How to Wear an Indian Sari

Before you can begin wrapping and folding your sari you will need a choli. The first choli’s made their appearance in women’s fashion in the 1100’s. Early choli were also only designed for frontal coverage, as you will discover, most today will provide front and back coverage. You can find either long sleeve choli or short sleeved choli. The choli is a tailored blouse that fits smoothly against the body and ends just below your bust line. Make sure you choose a choli that will compliment your Sari.

You will also need a petticoat. Your petticoat should come up to your waist and hang to the floor. You can find petticoats that have a drawstring back to fasten them in place or you may find ones with an elastic waistline as well. The petticoat color should match the base color of your Sari if possible. When your Sari is worn correctly, no part of your petticoat should be visible.

There are at least ten different ways to wear your Sari. I am going to go over the Andhra Pradesh style and then mention some of the variations for the other styles as well. Your Sari fabric should measure about 6 yards in length. In some of my explanations you will see the word pallu. A pallu is the elaborately decorated end of the sari that is generally draped in front of the left shoulder.

Begin first by putting on your choli and petticoat. Now you want to begin wearing your Sari by tucking the plain/upper end of the Sari into the petticoat just to the right of your belly button. The lower portion of your Sari should be touching the floor and the entire length of the sari should be on the left hand side. Wrap the sari fabric around yourself one time. When you complete this, the sari should be on your right hand side.


Continue by creating five pleats that are about 5 inches wide beginning at the tucked in edge of the Sari. As you gather the pleats, be sure that the lower edge of the fabric is just off of the ground, the pleats are falling straight, and that you are covering your petticoat. You may use a safety pin to help hold the pleats in place. Neatly tuck the pleats into the petticoat at the waist just to the left of your belly button. The pleats should open to your left.


Drape the remaining Sari fabric around yourself one more time from left to right and around your hips in the front while holding the top edge of the Sari. Raise the remaining portion of the Sari on your back. Bring it up under your right arm and over your left shoulder. The pallu of the Sari should be level with your knees. To prevent the pallu from slipping, you can secure it at the shoulder with a safety pin.



Depending on what region of India you are in, you will see Sari’s worn slightly differently.

Heavily decorated and bridal Saris are often worn using the North Indian or Gujarati style. In this style, the pleats are tucked so they open to the right. The pallu is taken to the back and draped over the right shoulder. The pallu is spread open across the chest. The left edge is then tucked into the petticoat in the rear. Key differences in this style are that the pallu is draped over the right shoulder instead of the left and that the pallu is draped back to front.

Another distinct way to wear a Sari is the Maharashtra style. Unlike regular sari material that is about 6 yards (5.5 meters), the Maharashtra Saris are about 9 yards in length. One portion of the sari is drawn up between the legs and tucked in at the rear. The pallu is still draped over the bust.

The Tamilian sari is also 9 yards in length. After wrapping the sari around your waist, the pleats are positioned over the left leg. The Sari is then taken over the left shoulder and wrapped one more time around the waist before it is tucked in on the left side.

A Bengali Sari is worn without pleats. It is wrapped around the waist. The fabric is tucked in on the right side. The pallu is then thrown over the left shoulder. It is brought up under the right arm and once again thrown over the left shoulder.

A Sari worn in the Dravidian style is draped in two portions. A 4 yard veshti is draped around the waist like a towel. It is then folded in half length wise. The second piece, the mundanai is generally one yard wide and two yards long and worn over the shoulder. There is often a pleated rosette, a pinkosu, worn at the waist of this style giving it a very distinctive appearance.

The Madisar Sari is another common style to see at formal occasions and ceremonies. This sari requires 9 yards of fabric. Wrap the sari around the waist with one end of the sari on the right side while the rest of the fabric is on the left. A knot is tied on the left hand side at the waist. The rest of the sari fabric is gathered near the waist. A small portion of the fabric is tucked into the waist. The remaining fabric is then folded into 4 or 5 pleats, each pleat measuring about 5 inches. The pleated material is brought to the back, through the legs. The folds are gathered and tucked into the back side of the waist. Next, the fabric is gathered to the right side in front and draped over the left shoulder. The pallu of the sari is the gathered around the waist and tucked in to the left side of the waist.

A Kodagu Sari is worn with the folded pleats in the back of the sari instead of the side. The pallu is worn draped from back to front over the right shoulder. The sari is secured in place with a pin. A Gond styled Sari is draped over the left shoulder before it is arranged over the body.

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Written by Francesco Vitetta

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