FASHION!!

I thought that seeing as Gary has written most of the blog (with my help of course), that I would write about 2 things that are close to my heart – SHOPPING AND FASHION!!

FASHION is the first instalment.

The men working in offices or the like, mostly wear long sleeved business shirts and ties and long trousers and shoes and socks but others wear collared T-shirts and long trousers with sandals. Very few wear the traditional Indian shirt and even though we have tried to get one of these for Gary we haven’t yet succeeded. 

There are almost as many men’s fashion shops here as women’s, which is pretty unusual. Shirts, trousers and shoes are very cheap here. Gary needed another casual t-shirt and so we picked up a DKNY one for $2.50Au. Last of the big time spenders!! He also has a couple of new shirts at a cost of about $12.00Au each.

I am sorry to have to tell you all though (especially Sandra, Anna and Katie), that Gary has succumbed. Yes, he is wearing long pants (rolled up) with slip on sandals (see pic below). The girls at the hostel think he looks cute??? I’m not commenting in case my children never speak to me again.

One of the things I worried about the most was what to wear. In fact I didn’t need to worry because according to our school liaison lady, Becky, the Indian people have really relaxed over the last couple of years. While the majority of women (rich or poor) wear beautiful saris or salwars or churidars (similar but with narrow legged trousers) - all in amazing colours, and gold jewellery, we actually saw one older Indian lady wearing shorts yesterday while doing her shopping. I was stunned (she is definitely in the minority). There are also lots of younger girls wearing jeans and t-shirts though I can’t image why in this heat when the salwars are so cool.

Most of you will know that I do like to do a bit of clothes shopping from time to time and India has been no exception. The second day we arrived in India, Paul Quigley, another Australian missionary over here, took us to T.Nagar (totally unsolicited by me I might add), the clothes shopping street of Chennai. I bought my first salwar – long top (mid thigh) with huge trousers and scarf – very comfortable - especially for a gal with my shape. They are very reasonably priced here – about $12 Au and can be more depending on quality of the sewing, the fabric and the amount of beading/sequins etc.

Thus started my search for salwars of different fabrics and styles (and most of you know how much I love fabrics). Actually the style is the same except for different necklines so you just have to pick the fabric and decide on which one of the 150 styles of neckline you want. They actually have “salwar packs”, not material by the metre, so you choose a pack which includes material for the salwar (top), trousers and scarf. It’s kind of scary really because there are literally thousands of choices and the shop assistants will sit for as long as you want and pull out and dismantle pack after pack waiting patiently for you to make your decision.

To date I have four – 2 casual ones and 2 custom-made “good” ones (which are very cute according to the girls. But then again can we believe anyone who thinks Gary looks cute in long pants and sandals???).

    

I wear these to church. I am having another casual one custom-made at the moment, in a little shop over the road from the school, for the grand cost of $4.50 Au - ridiculous really.

The girls in the hostel keep pestering me to buy a sari. I told them I am putting that off until June in the hope that I might have lost a bit of weight by then. They said they will show me how to put it on. They also said I need to grow my hair. I told them that I wouldn’t have mine cut untiI August so they could see why I kept it short. I have noticed that all “older” (over 20) women over here have long, tied back hair. Girls only start wearing saris after they are married.

We had a farewell to the Year 5 boys last week (boys are only allowed to attend this school until then). While the boys looked cute in their coats and ties and rolled up long trousers (in 38 degree heat), the young girls looked absolutely stunning. They wore sequined skirts and sparkly tops and dresses and things that we, in Australia, would call totally inappropriate clothes for children at any function, but here, are the norm. Even the tiny children wear sequined outfits called Chollis. Hayley will look cute in one of these.

Some of our girls wear Pattu Pavadia which is also a traditional dress worn by young girls. These are really pretty – plain silk in all different colours with gold edging around the hem of the skirt and the sleeve top. The top also has lacing at the back. I hope to be able to bring one home for Amie.

Jewellery is also very important here. The girls ask if your jewellery is “real” so it doesn’t necessarily have to be, so long as it looks okay. There are literally hundreds of jewellery stores. Gold, silver, semi-precious stones, pearls, costume jewellery – you name it, they have it, and at excellent prices in comparison to Oz. If I forget to put my earrings on in the morning I am chastised by the girls. They also got excited a couple of weeks ago when I bought a couple of “fake” gold bracelets.

Another little quirky fashion thing here is that some mothers put knitted bonnets on their babies and beanies on their toddlers. I remember Anna telling us this but wouldn’t have believed it possible if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. (Again keep in mind the 38 degree heat). Unfortunately we haven’t been able to get a photo.

I am totally out of fashion here because I wear a hat. It is amazing what a novelty that is. A lot of the girls have had photos taken in my hat. I usually get stared at when we are out but I think secretly in this heat they are all envious -too bad because as yet we haven’t seen any to buy. Some women (and occasionally men) use umbrellas but not as many as you would think.

Most things (except for luggage) are cheap, cheap, cheap for us but not so for our Indian friends. The girls always want to know what we paid for things and think that when something costs 300 rp it is a fortune when in actual fact it is only $9 Aus.