So, I was sitting down to write something a bit more uplifting about life here -- maybe even something about Christmas and how I'm feeling a lot more joyful about its coming this year than last year and about watching the kids' excitement -- or even sharing the meaning with our neighbors. Then, Chris came in and sat down next to me on his new smartphone. Ahhhh, the smartphone. Constant companion of the palm. That's another blog altogether. I'm actually hoping to get one soon. What? Yeah, that's another blog, too. So, now that you're waiting on pins and needles for the next 2-3 blog posts, I'll post this one.
As I said, I was sitting down to write something when Chris sat next to me and was surfing the web on his phone. I soon realized he was going to try to order some pants online and have them shipped here since he's running low. He came with what he thought would be an ample supply of pants -- several pairs of jeans and several dress pants. These, we figured, could be supplemented by others he bought here -- or had tailored. Well, wake-up call. Several pairs got holes as he played with the kids on jagged, rusty playground equipment or slipped off of jagged, rusty rickshaws or went in and out of jagged, rusty shopkeepers' stalls. His favorite has an unfortunate burn mark made by the guy who did our ironing the first few months in India. They still work when he wears the long tunic-style shirts, but he can't pull them off any other time. So, now he's down to about 2 pairs that aren't disfigured somehow.
So, I was happy to see he was going to get himself some new ones until I heard:
"What is it with the colors in this country?" I looked over and he was flipping through dress pants (excuse me, trousers. 'pants' means something entirely different here). They were in various shades of yellow, red, green, blue, brown, etc. I was surprised to see that there was not a fuchsia pair since there aren't gender-specific colors in India. Very often you will see a man wearing a fuzzy hot-pink sweater vest zooming around on his lavender scooter. I can't tell you the number of times that a sales person tried to convince me that a pink polka-dotted hat would be perfect for my 4-year-old son. How do you explain that he'd be made fun of if he visited his cousins back in the states? "But it looks very handsome on your son!" I was pulled from my musings by:
"I'll punch you in the face, slim fit!" Oh, yes. The skinny jean (or trouser) is alive and well on men all over India. Even the so-called 'relaxed fit' is tight on top and only relaxed after the knee. So, all men here look like hipsters or little punk-emo kids from the waist down -- unless they're wearing kurta-pajama.
I suppose when people look at my husband, they must imagine that he has lost a ton of weight since coming here. Why else would his pants be so baggy? He must not have a mirror! Poor guy, he needs to get a new pair of trousers. Well, he tried that. When we were on vacation, he decided to get a pair of pants tailor-made. That way, he figured, they'd fit right. HA! The wonderful man -- who did impeccable work, by the way -- brought the pants back and they were so tight in the thigh that Chris was afraid to sit down in them. "No, no," he was assured, "after you wear them a bit, they will stretch to fit." What? I had to stifle a laugh. There was no way these pants would ever stretch to fit him comfortably. This fabric wasn't stretch fabric. So, he sent them back and told the guy to put at least 2 more inches on either side -- even showed him how much. Needless to say, when they came back, it was not much better than before. He graciously took the pants, paid the man, and said thank you. He hasn't worn them since. He's even considered giving them to an Indian friend -- but they'd probably be too baggy!
So, that leads me to consider. Who decides what's cool? It's funny to me that a country which traditionally created loose, flowing clothing -- because it's fitting for the climate -- is now championing the skinny jean -- which is about the worst choice for the climate. If someone can enlighten me as to what happened, please feel free. Thankfully, there are enough guys around here who still wear kurta-pajama that Chris can wear those to his heart's content. And so, ended the online shopping for the day. And, until Indian online-stores, or walk-in stores start carrying a truly relaxed-fit trouser, you can probably count on Chris' ethnic wardrobe increasing.
Here he is in the Saudi Style -- a gift from a friend.
And His Hindustani Best:
As I said, I was sitting down to write something when Chris sat next to me and was surfing the web on his phone. I soon realized he was going to try to order some pants online and have them shipped here since he's running low. He came with what he thought would be an ample supply of pants -- several pairs of jeans and several dress pants. These, we figured, could be supplemented by others he bought here -- or had tailored. Well, wake-up call. Several pairs got holes as he played with the kids on jagged, rusty playground equipment or slipped off of jagged, rusty rickshaws or went in and out of jagged, rusty shopkeepers' stalls. His favorite has an unfortunate burn mark made by the guy who did our ironing the first few months in India. They still work when he wears the long tunic-style shirts, but he can't pull them off any other time. So, now he's down to about 2 pairs that aren't disfigured somehow.
So, I was happy to see he was going to get himself some new ones until I heard:
"What is it with the colors in this country?" I looked over and he was flipping through dress pants (excuse me, trousers. 'pants' means something entirely different here). They were in various shades of yellow, red, green, blue, brown, etc. I was surprised to see that there was not a fuchsia pair since there aren't gender-specific colors in India. Very often you will see a man wearing a fuzzy hot-pink sweater vest zooming around on his lavender scooter. I can't tell you the number of times that a sales person tried to convince me that a pink polka-dotted hat would be perfect for my 4-year-old son. How do you explain that he'd be made fun of if he visited his cousins back in the states? "But it looks very handsome on your son!" I was pulled from my musings by:
"I'll punch you in the face, slim fit!" Oh, yes. The skinny jean (or trouser) is alive and well on men all over India. Even the so-called 'relaxed fit' is tight on top and only relaxed after the knee. So, all men here look like hipsters or little punk-emo kids from the waist down -- unless they're wearing kurta-pajama.
I suppose when people look at my husband, they must imagine that he has lost a ton of weight since coming here. Why else would his pants be so baggy? He must not have a mirror! Poor guy, he needs to get a new pair of trousers. Well, he tried that. When we were on vacation, he decided to get a pair of pants tailor-made. That way, he figured, they'd fit right. HA! The wonderful man -- who did impeccable work, by the way -- brought the pants back and they were so tight in the thigh that Chris was afraid to sit down in them. "No, no," he was assured, "after you wear them a bit, they will stretch to fit." What? I had to stifle a laugh. There was no way these pants would ever stretch to fit him comfortably. This fabric wasn't stretch fabric. So, he sent them back and told the guy to put at least 2 more inches on either side -- even showed him how much. Needless to say, when they came back, it was not much better than before. He graciously took the pants, paid the man, and said thank you. He hasn't worn them since. He's even considered giving them to an Indian friend -- but they'd probably be too baggy!
So, that leads me to consider. Who decides what's cool? It's funny to me that a country which traditionally created loose, flowing clothing -- because it's fitting for the climate -- is now championing the skinny jean -- which is about the worst choice for the climate. If someone can enlighten me as to what happened, please feel free. Thankfully, there are enough guys around here who still wear kurta-pajama that Chris can wear those to his heart's content. And so, ended the online shopping for the day. And, until Indian online-stores, or walk-in stores start carrying a truly relaxed-fit trouser, you can probably count on Chris' ethnic wardrobe increasing.
Here he is in the Saudi Style -- a gift from a friend.
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