In celebration of the 2017 Saree Festival, Instagram user 'saree.man' recently posted an interesting challenge: drape a saree without a blouse. In a post shared on September 26, saree-lovers were urged to reclaim the traditional 'no blouse saree look' - and boy, did the women of Instagram rise to the challenge! Many shared pictures of themselves wearing sarees without blouses and their inventive outfits will give you inspiration for days. So, the next time you're feeling experimental - or the next time your tailor messes up your blouse measurements - here are ten different ways you can wear your saree without a blouse:
The jumpsuit saree
One-shoulder wonder
Knot it up
Sarong style
Colour me a rainbow
All dressed up
Truly traditional
The gorgeous gown
Pretty pleats
Party ready
The idea behind the No Blouse Saree Challenge was, in Instagram user saree.man's own words, to "shirk off the vestiges of colonialism and reclaim the no blouse saree look." Sarees, after all, were traditionally worn without blouses or petticoats to retain the purity of the unstitched cloth.
The saree.man account is run by Himanshu Verma, who also puts together the Saree Festival every year. Himanshu aims to reclaim the gender-fluidity of the classical drape and is the director at Red Earth, an arts organisation based in Delhi.
The challenge definitely gave us some very different and very interesting ways of draping the traditional six yards. Do let us know which look you're most excited about trying out using the comments section below.
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