Dressing the part

Although western clothing is becoming increasingly common in India, the organization I'm volunteering with has requested that I wear traditional attire while I'm there. I think that most of the women they are helping must dress this way and I think it will be alot of fun to dive into their culture this way.

My friend Sinhura kindly took me shopping this week and introduced me to an Indian boutique here in Dallas. The women who ran the shop were unbelievably nice - I left thinking we could be life-long friends! I don't know what I would have done with Sinhura because I would not have had any idea what types of clothes were appropriate for what settings - everything is so beautiful and ornate. She did a good job of getting me a range of things and explaining when to wear them.

The experience was fun but hilarious at the same time. Many of the outfits come with pants that seriously fit like MC Hammer pants. I felt like I put on an extra 20 pounds with every outfit. I picked up a lot of fun stuff, but here are pictures of my "nice" outfits for parties, dinners, important meetings, etc. The rest is much, much more casual and comfortable. Some of the tops I'm even hoping I can wear with my jeans.