Fashion

Indian Men Tried On Sarees & Heres What Happened

by Arielle Dachille

First, they had men try on rompers for the sake of putting dudes in ladies fashion shoes. In their latest endeavor in gender sartorial understanding, BuzzFeed Video had Indian guys try on Sarees for the first time. As you may expect, they learned some valuable lessons about the gender disparity in time it takes to get ready. Not to mention, there was plenty of amusing tangling with fabric.

The Saree, a traditional garment worn by women in South India, is comprised of two pieces of fabric. The first is a petticoat, a simple skirt that covers the bottom half of your body. The second piece is the Saree itself, which wraps around the waist and then draped over the shoulder. Draping it is an elaborate process, and there is a wealth of instructional videos online devoted to this very topic. The young men who submitted to BuzzFeed's social experiment varied in levels of confidence before beginning. Some were candid about the fact that they had no idea what they were doing. One man wagered that he'd be able to do it in thirty seconds. But they all, across the board, has a pretty difficult time making it look right.

But even if none of the guinea pigs could master the Saree without a little help, that doesn't mean the process was without value! They all went home a bit wiser, having learned the following things.

Getting dressed for women is often a complicated process

After trying in vain to solve the puzzle of how to correctly pleat and tuck the Saree, the nice young man remarked that the pleating thing "is almost an art form." From pleating a Saree to cuffing your jeans just right, making an outfit look just right is often not an easy feat. It just looks easy if you're doing it right.

Peeing in women's formalwear can tend to be difficult

The young man above asked the horrified question, "How do you pee in these?!?" Maxi dresses, jumpsuits, and flutter skirts often present the same problem. The answer is: it's always a struggle.

Pocket space is often limited

The men in the video puzzled over where women would put their phones in a Saree because of the absence of pockets. Ah, the gendered pocket debate. It ranges from women's jeans to traditional garb.

Society puts pressure on women to put a lot of effort into their appearance

"In all fairness, I can see how much effort women take into getting ready," the young man on the left remarked. In the case of men, however, things are generally far simpler.

Appreciate your mom

At the end of the day, we can all give our moms a little more credit. They deserve it.

Watch the video in full below:

Image: BuzzFeed Video/ Youtube (6)