YOUR WORK SPEAKS
Your work speaks – not your attire! Let me explain with a live situation. As I walked into my new office, I was a little uncomfortable when everyone looked at me as if I was some alien. Some chuckles and giggles and some undertone comments like , ‘uff yeh behen ji hai’…( slang for a village damsel) . I walked with a smile and with my usual self-confidence I didn’t pay heed to these snide comments. You must be wondering, why alien ? That’s because I was wearing a saree to the office , in other words a corporate world if u may say.
Though I am extremely comfortable wearing western attire otherwise, I have made a conscious decision to wear only sarees , the Indian traditional attire to the workplace. The days passed by and my collegues in the office restricted their interactions with me only to work related matters. I was well aware that this was because of my wearing sarees, but being a professional I couldn’t care less.
Did she crack the deal ? Then came a day , when we had a foreign delegation coming over to our office to crack an important deal. Since I was heading that project , I was pretty excited. I overheard comments from others that ‘hope she has the sense to come in some formal wear at least for the presentation tomorrow.’ . I smiled to myself and as always , the next day I came wearing a formal attire – a saree from my collection! My meeting with the foreign delegation was a success and I did swing the deal – And the rest is history !
In India, why is it that only western dress is considered as a suitable formal wear for ladies in the office ? Why is our Indian traditional saree not considered a suitable dress code for business/work atmosphere? Are we still enslaved to Western ideals of dress code? In reply to all these queries, I have only one strong point to make – I want to emphasize that , your work speaks not your attire. I am by no means stating that one should come improperly dressed to work. But certainly one can carry off a saree with grace and dignity.
Have you ever seen any other nationality aping costumes of another region for business meetings? Then why are Indian women obsessed with western clothes ? Many people have told me , its difficult to drape sarees and it is a task to wear a saree and work with ease. Nothing is difficult if you have the will to do so. Of course, if the nature of the job requires a specific type of dress code like a nurse’s uniform or safety coveralls, you have to adhere to that.
On a broader perspective, if we wear Indian clothes like sarees , we are also promoting the weavers, artisans and karigars. So it has a ripple effect for creating employment and generating revenues for them. Somewhere as an Indian we make a little difference to our traditional economy . Well this is one of the beneficial aspects. But primarily, it is our mindset which has to change. Nothing is inferior, learn to respect your culture and traditions and you will come out a winner. I am making this change in my own way. I’m sure you can do too.
Tags: attire, saree, traditionalwear, women, work
Very apt and thought provoking !
Thanks a lot
Nice write up..liked it
Thanks a lot. Keep Reading.
Agree with you completely!
Thank you
Great thoughts !!
I m of the opinion that one should wear comfortable attire while at work. Priority is comfort for a person like me who spends around 1.5 hrs in commute plus 8-9 hours in the office.
Sarees look graceful and we do have formal sarees. One of my cousin has a passion for sarees and has started this drive to wear sarees to work and encouraged other to follow her example 👏👏
Sonia, i am so happy that you give in your point of view and that makes it more interactive. thank you .
So true madam …I m of the opinion that one should wear comfortable attire while at work. Priority is comfort for a person like me who spends around 1.5 hrs in commute plus 8-9 hours in the office.
Sarees look graceful and we do have formal sarees. One of my cousin has a passion for sarees and has started this drive to wear sarees to work and encouraged other to follow her example 👏👏
The first thought that Comes to mind whence reading through this simple yet loudly emphasised blog is
“Donot judge the Book by its Cover”
We as human beings are yet to identify ourselves as “HUMAN BEINGS”. Discrimination by race, gender, religion, regions are just a mindset.
So what, if you prefer to wear Saree or for that matter, a choice of an Indian dress. It’s your choice … Carry it with elan. Confidence is carrying yourself well in a dress of your choice rather than feeling clumsy in an alien attire.
What when a Lion goes to a party in a Zebra Coat? (Pun intended).
Your concern for our weavers and craftsmen reflects a very noble thought. Being intelligent is one part and now UPADHRITI You revealed the Kindness virtue in you.
Great blog . I enjoy reading your “Musings” and ofcourse putting across my views. Goodluck.
I love to read your feedback and your excellent views on every subject.
This interactive note from you makes me rethink and gives me a fresh
perception to paint another canvas . Thank you so much for the kind words of
appreciation. Truly appreciate.
ThnQ Upadrithi