Sari Soiree

Sari: an Indian female garment that consists of drape varying from two to nine yards in length and two to four feet in breadth that is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, baring the midriff.

Soiree: a formal party that is usually at night.

So, now  you know this blog is about going to a party at night wearing a sari. (Please note: I did NOT bare my midriff, as pics later on will prove!). I made an offhand comment one day to my Indian friend, Monika, about getting a sari before leaving Oman for good just so I could say I had one. NEVER tell Monika anything you'd like to do unless you are serious about it! She made it her mission to help me achieve sari status, starting with fabric shopping.

First stop: Lulu's Indian fabric department, where you can find all fabrics and outfits Indian for women.

The mannequin in green is wearing a sari.

This is an example of sari fabric. Note the different prints on the same
piece of fabric. The top and the wrap are printed/woven on one piece.

After selecting the fabric, the next stop is a tailor's. Monika took me to a wonderful tailor's shop in the Qurm area of Muscat called Mnural's. Yes, that is hard to pronounce! But it was a wonderful shop, and I received first-class treatment! You need more than just the sari fabric to make the complete outfit. There's lining material, and depending on what you want, possibly midriff material, as well as tassels and trim. That's where a good tailor can come in handy.

The tailor's shop was elaborately decorated. Monika and I are trying to decide
the style for each sari. I felt really special while selecting the styles!

Below are pictures of my fabric selections. I had to get extra fabric to go with the purple for the midriff top.

The turquoise and the purple play off each other very nicely! This
is a single piece of sari fabric.

This picture doesn't do the gold and teal fabric justice--it took in
 too much red from the tent awning. This is a single piece of
fabric as well.

After waiting about a month (I was out of the country for the entire month of April), I had an appointment for my first, and as it turned out my final, fitting.

I took a picture of this chair because the
back was so interesting--horses!

Standing in front of the beautiful gowns and fabrics on display in the tailor's shop.

Sharon and Margaret came along to give me their opinions on the fit! We also
had a nice cup of coffee while we waited too!

Learning how to wrap a sari

Notice the keyhole on the back. Tassles (gold and purple)
were added after this fitting.

 So--the fitting was over, the saris were completed and I picked them up the next day. We made dinner plans with Monika and Ashwin at a nice Indian restaurant called Indus in the Royal Opera House Galleria for the following weekend. Ashwin, not about to be outdone by ladies in the clothing department, got a kurta pyjama with a nehru vest (Monika, you can correct me if I got these terms wrong!):

Here we are outside of the Royal Opera House, posing before we go in for dinner. Needless to say, we  received quite a few looks for being dressed in traditional Indian clothing, considering we really don't look Indian at all!

Here's the menu from the restaurant. We had a selection of Kebabs, Biryamis, a curry (I think!)
and some nan (yummy Indian flat bread) and dal (dipping sauce made with lentils). Monika
and Ashwin still do all the ordering when we go out, as it's all Greek, or Hindi, to us!

We loved the sculpture in the center of the restaurant behind Monika and Ashwin.

We are smiling because we had a GREAT evening with good food and even better company!
 Maybe I'll get the hang of wearing the sari one day as gracefully as Monika wears hers!