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Is it Appropriate to Wear Traditional Indian Dress (e.g. Sari or Sherwanis) to an Indian Wedding as a Non-Indian?

Is it Appropriate to Wear Traditional Indian Dress to an Indian Wedding as a Non-Indian?

  • Yes

    Votes: 307 70.9%

  • No

    Votes: 48 11.1%

  • Thor: The Dark World

    Votes: 78 18.0%
  • Total voters
    433
FliX

FliX

Master of the Reality Stone
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
9,875
Metro Detroit
We have been invited to a friends wedding in the US and because the groom has Indian heritage they are having a small semi-Indian wedding.
Now we are wondering if it would be appropriate for us to borrow some Indian clothes from other friends to attend the wedding with.
The bride and groom are very much for that, but I wanted to make sure we wouldn't be stepping on anyone's toes by doing it.

Most of what I've been reading online says it would be fine and appreciated by all.
So what say you Era?
 
Sabretooth

Sabretooth

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,067
India
If the bride and groom are okay with it, I don't see why not. In general I don't mind anyone wearing Indian outfits.
 
Krash

Krash

Member
Oct 27, 2017
56
You already went straight to the source. If the bride and groom are enthusiastic about it and encourage it, then really that's all that matters.
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,742
If the bride and groom are asking you to do it, and you make sure you take care to be respectful, I don't think it would be a problem.
 
SuperBonk

SuperBonk

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
354
My family and pretty much all other Indians I know would actively welcome non-Indians dressing in traditional Indian attire and I think it's pretty rare to find Indians that think otherwise.
 
iksenpets

iksenpets

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,496
Dallas, TX
If anything, I think the bride and groom being for it, and them choosing a specifically Indian wedding means it would be kind of wrong not to take them up on the offer to borrow some clothes. Otherwise you're kind of spoiling the Indian aesthetic these Indian people are going for for the sake of staying in your lane or whatever. They're inviting you to participate, so participate.
 
Watchtower

Watchtower

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,652
As noted you've already got the bride and groom's approval. It's their day, if they're encouraging you to do it then no one else can say shit lol.
 
fakeronjan

fakeronjan

Member
Oct 28, 2017
152
Extremely appropriate. Go for it. (Bengali Indian here - and several non-Indians wore Indian attire to my wedding.)
 
RBH

RBH

Official ERA expert on Third Party Football
Member
Nov 2, 2017
32,923
Absolutely appropriate

Happens all the time
 

Addy Edwin

Member
Aug 7, 2018
221
A Bangladeshi here (Indian neighbour with almost similar practices). Everyone actually likes it when foreigners wear sarees/panjabis, makes everyone feel like we're all part of the same crowd and are here together to have fun :)
 
Weiss

Weiss

User requested ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
64,265
It's not cultural appropriation if you are being directly asked to participate.
 

Deleted member 8257

Oct 26, 2017
24,586
Yes completely fine. You need to wear proper shoes/chappal with Sherwani.
 
Rassilon

Rassilon

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,592
UK
seems quite common

my ma used to get invited to indian and pakistani weddings / events frequently and has a fine collection
 

52club

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,499
As a non-indian it is always interesting to me to see the split of the attire depending on the function and the parties involved.
 
Keldroc

Keldroc

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,987
If they said it's okay and even requested it, of course it's appropriate. I wouldn't consider it automatically okay without permission, though.
 
Solomon Grundy

Solomon Grundy

Banned
May 31, 2021
698
FliX said:
We have been invited to a friends wedding in the US and because the groom has Indian heritage they are having a small semi-Indian wedding.
Now we are wondering if it would be appropriate for us to borrow some Indian clothes from other friends to attend the wedding with.
The bride and groom are very much for that, but I wanted to make sure we wouldn't be stepping on anyone's toes by doing it.

Most of what I've been reading online says it would be fine and appreciated by all.
So what say you Era?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
What do you mean by "Indian clothes"? If it is something like a sari, you are going to need to have someone dress you, as you will not be able to do it yourself. If it is male clothes, then they are mostly straightforward.

I suggest thinking carefully about whether you do this. Are there going to be other non-Indian guests wearing Indian clothes? I would assume most of the (male) Indian guests will just wear suits. So you run the risk of standing out in a way that might make you feel self conscious.
 
Chopchop

Chopchop

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,171
If the bride and groom are fine with it then it's fine. The dress is being worn out of respect, which is perfectly fine.

It's only bad if it's being worn to mock, which would be the opposite of what you're doing.
 
effingvic

effingvic

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,220
Yes absolutely. It's very common for non desis to wear desi traditional clothing during weddings and stuff.
 
jeelybeans

jeelybeans

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,948
South Asian with a very traditional family. Yes, no one would mind and some would appreciate it.
 
Busaiku

Busaiku

Teyvat Traveler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,500
Bengali, but I love when my friends wear saris or panjabis.
All the formal clothing is appreciated.

If you try and rock a lungi though, even in a casual setting, you will get questions.
 
Ether_Snake

Ether_Snake

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
11,306
Just hope no one puts a picture on social media. People who have nothing to do with this might get very angry.
 

Deleted member 6263

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,387
Am Indian, I give you permission. In fact, I'd appreciate it. Bride/groom also like the idea so definitely go for it.
 
Jogi

Jogi

Prophet of Regret
Member
Jul 4, 2018
5,452
Yeah if bride and groom encourage it, then I would say yes.
 
BringBackSonics

BringBackSonics

Member
Oct 27, 2017
45,240
Seattle
FliX said:
We have been invited to a friends wedding in the US and because the groom has Indian heritage they are having a small semi-Indian wedding.
Now we are wondering if it would be appropriate for us to borrow some Indian clothes from other friends to attend the wedding with.
The bride and groom are very much for that, but I wanted to make sure we wouldn't be stepping on anyone's toes by doing it.

Most of what I've been reading online says it would be fine and appreciated by all.
So what say you Era?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

If the bride and groom are okay with it..I mean no offense, who cares what era thinks? It's obvious they want to share there culture with you, formal dress is fine. My wife is white, and she wore a hambok for my brother and cousin's wedding. Its fine.
 

Deleted member 17210

User-requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
11,569
White guy married to an Indian woman here. I didn't wear anything Indian (aside from henna that took a month to wash off) for my wedding but my mom and sister wore saris and got lots of compliments.
 
Z-Beat

Z-Beat

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
31,849
If they're having you do it then sure. If you just showed up in it with no prompting then maybe not

I've seen a lot of Indian weddings where it's encouraged/expected but it's probably case by case
 
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