Styling a saree for work

Somewhere along the way the saree became a thing we save for weddings, and that is a shame, because a lighter handloom is one of the easiest things to wear through a working day. The trick is to dress it down rather than up.

Start with the cloth. Leave the heavy silks for the evening and reach for a cotton, a linen or a light Chanderi. They hold a crisp pleat, they sit close without weighing you down, and they take the day's moving around without wilting.

Treat the blouse like a shirt. A plain high-neck top or a well-cut blouse in a solid colour does more work than a heavily embroidered one, and it lets you wear the same saree three different ways across a month.

Keep your feet sensible. Flat sandals or low block heels will carry you from a desk to a meeting to the walk home, and they read as considered rather than as a compromise.

Wear one thing that shines, not five. A pair of jhumkas, or a single stack of bangles, is enough beside a handloom. The cloth is already the detail.

The cloth is already the detail. Everything else can stay quiet.

Iron the pleats the night before. Five minutes with the iron on the folds is the difference between a saree that looks put together at nine in the morning and one that looks like it was decided in a hurry.

Then forget about it and get on with your day. A saree worn easily, like it belongs on you, always looks better than one worn carefully.