Sari draper Dolly Jain is flitting in and out of a room on the second floor of her plush house in Salt Lake that has been set up for a t2 shoot with actress Koel Mallick. The sofas outside the room are laden with saris of different kinds. Dolly’s mind is running fast. And even faster are her fingers. 

“I come up with the styles on the spot and it has always been like this. You have to think on the spot, which comes with experience,” says Dolly. 

This after 15 years, many a high-profile event, the latest being Sonam Kapoor Ahuja’s wedding and a world record of draping a sari in 18.5 seconds and ideating 325 styles of draping a sari. And the tattoo on her arm reads: ‘I am six yards ahead of my time.’ 

Her challenge now is to come up with 365 different styles. “So that I give you a different drape for each day. So, please wear saris!” she says, as Koel gets ready for the first look. 

In Dolly’s toolkit

A portable steam iron; hair straightener to settle the pleats. Underarm pads, which I give to all my clients because I don’t want to see them sweating. My special thread and needle. A double-sided tape and body tape. A glue drop. There is a specific kind of glue we use to stick the maangtikas and the jewellery. Now I also stitch the jewellery with the blouse or the dupatta, so it doesn’t move. 

A stitch in time...

I have a habit of stitching the whole garment once I set the look. I don’t like using too many pins. I stitch on the spot. I have different needles and magnetic pins for areas where you cannot stitch. I get those customised pins from Bangkok. There are certain pegs that I use. I set these on the shoulders and once the client okays it, I remove the pegs and stitch it. 

ROFL moments

We’ve had a bride whose lehnga was so heavy that she couldn’t go to pee and we had to push in a bucket for her to pee! 

Then there was this bride who was somewhere around 5’6” and the lehnga got exchanged with a bride who was 5’2”. So, when my bride wore her lehnga, it was like a long skirt! The groom was 6’2” and she was supposed to wear a four-inch heel and be like almost 5’8”-5’9”. I went to her mother’s place, looked through her wardrobe and fortunately, she was carrying one gold Kanjeevaram sari. I made the bride wear a petticoat as an underskirt and the sari was pleated like a lehnga. Then we made her wear the original lehnga. It gave a beautiful effect and it was much better than the lehnga that was customised!

SPORTY CHIC: Crop top, sneakers, denims and a linen sari made for a fantastic fusion. “Make four to five pleats on your waist. Then you make your shoulder pallu and cover your butt and whatever material is left behind, tuck it behind. Complete the look with a nice belt. A leather belt on linen looks great,” says Dolly. This look reminded Koel of Ghare & Baire, her latest release. “Maybe because of the sneakers! This look is perfect for a party or when going out with friends.” 

GET KNOTTY: The tie-style drape is perfect for when you are in the mood to experiment. “Wear the sari (we used a khadi one) like you would normally, leaving the pallu short. Now wrap the pallu around your neck into a tie, holding the corner of the pallu,” says Dolly. 

FRESH & FUN: A silk sari is teamed with a lehnga for a fresh day look. “The moment you pair it with a lehnga, the simplest sari looks grander. Lehngas are airy and make movement easy. Wear your lehnga and blouse, and then set your shoulder pallu… about four inches above the ground. The longer your pallu at the back, the taller you will look. Now you bring the entire sari in front, make your pleats and set it on one side. A belt will help keep the pleats in place. Even if it is a function where you want to dance around, there is no fabric hanging loose,” says Dolly. “This is perfect for a summer wedding, or a morning occasion,” says Koel.  

How to pleat it

The key is to pleat the sari properly. You can do the sari homework a night before. Pin the top and bottom of your four pleats and just fold the rest and keep it. The next morning is as easy as slipping into a kurta! 

The shoulder pleats are easy to do, the lower pleats are difficult. Always secure them with two pins. Align your pleats and pin it up just below your navel, and another one two inches from your navel.

Use a cotton drawstring. It holds your petticoat better. Elastic folds, and if your sari is heavy, it won’t hold. 

Go for cotton petticoats. Satin gets static when you walk and sticks to your body. Usually people wear satin petticoats when they are wearing net saris. Imagine the net falling down and the petticoat sticking to your body! It’s good if your petticoat is a little fitted. Invest in a skin petticoat — that’s the black for us. Even if you have a sari which is blue or pink and your petticoat has become small, wear a skin petticoat and the black petticoat on top and then the sari. It will not add any inches. 

If your sari is too starchy, spray it with water and then drape it immediately. 

Don’t pin your silk saris, let the pallu flow. Since georgette is a little heavier than chiffon, you can pleat it up. For a net sari, try and make pleats from the bottom. Chantilly lace is the easiest to drape; it just falls on your body. A leather belt looks nice with a lace sari and a gold waistband with a silk sari. Pleat Kanjeevarams and accessorise with a belt, because they are too wide, especially for short people. 

I have never tried these drapes before, which is why it was absolutely fascinating. I have always tried conventional drapes; the maximum I have experimented with is teaming my sari with a T-shirt. I loved that the looks had elements of quirkiness; it was fun. I also loved the use of belts. They are important for that defined waistline. 

I have a good number of traditional saris. I love Benarasis and Kanjeevarams. For an easy-breezy look, you can wear a nice crepe sari with a floral-print blouse. Summer saris mean nice florals, soft colours and pastel hues. I love soft shades like pinks, peaches, oranges and yellow in linen, cotton, and organza. I believe saris can make you look wow at any time of the day and on any occasion — Koel Mallick 

Text: Saionee Chakraborty 
Pictures: Pabitra Das 
Styling assistant: Neha Gandhi
Hair and make-up: Abhijit Chanda
Wardrobe: Onaya 
Jewellery: Vasundhara Mantri