How to wear a sari by Nidhi Sunil







Call me biased but what with the Indian economy in overdrive and an undercurrent of Indian influences in fashion (Hermes’ spring-summer collection is a case in point, plus an Hermes store opening in Delhi is imminent), I predict the sari to be next on the fashion-revival-ometer. When I was shooting in Goa last Thursday, the subject of saris came up so I asked my model Nidhi from Elite Models India to give me a quick verbal tutorial on how to wear one. Here’s her step-by-step how-to:

1. First you start with the shoes. This is so you know how long to wear your sari. I like to wear mine with high heels.

2. When you buy your sari it comes with some extra fabric to make the blouse. You give this to your tailor so he can make the blouse to your specifications.

3. Put on your blouse and your petticoat. The petticoat is a long underskirt with a drawstring. It’s important to tie the drawstring really tight as it has to take the weight of the entire sari.

4. The sari is about six yards long and at one end is the ‘pallu’ which is the ornate section that goes over the shoulder. Starting with the other end, tuck the top edge securely into the petticoat adjusting the length to cover your shoes. I start on the left.

5. You can ask your tailor to stitch a ‘fall’ at the bottom edge of the sari. This is about six inches of fabric that reinforces the sari so it doesn’t tear if you step on it, and it also adds weight to the sari so it drapes nicely.

6. Take the sari around the body once anti clockwise and tuck in, then take it around a second time. Whether it sits above or below the navel depends on how tall you are as the width of the sari remains the same. The sari should completely cover the petticoat.

7. The draped front of the sari is achieved by pleating it. You can pleat as much or as little as you like. Make six or seven pleats of about a palm’s width and tuck them firmly into the top of your petticoat. Use a sari pin or a nappy pin from inside to secure the pleats.

8. Bring the remaining fabric diagonally across to your left shoulder and let it hang behind.

9. To secure it on your shoulder you can use a safety pin or even a brooch.

10. How do you go to the loo in a sari? Lift it up!

Hermes catwalk pics from Vogue.co.uk

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Ready Steady…Style!



Being a stylist’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Yes, in theory you do get first dibs of the trends, in fact you can invent them yourself, but you can also become bored and jaded because you’re so spoilt for choice and because there’s always something newer and more exciting round the corner. Then there are the tedious parts of the job. The endless emailing and phone calls, chasing up the emails and phone calls, doing the ‘returns’ and compiling the credits. If you work on a magazine you may have someone or even a team of people to do all this for you but however far up the hierarchy you are, chances are some of it you’ll have to do yourself. In reality, the creative bit counts for a mere nano-portion of the pie.

Far from being all instinct and gay abandon, there is actually some method involved in styling, even though it’s not always conscious. You start with your idea which can come from anywhere. Sometimes it’s dictated from above – “Let’s do a metallics story” your editor will cry while you quietly wilt inside. Metallics…again? Other times it will be a location that inspires and you’ll shoehorn a trend in around it. More than once I’ve wanted to do a shoot somewhere random like an iceskating rink or on a roof and you’d be surprised what trends could be rustled up to suit the location. ‘Brights’ is always a good one, as are ‘stripes’, ‘knitwear’ and my favourite, ‘denim’. If it’s a genuine fashion trend you have to be very careful before making that full commitment. I’ve always loved graphic trends like stripes, spots and stars and they do come round fairly regularly. This season is enjoying a ‘star’ moment with YSL and Chanel both championing it but to sustain it across 8, 10 or 12 pages? Well, you’ve got to be confident that you really can get hold of that many stars. Sometimes you just don’t know how it’s going to pan out til it’s too late to change your mind. Like, the day before the shoot, you’ve done all your appointments, calls, confirmed the location, models, assistant and then you realise you haven’t got nearly as much stuff as you thought you had. Yikes, what are you going to do!

Experience (and being a pessimist) has taught me to be prepared which is why I always imagine the worst case scenario well before it’s too late. From my very first appointment I will make sure I’m ordering back-ups. Quite often I’ll make an appointment at a showroom, tell them my brief beforehand and ask them to put some things aside. When I arrive, you can bet the showroom will be virtually bare and none of my requested items will have been kept (Arcadia are notorious for this). I care not. However tenuous, I’ll feret out a few bits and with me they will come. Sometimes quite a few appointments are like this but with each one you find a wee gem that you know will be the perfect partner to some previous billy-no-mates oddity. As time goes on you start to piece the outfits together in your head. This is the creative part, the exciting bit when those eureka moments strike. It’s always when time is running out that the elements start to fall into place and you can see where the gaps are. A vintage scarf might be the missing piece of the puzzle or a slouchy man’s white vest. Sometimes it could be a prop or a piece of jewellery – accessories are lifesavers to a time-pressed stylist.

Much as people hate to see the words ‘models own’ in a shoot, often it’s that vintage hat or those heart-shaped sunglasses that gives the outfit its edge and ‘makes’ the shot. Super-stylist Venetia Scott often uses the same shoes or bag throughout the shoot to add character and give it a continuous narrative. The truth is, that eye-catching prop can serve as a handy distraction to a not-quite-there outfit if disaster struck and the stylist didn’t have enough clothes. My favourite props include bikes, old-school cameras, paper coffee cups and vintage books. Food is always a good one if you’re at a loss. An apple, a Coca Cola bottle (straw optional), an ice cream or a bag of chips are the impromptu unsung heroes of many a shoot of mine.

Another trick is the crop. Not all the pictures in a shoot are full length, most shoots have a mixture of full-length, closer crops and close-up pictures to give the shoot some variety and ‘layers’. So if you’re short of some bottoms (or – God forbid – the model has awful legs) then the crop comes into play and you shoot above the waist.

It’s also important to make sure you add a few ‘fillers’ when doing those appointments and call-ins so I always load up on basic vests, tees, belts and jeans. All too frequently you find yourself on the shoot staring at a rail of disparate pieces trying to cobble together some photo-worthy outfits like the fashion version of Ready Steady Cook! Good old American Apparel is a godsend on those occasions when you haven’t got enough ‘wow’ clothes. Suddenly that star-print top and skirt you were going to shoot as one outfit can be broken up and split into two. (My golden rule anyway is never to use all your best pieces in one outfit. Spreading them out means all the pictures will be equally strong as long as you have a key piece in each shot.) Use a bright tee with the skirt and some plain bottoms with the top, add in your quirky props and some choice accessories and Hallelujah, you’ve rescued your shoot.

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Passage to India part 4



Newsflash: I’ve been moved to a hotel! Whoop-de-doo! So instead of a 90-minutes-each-way commute, it’s down to 20 minutes. My hotel has wi-fi in the rooms so at last I can get up to speed with my regular blogs. I didn’t actually realise until now just how much I rely on blogs for my fashion information. Scratch that…any information. Style Bubble, Mrs Fashion, Fashionista.com, Jezebel.com, Blue Floppy Hat I live and breathe them all.

This move has made me tons happier, even if it’s only for a few days. I don’t feel so far removed from the action and I can spend more time at the office instead of in the car achieving precisely nothing. OH MY GOD an elephant just walked right past me on the pavement! Jeez, this town is bloody crazy! (I’m sitting outside a location waiting for a photographer to do a recce with me. Of-course, he’s on Indian Standard Time so I’m using the extra minutes to blog.)

Favourite daily sights:
Women in saris, riding pillion side-saddle on motorbikes and scooters
Men drinking their early morning chai on street corners
Teenagers in school uniforms marching in the playground next to my office
The hazy sunshine at 10.30am, perfect for a backlit shoot
Thums Up cola in glass bottles – this reminds me of my holidays to India when I was a kid
Ambassador cars
The clashing acid brights of contrasting kurtas (tunics), dupattas (scarves) and churi pants – I never get tired of this
Tradesmen (and women) carrying piles of crates, baskets and boxes on their heads
The general hustle and bustle of streetlife, it’s totally hypnotic
My driver Ratnesh -I’d literally be lost without him

The not so nice bits:
Broken pavements that force you to walk in the road
The gate-pass police in my building – every time I enter or leave I have to declare my camera/laptop/press samples to the security staff and fill in a form (or ten)
My driver when he spits out of the car door – hasn’t he seen the signs? ‘No Spiting’ (sic)

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Bloody typical




The minute my back is turned something exciting happens! No, not Amy Winehouse’s crack meltdown but the celebration of brand Stella McCartney at Selfridges.

From 6th – 20th February Selfridges is hosting ‘The World of Stella’ throughout its Oxford Street store. Entire windows and areas will be dedicated to la McCartney’s ready-to-wear, lingerie, skincare, denim, blah-di-blah-di-blah. Like, WOW, talk about a marketing coup! The most exciting bit will of-course be the Le Sportsac collaboration – how badly do I want one of those cute ickle backpacks? As if that’s not enough, there will also be – and I quote – “balloon modellers” (no, I’m not kidding), caricaturists to draw your portrait, a vintage photo booth to raise money for charity and a personal appearance by Stella herself during London Fashion Week on Wednesday February 13th at 5pm to meet and greet customers.

Phew, I need a lie down.

Backpack pic: Teen Vogue

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