require a petticoat, but a blouse similar to a sari blouse.

The Madisar style needs some expertise to wear and the young generation drapes this sari with the help of old experienced women. There are two sects of Tamil Brahmins, Iyer and Iyengar. Iyer will put the pallu over the right shoulder whereas Iyengar wears over the left. While old women still continue to wear the 9 yards sari, young ladies prefer to wear it only on religious festivals and ceremonies, especially on wedding days.

Half Sari: This costume is very popular among teen age girls in all South Indian states, irrespective of caste and religion. This consists of a long skirt, a blouse (same as a sari blouse) and a half sari, measuring 2-2.5 meters long. The skirt is a cone- shaped, waist to feet garment covering the legs and it is made out of a single piece of material.

Most skirts are fitted round the waist with the help of a string and have very small pleats on the waist portion. Modern skirts are usually made of light to mid-weight fabrics like denim, jersey, worsted or poplin. Skirts of thin or clingy fabrics need slips to help the material of the skirt wear in a better way.

The half sari is made out of thin fabrics such as crape, georgette, nylon, chiffon, very thin cotton etc. After wearing the skirt and the blouse the half sari is worn over the blouse with its one end tucked inside the left side of the skirt and the rest is the same as draping the top portion of the sari.

The color of the half sari and blouse should match either that of the skirt or the border of the skirt. A matching ribbon tied to the hair will make this costume more attractive.
Still young girls in the age group 4-13 wear only the skirt and the blouse, the blouse a bit bigger and longer than the sari blouse.

Now the wearing of such traditional dresses is limited to certain occasions only. Interestingly modern ladies prefer to wear casual wears like ‘churidar’ and jeans on most of the occasions, which allows easy and free movement of the limbs.