“The dress must follow the body of a woman, not the body following the shape of the dress." These famous words by celebrated fashion designer Hubert De Givenchy affirm the fact that fashion is for everyone, for all body types. All bodies deserve to be celebrated and, for us, the saree is the most inclusive garment in that regard. The Channel 46 got in touch with the Co-Founders of Suta, Sujata Biswas & Taniya Biswas, who share a saree styling guide for all the divas of 5 common body types. Slide 2
This style is especially well-suited for pear-shaped bodies, which have narrower shoulders and wider hips. The off-shoulder or double pallu saree drape lends more width to the shoulders, thereby balancing out the overall silhouette. To create this drape, wrap the pallu around your chest, pull it behind you and bring it to the front. Add a belt to cinch the pallu at your waist. Choose blouses with exaggerated ruffles or puffy sleeves, to add more volume to the shoulders. Opt for wider necklines such as boat, wide-v, wide square, scoop and off-shoulder. Finally, pick sarees that feature bold and bright designs, with heavily embellished borders.
The rectangular body type has the same width across the shoulders, hips and chest. Since the overall silhouette is straight, the focus can be on adding curves. Elaborate and well-defined pleats at the hips work best with this body type. Choose silk sarees that don’t stick to the body and hold pleats well. To add even more shape to your silhouette, pick blouses that have ruffles or puffy sleeves.
This draping style involves spreading out the lower pleats to create a close-fitted and well-defined hip section. The pallu is usually pinned at the shoulder, similar to the Gujarati-style drape. This drape accentuates the curves of an hourglass body type, which can be further enhanced by adding a belt. The bust and hips of an hourglass body typically have the same width. Blouses with fitted sleeves help to define the shoulders. Pick blouses that have sweetheart, off-shoulder, square, scoop, and V-necklines.
An apple-shaped body is broader at the shoulders, has a heavy bust and narrow hips, and an undefined waistline. Focus on defining and highlighting the waistline to create a silhouette that brings out the best of this body shape. Your focus should be to add minimal fabric around the midsection, as is the case with the reverse pallu drape. Pull the pallu around you and bring it to the front, at the right side of your body. Add a belt to further define your midsection. The ulta pallu, or double pallu drapes also work well with this body shape.
The goal when styling an inverted triangle body type is to add volume to the lower half of the body. The corner pallu or waterfall drape achieves this by adding minimal volume to the upper, wider part of the body. To create this style, hold one end of the pallu and make broad, elaborate pleats with the rest of the pallu, and pin them together. The result is an asymmetrical pallu, with a narrow tapering end, which is then pinned at the back of the blouse. Let the pleats at the middle and lower portion of the pallu flow out, thereby creating a waterfall effect. You can wear a belt, to further define your waist.