The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with the loose end of the drape to be worn over the shoulder, baring the stomach.[2] However, the sari can be draped in several different styles, though some styles do require a sari of a particular length or form. The French cultural anthropologist and sari researcher Chantal Boulanger categorized sari drapes in the following families:[13]
- Nivi – styles originally worn in Andhra Pradesh; besides the modern nivi, there is also the kaccha nivi, where the pleats are passed through the legs and tucked into the waist at the back. This allows free movement while covering the legs.
- Bengali and Oriya style.
- Gujarati – this style differs from the nivi only in the manner that the loose end is handled: in this style, the loose end is draped over the right shoulder rather than the left, and is also draped back-to-front rather than the other way around.
- Maharashtrian/Konkani/Kashta; this drape is very similar to that of the male Maharashtrian dhoti. The center of the sari (held lengthwise) is placed at the center back, the ends are brought forward and tied securely, then the two ends are wrapped around the legs. When worn as a sari, an extra-long cloth is used and the ends are then passed up over the shoulders and the upper body. They are primarily worn by Brahmin women of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Goa.
- Dravidian – sari drapes worn in Tamil Nadu; many feature a pinkosu, or pleated rosette, at the waist.
- Madisaara style – this drape is typical of Iyengar/Iyer Brahmin ladies from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala
- Kodagu style – this drape is confined to ladies hailing from the Kodagu district of Karnataka. In this style, the pleats are created in the rear, instead of the front. The loose end of the sari is draped back-to-front over the right shoulder, and is pinned to the rest of the sari.
- Gobbe Seere - This style is worn by women in the Malnad or Sahyadri and central region of Karnataka. It is worn with 18 molas saree with three four rounds at the waist and a knot after crisscrossing over shoulders.
- Gond – sari styles found in many parts of Central India. The cloth is first draped over the left shoulder, then arranged to cover the body.
- Malayali style - the two-piece sari, or Mundum Neryathum, worn in Kerala. Usually made of unbleached cotton and decorated with gold or colored stripes and/or borders. Also the Set-saree, a sort of mundum neryathum.
- Tribal styles – often secured by tying them firmly across the chest, covering the breasts.
- Kunbi style or denthli:Goan Gauda and Kunbis,and those of them who have migrated to other states use this way of draping Sari or Kappad,this form of draping is created by tying a knot in the fabric below the shoulder and a strip of cloth which crossed the left shoulder was fasten on the back. [14]
The nivi style is today's most popular sari style. (Dongerkerry K. S. 1959).[15]
The nivi drape starts with one end of the sari tucked into the waistband of the petticoat, usually a plain skirt. The cloth is wrapped around the lower body once, then hand-gathered into even pleats just below the navel. The pleats are also tucked into the waistband of the petticoat.[15] They create a graceful, decorative effect which poets have likened to the petals of a flower.[15]
After one more turn around the waist, the loose end is draped over the shoulder.[15] The loose end is called the pallu or pallav or seragu or paita depending on the language. It is draped diagonally in front of the torso. It is worn across the right hip to over the left shoulder, partly baring the midriff.[15] The navel can be revealed or concealed by the wearer by adjusting the pallu, depending on the social setting in which the sari is being worn. The long end of the pallu hanging from the back of the shoulder is often intricately decorated. The pallau may either be left hanging freely,tucked in at the waist, used to cover the head, or just used to cover the neck, by draping it across the right shoulder as well. Some nivi styles are worn with the pallu draped from the back towards the front,coming from the back over the right shoulder with one corner of the pallu tucked by the left hip, covering the torso/waist.The Nivi sari was popularised through the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma.[16] In one of his painting the Indian subcontinent was shown as a mother wearing a flowing nivi sari.[16]
Due to migration to different Western countries like South Africa etc.,many Indian women began to wear the normal sari below the waistline exposing the navel which is known as Low-rise sari or low hip sari.[17]Also due to liberalization and changing global markets,saris are reemerging as an erotic wrap which can expose as much as it conceals.[18]As a result,saris began to be designed in many innovative ways and different materials.These saris are tied in different ways such as petticoat being tied at about 4-5 inches below the navel and just above the pubic area,or where the blouse is small which ends just below the Breasts and the pallu is thin thereby exposing the some part of the blouse and almost the entire midriff[19].This were made popular by the celebrities of Bollywood industry and other popular regional film industries like Tamil cinema and Telugu cinema.These are mainly worn by the rich and educated upper class women who consider navel exposure as a fashion.[20][21]But sometimes the navel is covered with the pallu in a low-rise sari also.a
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