Styles of draping a saree

There are more than 80 recorded ways to wear a saree. The most common style is for the saree to be wrapped around the waist, with the loose end of the drape to be worn over the shoulder, baring the midriff. However, the saree can be draped in several different styles. How-to-drape the various styles.

Nivi sari - styles originally worn in Deccan region; besides the modern nivi, there is also the kaccha nivi, where the pleats are passed through the legs and tucked into the waist at the back. This allows free movement while covering the legs.

Bengali and Odia style is worn without any pleats. Traditionally the Bengali style is worn without pleats where the sari is wrapped around in an anti-clockwise direction around the waist and then a second time from the other direction. The loose end is a lot longer and that goes around the body over the left shoulder. There is enough cloth left to cover the head as well. The modern style of wearing a sari originates from the Tagore family. Jnanadanandini Devi, the wife of Rabindranath Tagore's elder brother Satyendranath came up with a different way to wear the sari after her stay in Bombay. This required a chemise or jacket (old name for blouse) and petticoat to be worn under the sari and made it possible for women to come out of the secluded women's quarters (purdah) in this attire.

Gujarati/Rajasthani – after tucking in the pleats similar to the nivi style, the loose end is taken from the back, draped across the right shoulder, and pulled across to be secured in the back

Himalayan - KulluviPattu is traditional form of woolen sari worn in Himachal Pradesh, similar variation is also worn in Uttarakhand.

Nepali : Nepal has many different varieties of draping sari, today the most common is the Nivi drape. The Bhojpuri and Awadhi speaking community wears the sari sedhapallu like the Gujrati drape. The Mithila community has its own traditional Maithili drapes like the madhubani and purniea drapes but today those are rare and most sari is worn with the pallu in the front or the nivi style. The women of the Rajbanshi communities traditionally wear their sari with no choli and tied below the neck like a towel but today only old women where it in that style and the nivi and the Bengali drapes are more popular today. The traditional Newari sari drape is, folding the sari till its below knee length and then wearing it like a nivi sari but the pallu is not worn across the chest and instead is tied around the wait and leaving it so it drops from wait to the knee, instead the pallu a shawl is tied across the chest, by wrapping it from the right hip and back and is thrown over the shoulders saris are worn with blouse that are thicker and are tied several times across the front.TheNivi drape was popularized in Nepal by the Shah royals and the Ranas.

Nauvari: this drape is very similar to that of the male Maharashtrian dhoti, though there are many regional and societal variations. The centre of the sari (held lengthwise) is placed at the centre back, the ends are brought forward and tied securely, then the two ends are wrapped around the legs. When worn as a sari, an extra-long cloth of nine yards is used and the ends are then passed up over the shoulders and the upper body. This style of draping is called as "Navvari Sari" (Kashta in Konkani). Women in villages of Maharashtra still drape their saris in this manner. The style worn by Brahmin women of differs from that of the Marathas. The style also differs from community to community. This style is popular in Maharashtra and Goa. Nowadays this style has become very famous through Indian cinema and is trending in Maharashtrian weddings.

Madisar : this drape is typical of Iyengar/Iyer Brahmin ladies from Tamil Nadu. Traditional Madisar is worn using 9 yards sari.

Pin Kosuvam : this is the traditional Tamil Nadu style

Kodagu style : this drape is confined to ladies hailing from the Kodagu district of Karnataka. In this style, the pleats are created in the rear, instead of the front. The loose end of the sari is draped back-to-front over the right shoulder, and is pinned to the rest of the sari.

GobbeSeere : This style is worn by women in the Malnad or Sahyadri and central region of Karnataka. It is worn with 18 molas sari with three-four rounds at the waist and a knot after crisscrossing over shoulders.

Karnataka: In Karnataka, apart from traditional Nivi sari, sari is also worn in "Karnataka Kacche" drape, kacche drape which shows nivi drape in front and kacche in back, there are two kacche styles known in Karnataka - "Hora kacche" or "Melgacche" and "Valakacche" or "Olagacche" which is today limited to parts of northern Karnataka, but is rarely worn as every day attire.

Assamese: This sari style is three-set garment known Mekhela chador. The bottom portion, draped from the waist downwards is called Mekhela and veil is known as Chadar and is worn with long sleeve choli.

Manipuri: This sari style is also worn with three-set garment known as Innaphi viel, Phanek lower wrap and long sleeved choli.

Khasi: Khasi style of sari is known as Jainsem which is made up of several pieces of cloth, giving the body a cylindrical shape.

Kerala sari style: the two-piece sari, or Mundum Neryathum, worn in Kerala. Usually made of unbleached cotton and decorated with gold or coloured stripes and/or borders. Also the Kerala sari, a sort of mundum neryathum.

Tribal styles – often secured by tying them firmly across the chest, covering the breasts.

Kunbi style or denthli : Goan Gauda and Kunbis, and those of them who have migrated to other states use this way of draping Sari or Kappad, this form of draping is created by tying a knot in the fabric below the shoulder and a strip of cloth which crossed the left shoulder was fasten on the back