"Proper" Attrire for women!

Whenever anybody says "formal" attrire for women.. what does that mean?

For men, I guess it is more or less well defined! Full armed shirts, pants and tie (Balzer, in case the envi is "too" formal) and shoes.

So now, how do we define it for women? Specially Indian women?

Now, here's the set of rules...

1. No "sleeve-less" dressses or tops
2. No half/mega sleeved tops!
3. No "tight" fitting clothes (I wonder who can define what is tight and loose.. the one wearing it or the one seeing?)
4. No wrap around skirts
5. No "transparent" chudidars (how do you define or measure the transperency???)
6. Saree: Please tie in such a way that it does not show any parts of the body which are not be shown. Pleated pallus preffered!!!
7. ONLY 3/4th full sleeved shirts on troushers!!! (In this summer???)
8. Duppattas are to be worn to "serve the purpose"!


So, in a work place (with formal environment).. you are "supposed" to wear something which adheres to "all" of these rules.

But the question is.. should somebody tell people what to wear and what not to wear? If you are a office goer... well you would be atleast 21+. This means you kind of know what is ok to wear... to office... and what is not-ok!! If on top of this, some people choose to wear in-appropriate dress, wouldn't it be better to just "educate" them individually? rather than making a book of rules for everybody!

Now, the whole context of my post is women's attire, so if a lady chooses to wear in appropriate clothes.. she is doing it at her own risk.. inviting trouble.

We are not some school kids right? wherein there used to be a nail leader (who checks the cleanliness of nails!), ribbon leader, bench leader..what not!

Anyway all said and done, rules are rules. When imposed are to be followed! This I agree completely.

Now, in any educated society, when somebody says something, it is questioned for it's motive. So this "attrire definition" should also questioned.

My questioning goes like this... Please note I am talking in the context of Indian women.

Do women in the so called western countries dress this way? Do they cover themselves from head to toe!!??? DOn't they get respect from their colleagues?

Well... people say those are western countries.. and we are in India.. so things are different like many other things. Fine agreed.

But then one of the comments for this issue, by an "educated Indian male"... has made me burn wild with anger...
just read it.. in His hown words...


"There is lot of difference between exposure of males' body and exposure of female's body ( especially in a country like India where more respect is given to women).

So the directive of avoiding sleeveless for women is introduced, i think the reason may be to cover woman's beauty(in this case arms).

That is good idea, following cultural traditions..............."


WOW!! what a statement!
I am shocked beyond words after reading this!! If an educated well placed individual can speak like this... what more can i expect from a common man?????

Please excuse me? "cover the beauty?" in arms? my god! I am laughing to splits here...... Even if you chose to show off your beauty.. what's wrong? What is beauty for? oh ya! i forgot!!! it's only for your husband to see right??? miserable me! how can i even think beyond that!

I am sure if given a choice he would ask his mother/sister/wife to go out ONLY in burkha!!!! I thought world over people are encouraging women to come out of the burkha and lo and behold just around me...:((((((

So now, my thought goes something like this....
Does attrire really matter? Of course I do not deny the fact that you cannot come to office in your night dress just becasue it does not matter! But do we really need to have "rules" and "regulations" and that too so-outdated?

There are quite a few companies which actually allow people to come to work in shorts! nobody cares!

If you are a programmer... and from morning till night all you do is sit in front of the computer and code... with some occational (once a week) team meetings.. do you really have to dress up so much?

It makes sense to maybe the HR/management team who interact with people specially outsiders. It makes sense for them to dress formally.

My point is not even formal/informal attire.. it's for the point that somebody tells you not to wear sleeveless/half sleeved shirts!! The reason behind it... well it does not create a "good" work environment... and to be more specific "men will be distracted"..;-))

Is the so called "evil" present in the woman's body (that too hands for christ's sake!!! don't men have hands????)) or is it in the man's mind?????

Why is it that in western countries women wear mini skirts and blouses showing off their cleavage.. no-body even gives an absurd second glance? And in India why is it that a man is ready to pounce on you.. for a simple thing as give him a glance?

So does it prove that it's the mind that is corruped and not the body (woman's)!!!!!

And coming back to the point of this guy who said: "especially in a country like India where more respect is given to women"

how true!!!!
1. we have the lowest sex ratio
2. We have the highest number of child rapes recorded!
3. Even elderly widows are not left at peace....
4. Call center females are getting brutally murdered!
5. Women are forced to marry men of their parent's choice!
6. Highest prostitution!
7. In some village in rajastan.. the sex ratio is so low.. one woman is "shared" between more than 3 men! ofcourse for money!!!!!
8. How many times you are "hit" in the wrong places when you go on road, when you are in the bus, when you are in a crowded place?
9. Even in the metropolitan cities, abortions are carried out after knowing that it's going to be a female child!
10. In villages female children are killed just after birth by putting in a rice grain in the mouth with milk!


All this and we say, women are like godesses!! cut the crap man! I have seen women respected much much more in countries where they don't even have a culture of their own!!

When are we ever going to change our mind set?
When are we going to accept women as something more than an object of pleasure?
When are we going to respect women as human beings and not some curved creatures?
When are we ever going to look beyond a woman's body... understand her feelings, respect her sentiments?

How would men feel... if every woman who passes by them, "scrutinizes" them from top to bottom? and pass absurd comments?

Why is it always that a woman should change? why can't the thinking of men change? hmmmmm i know, I am asking for too much here.. it's not such an easy thing!

I wonder when will we ever get Independence as Mahatma Gandhi dreamed of ..." India would "actually" be independent when women can roam around at 12 in the night fearlessly on the streets"....

How he did not realise that it's too far fethced a dream to come true... with our mentality!

A sad day in a woman's life.