How To Wear A Saree In Bengali Style

How To Wear A Saree In Bengali Style

Bengalis are very fond of wearing sarees and that is not a secret anymore! In fact, a typical image of a Bengali beauty is one in saree (preferably a white saree with borders in vibrant red, thanks to the portrayal of Bengali characters in Bollywood movies or the silver screen!). But the truth is that, Bengalis love to experiment with sarees in various shades, colors, textures and designs. Some of the most famous sarees from Bengal are the Tant, Daccai Jamdani, Dhonekhali sarees, Shantipuri sarees, Tangail sarees and silks like Garad, Korial and Baluchari. For Bengali brides, however, the Benarasi in shades of red, maroon and purple, is the ultimate choice! In this article, as you must have already understood by now, I am going to tell you about the ways in which you can wear saree like a Bengali and pair accessories in a way that is quite popular with the culture.

How To Wear A Saree In Bengali Style

How To Wear Saree in the Traditional Bengali Style- The Steps:

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If you have watched Devdas or Parineeta, you already have an idea about what is meant by the traditional Bengali style of wearing sarees. With little folds and pleats, this style requires you to tuck the saree in the perfect way! Here are the steps you need to follow while draping your saree in this fashion:

1. Tuck the saree along your waist in the petticoat; start with the area around your naval and go left, take a full round and come back to your naval from the right.
2. Now, cross the remaining saree all over again to your left, but this time, you should not take a full round as you did in step 1. Make a single fold and tuck it at the back (towards the left, near your waist).
3. Now, take the remaining saree to your right by taking it along the front side so that it crosses the folds in the front. This time, take it towards the back, on the right side and tuck it near your midriff.
4. After tucking it, take back the remaining portion of the saree and drape it comfortably along your chest; make clean pleats and rest them on the left shoulder. Pin the pleats along with your blouse on the shoulder. The border should hang down to the left side of your knee at this point.
5. Now, to bring in that Bengali Zamindari flavor, get hold of a bunch of keys and tie a knot with the key ring and your pallu (anchal). As per convenience, take the pallu corner to which the key is attached, comfortably from underneath your right hand and then, you can let the pallu fall along your right shoulder to your back. Alternately, the pallu can also fall carelessly to the front along your right shoulder.

How To Wear Saree in the Traditional Bengali Style – Tips:

• A little bit of imperfection in the pleats is desired as it helps to add an extra charm to the whole look.
• Try to wear a blouse with longish sleeves. A three-quarter sleeved blouse also looks great! A blouse with short sleeves is also permissible but make sure that it is not excessively short or without sleeves.
• While draping saree in this traditional style, go for a saree that has beautiful borders.
• If you are married, you can add to your Bengali appearance by adding on Shankha (Conch bangles) and Pola (Coral bangles). A big red or maroon bindi will complete the look.

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How To Wear Saree in the Modern Style Like a Bengali:

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The traditional way of wearing sarees by Bengalis is now a thing of past. In present times, this is restricted to the whims of Bengali ladies for some family weddings, Durga Puja (the Bengali version of Navaratri) and other such special occasions. As you already know, the cultural influences and western influences are as much on Bengalis as they are on the beautiful women (even handsome men!) of other nations and states. So, the modern look of Bengalis in sarees is very much akin to what we understand to be the concept of wearing sarees. I do not think I need to elaborate on the steps involved therein, do I?

Here are a few ideas which would help to transform this universal Saree-clad look into Bengali flavor:
• If you are attending a function, try to pair golden jewelry since Bengalis are in general, fond of gold.
• For casual occasion jewelries, go for something simple but elaborate.
• A big round bindi is always filled with Bengali flavor.
• You can pair your saree with jute slippers and bags!

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P.S. This article contains a generalized idea of the Bengali look and style, ideas of jewelry and accessories and of Bengali bridal appearance. It is a Bengali girl writing about the Bengali way of wearing sarees to give out some comprehensive information about the Bengali style. Hope you enjoy my post!

Image Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

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53 thoughts on “How To Wear A Saree In Bengali Style

  1. wow somreeta KHUB BHALO :yahoo: :yahoo: …me being a bengali really loving the saree modes dis days…recently being to kolkatta & did a lot of impulsive shopping :woot: :woot: :woot: :woot: :woot: :woot: …mostly all sareess….silk to tant to baluchuri & all…..ur artical inspired me again to go & shop fw more sareess…. 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁

    1. i also have shopped quite a few sarees from Dakshinapan!!! 🙂 ami o saree porte khub bhalobashi..though mainly in functions!!! Durga pUjo asche!!!!!!!!!!!! :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

      1. :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: ………. so mny bongs here
        :puchhi: :puchhi: :puchhi: ..this is 4 u somreeta… though i cant still manage wearing a saree properly( ma akhono poriye day :tongue: ) still i loved ur article :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

          1. hehe..somreeta amio durga pujor jonne saree kinechi :jiggy1: :jiggy1: ….loving d saree mode :joker: :joker: ……gud to see ki bengali style of saree khub pochondo kara hoye…proud to a bong :waytogo: :waytogo: ….& ya…whener we want to gossip abt any buddy from IMBB na we will start chatting in bong…… :tongue: :tongue: :tongue: :pompom: :pompom:

            1. ya…me tooooooooooo proud to be a bengaliiiii :yahoo: LOL..the gossip part was good Tina….tahole kew bujhbei na 😛

    1. 😛 i can understand!! but i tried my best to simplify things!! actually….its difficult to xplain things like this in an article…still u take the help of this theory and start the practical simultaneously. read carefully and do…hope that wud help Nids…and if not, tell me where u get stuck!! 🙂

      1. ohh thankuuuuu somreeta :thanks: … the link is perfect.. i chked it out… n learnt the way too.. its soo easy :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: n yes writing about the way to wear a saree is very difficult… 😛 😛

        1. glad its now clear to u…actually, these same steps when written appears confusing and one might suffer from the problem of not being abl to folow multiple instruction :waaa:

    1. wait…lemme see if there is a video available for this!! for me its simple as i am born in a culture where sarees r worn like this by our grandmoms but for some1 who is not familiar with the basic idea of the steps, this could be confusing!!! im trying to find out..wait 🙂

  2. such a nice post Somreeta…Saree is one piece of clothing without which any bengali lady is incomplete..and your post comes around at just the right time with puja around the corners…though this year I’m going to take a break from silks and tants to chiffon and Georgette..gonna be shopping for accessories now… 😉

    1. hi Agnibanya! thank u dear 🙂 ya…im sure this gonna help all IMBBians take the best Bengali flavor this Navaratri (Durga puja) :woot:

      1. hey neha dis is a problem faced my most of the non bong ppl who buy bengali cotton tant saree…..most of d bongs lyk to wer dis saree whn dey are brand new & stiff….Bongs love to flaunt the xquisite colour range available in dis type of sarees…

        i wolud rather advice dat u start wering dis saree wid d help of ur sisiter, mother or any frnd…while drapping d saree jst whn u try to give the folds in front jst tell ur frnd to hold it from bottom & strech d saree as much as possible & press the folds by hand or if ur an xpert in sarees den tell ur frnd to iron press d folds while u wear it(do it only if ur an xpert or comfortable)…dis will help u to manage the saree till d tym u were it….i hope dis helps ur query… 🙂

        Phew i wrote an essay.. 😛 😛 😛

      1. hey Rati di i jst confirmed wid my mom….she said sum sarees in bengali types are a bit longer dan d normal saress but not all sarees are longer…..i hope it helped…

  3. Lovely article somi..I love the bengalis.. as their language is very very very sweet.. like roasgulla.. :teddy: :teddy: :teddy: me will definitly try to wear my saares in bengali style.. :yahoo: :yahoo:

        1. :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

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