Ethnic day at the office: walking in wearing a saree

Pick the saree you can sit at a desk in. Decide two days before.

The mail says ethnic day, for Diwali, on Friday. And on Friday there is one second that is different from every other morning: the lift opens and you walk onto your floor in a saree, past the same desks you pass in trousers on a Thursday. It is easy to tell yourself, I'll pick it that morning. That is how you end up at the cupboard at eight, holding three sarees and a blouse that needs ironing.

So decide two days before, not that morning.

The look

Choose for the chair, not for the photo. Cotton or soft silk, in one strong colour: rani pink, bottle green, mustard, deep blue. Soft cloth sits when you sit and stays where you put it. Keep the stiff, heavy one for a wedding.

Wear it with a blouse you have worn before, one you can type in for an hour and reach a high shelf in. Keep the pallu pinned at the shoulder, so both hands stay free for your bag, your laptop and your chai. One more safety pin at the pleats if it helps you walk without thinking about them.

There are two easy ways to wear it. The modest one: the pallu in neat pleats, a blouse with elbow sleeves, a low bun with a gajra. The modern one: the same saree with a plain sleeveless blouse, the pallu left to fall open from the pin, and your hair open with a side parting. Both belong in an office.

One small detail, not five: the jhumkas you already own.

The one confidence move

Sit, walk and climb stairs in it once at home. Sit on a chair with a back, the way you sit at work. Walk the length of the house. Go up a few steps with one hand lightly on the pleats. After that, the saree is something you have already done once.

On the day, at the office door, pause one second. Then walk to your desk at your normal pace. Not slower, not faster. The same walk as Thursday.

What to say first

Speak first, to the first person who looks up:

Happy Diwali. I nearly came in a kurta.

It is light, and it is yours to say before anyone else says anything.

If it goes sideways

The likeliest wobble is the photo corner. Someone calls the whole team for a picture and you are not sure where to put yourself. At the photo corner, stand at an angle, one foot forward, one hand holding the edge of the pallu. Stay for one picture, then go back to your desk when you want to.

One thing to try today

Decide the saree two days before, not that morning. If ethnic day is on Friday, that is Wednesday night. Two days before, take it out and sit in it once: on a chair, for ten minutes, with the blouse on and two safety pins kept ready beside it.

Each Sunday: one moment coming up this week, the look for it and the one line to say first. It is all at /moments.