FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - American Businesswomen goes to India- What do I wear?
Old Jan 13, 2007, 12:35 pm
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GUWonder
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Originally Posted by travelmad478


And now to answer your actual question. I am an American woman who's been traveling to India for work for the last 8 years. Anything you'd wear to an office in the US will be fine for an Indian work environment. Indian professional women tend to wear salwar kameez (long, loose tunics with matching pants) or, less frequently, saris to work. You will be just fine in a blouse and pants or a skirt--just keep it on the modest side, nothing tight/revealing and skirts at knee-length or longer.

Off duty, the only thing to remember is that no women in India (outside haute Bombay) show their legs, or their shoulders. So even though it's hot, you can't wear shorts, and tank tops aren't a great idea either. Loose-fitting pants/skirts are your best bet. T-shirts are fine but keep them on the loose side.

Both Bombay and Delhi are huge, cosmopolitan cities that are well used to foreign tourists and businesspeople. You won't be stared at or harassed in these places unless you really go wild (leave the Lycra bike shorts at home! ).
I think you've got it down perfectly.

About the customs clearance question posted above, there's no guarantee with Indian customs. Although it's far more reliable this year than say 7 or 8 years ago (or even two years ago), there's still a lot of mess-ups and too much pilferage for my comfort. While odds are in your favor that it'll probably clear, I've learned to bet carefully when it comes to unescorted clearing of Indian customs.
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