Ladies Fashion, Mens Fashion

(OK, seriously, sorry for the blizzard of posts this morning, but the internet is tricky here and I'm currently on a roll so I'm going for it.)

So I may have mentioned to some of you that I was planning on adopting local clothing for practical reasons: it is designed for this weather and made of breathable fabrics ... but you have yet to see any pictures of either of us in our "daily" wear.

Thankfully before I got here Allen was able to get a handful hand-me-down (mix-and-match) salwar kameez for me from some of the ladies who left after the summer program. Actually, our whole apartment has been stocked with some of the most random items that students leaving the summer program could not justify bringing back to the States but were unwilling to throw away -- anyone need sunscreen? We have about 7 bottles of it.

Most all the time you'll find me in the full salwar kameez; flowy pants, with a loose long tunic, and a dupatta (scarf) to protect my modesty.

The pants really are the funniest part. I remember frequently complaining with ladies back home that clothes never fit and that sizes are confusing because they change from store to store. Here ladies clothes shopping is a "breeze": Standard sizes XS, S, M, L, XL, with pants that can accomodate any width. Eat to your heart's content!

While you'll definitely find (younger) ladies wearing Western clothes, they are rather the exception to the rule. Women here generally wear the full suit (salwar kameez), or a sari, although in prodominently Muslim Lucknow that seems to also be less common.

Men on the other hand, generally are found in Westnern clothes, and usually only dress in the male version of the salwar kameez for special occasions.

We're making a small joke in the picture Allen took: just as western dress is uncommon on anyone but younger women - men generally do not wear T-shirt. So most of the time you will see them in long pants, a tucked in button down shir, a belt (that is too big), and glasses, with a fancy pen in the shirt pocket. Very respectable looking.

For the most part we do our best to blend in, meaning long pants for Allen and salwar kameez plus dupatta for Nikki.