Uniform and institution

Where it is worn

Some Indian airlines have long used the saree as cabin crew uniform, in a fixed colour and pattern with a matching blouse and jacket. Some public and private sector banks, some hospitals and nursing colleges, and some schools have prescribed sarees for women staff, usually plain and sober. In many state governments, women teachers and clerks wear sarees by custom rather than by rule. Uniform practice has changed over the years, and many institutions now allow salwar kameez, trousers and other clothes, so the saree is increasingly a choice.

Nurses and hospitals

In some hospitals, nurses and matrons have worn a white or pastel saree with a cap and a badge, and nursing colleges in a number of states have used a prescribed colour. White is common because it is associated with cleanliness, though a number of hospitals have chosen a blue, green or grey cotton. In recent years many hospitals have moved to practical clothes such as trousers and tunics, which are easier to move in, and the saree is now less common in wards than it was in the past.

Schools, banks and offices

Teachers in some schools wear a cotton or cotton silk saree in a prescribed colour or a plain pattern, and some institutions designate a different colour for each day of the week. Some banks have used a uniform saree for women staff, in a house colour with the bank's pattern on the border. Others have left the choice to the employee. A uniform saree is usually plain, durable and washable, with a modest border, so that it looks tidy through a long working day.

Weavers and uniform cloth

Uniform sarees are often made in bulk, in mill cloth or powerloom polyester and cotton blends, and in some states by handloom cooperatives, which supply cloth to schools, hospitals and government bodies. Orders of this kind can be an important source of work for weavers. Where the cloth is handloom, it can be of good quality and last a long time. When you buy a uniform saree, ask for a fabric that washes and wears well, since you may wear it five or six days a week, and consider a colourfast cloth.

Worth knowing

• Cabin crew saree: A saree worn as uniform by some airline staff.
• Nurse's saree: A plain white or pastel saree worn by nurses in some hospitals.
• School teacher's saree: A simple cotton saree in a prescribed colour in some schools.
• Bank saree: A saree in a house colour worn by staff at some banks.
• Handloom cooperative cloth: Uniform cloth woven in bulk by cooperatives in some states.

Good to know

• Choose a colourfast, easily washed cloth if you wear it daily.
• Keep two or three in rotation, and iron the pleats before folding.
• Pin the pallu firmly for a long working day.

Sources and further reading

• Sari on Wikipedia
• Uniform, Wikipedia