Beauty & Fashion

Does this Missguided dress look a little bit like the three-thousand-year-old style of a sari?

(Picture: Missguided/ Getty)

Western fashion is always taking inspo from the East and other parts of the world.

Remember when Zara sold a skirt for £70 that the savvier among us knew as a South Asian lungi you could get for a £1 at your local desi market?

Well, it looks like Missguided might have pulled a similar move. The brand is selling a black one-shoulder flare sleeve maxi dress or as many of us might know it, a simple sari/saree.

But unlike the three-thousand-year-old historical and cultural garment, the Missguided version seems to be a one-piece.

Traditionally, a sari is a three-piece outfit that consists of a drape varying from five to nine yards, pleated in a way that adheres to specific styles of a region.

It developed in the Indian subcontinent and can be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilisation, which flourished during 2800-1800 BC.

A sari can be draped in over 100 ways and has a lot of cultural significance for certain groups. Styles are passed from generation to generation, and there are specific styles for special occasions like weddings

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Missguideds dress version, though they havent labelled it as a sari, has a style of skirt and blouse with one sleeve, which is also a popular sari style.

White dress
(Picture: Missguided)
Black dress
(Picture: Missguided)

Their maxi dress – available in black and white – is on offer for £35, while the prices of a sari can vary from cheap up to the thousands, depending on how heavily decorated it is.

Women of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani descent are often adorned with bright (often red) saris on their wedding day.

Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor wearing a similar sari
Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor wearing a similar sari (Picture: Pinterest)

White saris are somewhat ominous within these cultures too as Hindu and Muslim women are expected to wear very plain clothing after their husbands passing.

Once they become a widow, Hindu women are expected to wear white as it is said to give positive energy to a widow to bravely face her lifes challenges.

Similarly, in Islam, a widow should wear simple clothes.

Jacqueline Fernandez wearing one of the many styles of the sari
Jacqueline Fernandez wearing one of the many styles of the sari (Picture: The India Today Group)

Missguided havent listed their influences or whether this was merely an unintentional similarity but non-Asian coopting of the sari has received criticism in the pasRead More – Source

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