by Dennis Steele

Created on: January 09, 2009

Being from America and being used to jeans and shirts, It was a nice relief to see a visitor from India wearing a Sarong. Technically it is not called a Sarong in India, that is the name for the same item in Malay which translates to "sheath". Whether you are from India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka or Somalia or call it a Mundu, Sarem, veshti or Lungi. These are all forms of the same item of clothing which is what I a going to refer to as a Sarong. For people that do not know what they are, think of them like a tube or sheath, that you wear around your waist. For people that are not used to wearing them it would be similar to wearing a dress. Very comfortable but takes some getting used to. They can be worn by all including, mean, women and children and all races. They are most popular in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

To secure the clothing around your waist you can use several tying methods exist to secure a sarong in place, but can vary according o your gender. Often it will have ties to hold it in place, but if not available you can hold it in place by using a pin, or the fabric may be tightly tucked under itself in layers, you could also tie the corners around the body or a even a belt can be used.

Men: They will often wear them with checker patterns, wear them to friday prayer meetings but used as casual wear at home too.

Women: What is favored among women are the sarongs dyed in the Batik method, (procedure of dipping the material in wax before dying and decorated in bright flowering patterns. Worn mostly in formal settings along with a kebaya blouse (a blouse worn by Indonesian women in 15th or 16th century.

Unfortunately you will not find many in the US unless you live in the major cities like New York City, Boston, San Francisco or Los Angeles. But there still maybe hope. Standard size measures from 2.12 (7.22 ft) by 1.2 (3.94 ft) metres. As far as plus size, you need to get your waist measurements, take them to a a tailor that specializes in Malaysian/Indonesian clothing. If none exist, and/or you live in a smaller city or town. Look around for locals that are from India, Asia or parts of Africa and you could be surprised, since they might still have connections to their country and could special order one for you. Make sure that you convert your size from feet to meters, else you come end up with a tent instead of a sarong.

I hope this article has been helpful and if you find an errors plus notify me so make the neccessary modifications.

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