Saree Draping Techniques for Plus Sizes

Sarees, or saris, are intended to accentuate the soft curves and elegant flow of a woman's body. Plus-size women can wear any style saree; however, there are several styles that provide added concealment of problematic areas. The most important factor for a plus-size woman to consider is the fabric of the saree. It's best to choose light, free-flowing fabrics to avoid adding any bulk to unwanted areas. Assistance may be needed to wrap the saree in some styles.

1. Nivi Style

   • Tuck the plain end of the saree in at your right hip. Wrap around the waist two to three times. Make six to nine pleats in the front center of your waist, and tuck into the petticoat. Wrap the saree around your body once more, and drape over your left shoulder from back to front. Pin the edge to the left shoulder of your choli blouse, and allow the remainder of the saree to drape over your left arm, as desired.

   Bengali Style

   • Wrap the saree around your body from right to left, and tuck into the petticoat. Continue wrapping two to three times around your waist, ending at your right hip. Make a large fold, approximately six inches, for the first pleat. Reverse the direction you are wrapping, and draw the saree towards your left hip. Make another large fold for the second pleat. Reverse the saree back to the right hip. Hold the pleats up, and level them with the saree portion wrapped around your waist. Tuck neatly into your petticoat.

     Take the pallu section of the saree and drape it over your left shoulder. Spread the decorative outer edge of the pallu out around your waist until the left corner reaches around to your mid back. Tuck the corner into the waistline at your mid back. Pull the right side of the pallu under you right arm, draping loosely and pinning just below the waist near the back side of your right hip. If more coverage is desired the right side can be adjusted to cover as much as needed.

   Gujarati Style

   • Tuck the plain end of the saree into the petticoat at your right hip. Wrap the saree two to three times around your waist, tucking as you go. Make several medium-to-large pleats; typically, the pleats are made by wrapping around your pinky and thumb respectively, in the front. Tuck the pleats into the front of the petticoat. Wrap the remainder of the saree around from your left, and drape it over your right shoulder, from the back to the front. Pull the left corner of the pallu around to your left side, and tuck into the petticoat. Pin the remainder to your right shoulder, or allow it to drape over your right arm.

   Madisar Style

   • Hold the saree with approximately two-thirds of the length to your left and the remaining on your right. Wrap it around your waist, and tie the edges together near your left side. Gather the saree, and drape towards your right hip, and tuck into the tied portion. Make several pleats, and tuck into the center of your waistline. Use the remainder of the saree to make four to five folds, and pull through your legs, towards your back. Tuck the folds into the center of your waistline in the back. Wrap the saree around your right side, towards the front. Tuck in a small portion at the front side of your right hip. Gather the remainder of the saree, and drape over your left shoulder. If desired, the pallu can be pinned to the back side of your right hip for full coverage.

Learn How to Cross Dress

Tips for Men to Learn How to Cross Dress

Learning how to cross dress for the first time is and exciting and nerve-wracking experience! Learn the tips that you will need to successfully pass as a woman and release your fears of cross dressing. Whether you are considering plastic surgery and hormone therapy or not, these are the top tips to learn how to cross dress.

These are the beginning - many people spend years perfecting their female self.
Remove Body Hair - Especially Right Before Dressing

The first step in learning how to cross dress is hair removal. Genetic males tend to have much more body hair then genetic females. Invest in a good razor. Consider laser hair removal as well if you want to cross dress more frequently.

You can also try waxing and plucking. Both of these will be painful when you start cross dressing, but it gets better over time.

Give your skin some time to adjust, when you first start waxing and plucking, your skin may get irritated and makeup or perfume will tend to make this worse.

Find a Gaff

A gaff is a contraption similar to a jock strap that allows you to hide your "goods" and provides considerable smoothing for the pelvic area.

A gaff is a "must have" for cross dressing and passing as a female. Some methods of taping and pinching may not be safe and may result in considerable pain or a very uncomfortable moment when they fail!

Wear a Bra with Silicone Breast Forms

When beginning to cross dress this is the most comfortable and economical option available. There are elaborate taping methods around, but these tend to be fairly painful. A good quality breast form that adheres to the skin can make you feel sexy!

Silicone breast forms were originally created to replace a woman's natural breasts after a mastectomy. They are the closest thing available to the "real deal."

Stockings or Hose?

When you first learn how to cross dress, stockings are probably the easier of the two as pantyhose are very delicate and will run faster than Michael Phelps can swim. Especially if you are still learning how to walk confidently in your new shoes, I would steer clear of hose. Stockings are a sturdier option that present a feminine appearance without the hassle of constant danger of running.

What Outfit to Wear?

When choosing an outfit to wear, keep in mind that overly tight clothes will reveal things you don't want seen. Choose outfits that are complementary to your body type - for example, if you have broad shoulders, don't wear something with shoulder pads as this will make you look more like a football player and less like a woman. Wear clothes that are age appropriate. The latest teen fashions may be hot, but if you aren't a teenager they won't help you pass as a woman.

Shoes!

Walking in heels will take a while to get used to. Heck, many genetic females can't do it in style. However, anyone who is trying to pass as a woman will tell you that the shoes make the outfit. Choose something that accentuates your outfit while still allowing you to remain standing. If you have large feet, it may be difficult to find shoes locally without special order. The internet is your friend.

Don't Overdo Your Makeup

Probably the number one mistake people make when they learn how to cross dress is believe that more makeup is better. If you overdo it, you will stand out and get unwanted attention. Its better to invest in hair removal or a good razor than to continue piling the foundation on. Consider consulting with a makeup artist when you are just starting to cross dress as they can give you expert advise on how to match your skin tone and choose feminine colors that will complement your complexion.

Wigs

Choosing a good wig is vital to passing as a woman. Too perfect and you will stand out. On the other hand, if your wig looks obviously fake, so will you. Learn to cross dress in a manner that creates an illusion of your feminine self - the wig you choose, like your outfit, sets the tone for the entire illusion.

Other Tips to Help You Pass As a Woman

Smell like a woman - choose soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and body sprays or perfume that have a feminine, soft smell. Don't overdo the perfume, a little goes a long way.

Carry a mirror with you - when you first start passing as a woman, you will be amazed at how many things can "go wrong" with your look. Hair gets blown out of place, makeup is moved around or removed, etc. You will need constant touch up when cross-dressing.

How To Wear Saree| Wearing a Sari| Drape a Sari| Wear Sari Different Styles| Wearing Tips For Saree

How to wear Indian Saree / Sari:

Step 1 of Wearing a Sari :

Here's an illustrated step-by-step guide that teaches you how to wear a Sari - India's national dress for females - one of the most elegant attires a woman can adorn... Two essential parts of attire, that go along with the Sari, need to be chosen carefully to compliment the Sari. These are: A petticoat which is a waist-to-floor garment, tied tightly at the waist by a drawstring. The petticoat color should match the base sari color as closely as possible. No part of the petticoat, of course, is visible outside the Sari, after having worn it. A blouse which needs to be tight-fitting and whose color needs to be chosen keeping the look of the sari in mind, can be short sleeved or sleeveless, with a variety of necklines. The blouse ends just below the bust.

Step 2 of Wearing a Sari:

Start wearing the sari by tucking its plain/upper end into the petticoat, at a position which is a little bit to the right of the navel. Make sure that the lower end of the sari should be touching the floor, and that the whole length of the sari comes on the left-hand side. Now wrap the sari around yourself once, with the sari now coming back in the front, on your right side.

Step 3 of Wearing a Sari:

Make about 5 to 7 pleats of equal width of 5 inches, starting at the tucked-in end. Gather the pleats together, neatly, ensuring that the lower edge of the pleats are even and just off the ground and that the pleats fall straight and evenly. A safety pin may be used to stop the pleats from scattering.

Step 4 of Wearing a Sari:

Neatly tuck the pleats into the petticoat, at the waist, slightly to the left of the navel, in such a manner that they open to your left.

Step 5 of Wearing a Sari:

Drape the remaining fabric around yourself once more left to right, and bring it round your hips to the front, holding the top edge of the sari.

Step 6 of Wearing a Sari:
Slightly raise the remaining portion of the Sari on your back, bringing it up under the right arm and over the left shoulder so that the end of the Sari falls to about the level of your knees. The end portion thus draped, from the left shoulder onwards, is called the Pallav or the Pallu, and can be prevented from slipping off teh shoulder, by fastening it at the shoulder to the blouse with a small safety pin.

Wearing tips for Saree:

Let’s know the tips while wearing saree-

1. Brown or Dark skin color women should normally buy dark colors – like green, maroon or dark pink etc.
2. Georgette, Chiffon or Chignon saree is for the women on heavier side. Heavy Mysore Silk saree look beautiful and it tends to look slimmer.
3. Thin women should buy Cotton, Tissue, Tussar Sarees and Organza. This will give a fuller effect.
4. Small borders or no borders sarees are for the shorter women. As big borders make one looks shorter, they should definitely avoid big borders.
5. In the case of printed Sarees, try to avoid the big prints as it gives a flashy and a huge look. Delicate print on a Saree, gives a delicate look.
6. If you wear saree in office, you should pinup your Saree. You will feel comfortable. You will look very smart and it can easily manageable.
7. A function or in an outing, just pinup the saree and let the rest of the saree fall on your hand. But give a careful look at the Saree that should have a good fall. This gives a very attractive look.
8. You should iron properly the cotton, tissue or any starched Sarees before wearing it and at the time of draping, press and shape the pleats properly, do yourself or with the help of other.
9. Put the pin on the back shoulder so this keeps the saree intact and it does not show the pin.
10. Last of all but not least - don't wear a very flared petticoat inside.

Saree wearing tips for crossdressers

A) First we have to choose the type of dress we want to wear, I feel that a saree/dhavani and pavada are the most suitable for us. The reason is saree is said to be the most feminine dress and nothing can beat it when it comes to any beautiful woman.

B) For wearing a saree we should select the suitable color that makes us look beautiful.

 Selection of Innerwear: Then comes the innerwear like saree petticoat, bra etc. normally petticoats are made to suit females and we should be careful in selecting the size and shape of it. Normal females have larger hip size as compared to us so we should se that it is not seen by others.

Then the length should be such that it should not be above the ankle. Normal lengths are of 100cm and this length will be shorter for most of us since longer ones are also available this can be overcome.

Regarding the hip size I suggest that a padding may be made out and tucked to the hips in such a way that it looks as good as the normal hip of a female for this I suggest wearing a panty so that the padding can be kept in it otherwise panty is not in my list of clothing. The color of the petticoat should go in to the color of the saree worn by you.

 Selection of Bra: Then the most fancied garment of all cds, the BRA, the color of the bra also is important most of our sisters prefer black which is the most sexiest but we should select the bras in accordance with the dress we are wearing I would prefer going for skin colored bras for most of the dresses in addition to black and white please avoid all other colors.

 Selection of Blouse: The color of the blouse should match the color of the saree, it may either be of the color of the saree boarder or the color of the body of the saree it depends upon ones taste. As per the size measure your body measurements about 3to 4 inches below your normal chest measurements and that normally will be your blouse size. Any good readymade shop selling readymade blouses will give you a fitting blouse if you can give them the size of the bra that fits provided it is a branded bra.

Wearing a saree is an art that can only be perfected with practice. 

Saree Wearing Tips courtesy : 

http://www.realcds.com/blogs/1414/90/saree-dressing