Special features of sari

• Sari is a long piece of unstitched fabric that is wrapped around the waist and then draped over the shoulder. A typical sari can be up to nine yards (about eight meters) in length and may be made from a variety of materials, from plain cotton to silk embroidered with metallic gold.
• Saris are worn over a petticoat (called lehnga/ghagra in northern India and pavada/pavadai in the south), with a tight-fitting blouse called a choli, another staple of Indian apparel. Cholis are cropped and have a low neck, revealing the midriff and upper chest. The cropped design of the choli is just as well, for the voluminous folds of the sari can be stifling in the sultry South Asian weather. Because the traditional choli is worn without a bra, many come with padding or a soft, sewn-in brassiere for support. Office dress codes, however, prohibit cropped, sleeveless cholis; similarly, women in the armed forces, when wearing a sari uniform, don a half-sleeve shirt tucked in at the waist.
• The Sari, like so many other textiles, gives the lie to the hierarchical distinction made between fine arts and crafts. The approximate size of a sari is 47 by 216 inches. Although it is an untailored length of cloth, the fabric is highly structured and its design vocabulary very sophisticated. The main field of the sari is framed on three sides by a decorative frieze of flowering plants, figurative images or abstract symbols. The design, whether woven, embroidered, painted or block-printed, needs to maintain the proportion and balance between the actual field of the sari, the borders and the pallav. The pattern creates its own rhythm. For instance, the scattering of spot weft gold dots increase in the pallav for a denser, richer pattern and gradually and softly decrease on the actual ground of the sari.
• Jewelry is a big part of Indian apparel. Forehead ornaments, earrings, nose rings, and ankle bracelets are common for all women, while married women also wear toe rings.