I woke up so late today! Joanna decided not to go shopping for wedding clothes yet, so Nani and I headed off to Jayanagar 4th block. I knew I wanted a ghagra choli (it's a North Indian outfit with a long skirt and short top) for the wedding, so we went straight to that section of the store. The man behind the counter (as usual) whipped out several different options, piling them on top of each other in a dizzying display of colour and sequins. Ghagra salespeople have this interesting way of letting you 'try on' an outfit without actually putting it on.
If you just try it on, you end up horribly disappointed and confused, because they are sold sort of 'one size fits all' and it is expected that you will tailor it to your own body. So instead, they pull out a black elastic band and enlist a few different helpers. One stands behind you and holds the top to our torso, the elastic band holds the skirt to your waist and another helper arranges the dupatta/sash picturesquely across your frame, all in front of a flattering full length mirror.
I wasn't loving any of the Jayanagar ghagras, which were much too showy for my taste. So we headed off again, this time to MG road. The moment we arrived it began to pour and we retreated under an awning. Looking over the entire street, I saw similar scenes. People just packed under awnings and in storefronts, waiting helplessly for the rain to stop. No one was braving it, and no one had umbrellas except for a few lucky foreigners strolling pleasantly from store to store.
Finally, Nani and I decided to make a 'run' for it and we dashed across the street. We slunk into the first dress store we found, and headed to the ghagra section. This time, a woman whipped out a picture book of wedding ghagras and urged me to choose some. North Indian brides wear ghagras, and I suppose she thought I wanted one for my wedding. Which I did not.
I ended up buying a blue and russet ghagra, which we left in the store to be tailored. To head home, we had to try a few different autos. The first few wanted to charge us double the fare because it was raining, but as Nani correctly informed the driver, we could not actually help the fact that it was raining. So we ended up finding a man who charged by the meter and headed home.
Joanna and I spent the rest of this lazy Saturday talking and reading and watching movies.
If you just try it on, you end up horribly disappointed and confused, because they are sold sort of 'one size fits all' and it is expected that you will tailor it to your own body. So instead, they pull out a black elastic band and enlist a few different helpers. One stands behind you and holds the top to our torso, the elastic band holds the skirt to your waist and another helper arranges the dupatta/sash picturesquely across your frame, all in front of a flattering full length mirror.
I wasn't loving any of the Jayanagar ghagras, which were much too showy for my taste. So we headed off again, this time to MG road. The moment we arrived it began to pour and we retreated under an awning. Looking over the entire street, I saw similar scenes. People just packed under awnings and in storefronts, waiting helplessly for the rain to stop. No one was braving it, and no one had umbrellas except for a few lucky foreigners strolling pleasantly from store to store.
Finally, Nani and I decided to make a 'run' for it and we dashed across the street. We slunk into the first dress store we found, and headed to the ghagra section. This time, a woman whipped out a picture book of wedding ghagras and urged me to choose some. North Indian brides wear ghagras, and I suppose she thought I wanted one for my wedding. Which I did not.
I ended up buying a blue and russet ghagra, which we left in the store to be tailored. To head home, we had to try a few different autos. The first few wanted to charge us double the fare because it was raining, but as Nani correctly informed the driver, we could not actually help the fact that it was raining. So we ended up finding a man who charged by the meter and headed home.
Joanna and I spent the rest of this lazy Saturday talking and reading and watching movies.
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