At a Glance
- Around 300 people have told us about a day they are planning. These are plans, not purchases.
- 84% expect to wear their saree for five hours or more. 48% expect seven hours or more.
- About 44% have never worn shapewear under a saree. Of those who have, roughly four in five said it was uncomfortable or kept rolling down, and roughly one in five said it worked well.
- By occasion: weddings 31%, everyday 24%, office 18%, festival 16%, everything else 11%.
- By fabric: Kanchipuram, Banarasi or other silk 44%, cotton 23%, georgette or chiffon 12%. The rest are other fabrics and outfits.
Who This Describes
These numbers come from people who chose to tell us about an upcoming day. They are not a survey of everyone who wears a saree, and they are not customers. Some people skipped some questions, so a few shares below rest on fewer answers than others. We say so where it matters.
The Day Is Long
The most consistent thing in these plans is time. About 84% expect five hours or more. It holds across occasions: about three quarters of wedding plans, nearly all everyday plans, about nine in ten office plans and about three quarters of festival plans.
One caution. Some people may have read "everyday" and "all day" as how they wear a saree in general, not as one event, so the everyday figure may run higher than a single occasion would.
We have written mostly by occasion and by fabric. Time is what the plans have in common.
Weddings and Silk
Wedding plans are the largest group, about 31% of the total. Around three quarters of them are silk, mostly Kanchipuram or Banarasi, and a similar share expect five hours or more.
Office and Everyday
Office and everyday plans together are about four in ten. Cotton is the most common fabric in the office plans, at about half, and about nine in ten expect five hours or more. We have written very little for this yet, and we have not tested it. We list it here because it is a large share and an open question.
The First Time
About 44% said they have never worn shapewear under a saree, and about a fifth did not answer that question. Of those who said they had tried it, roughly four in five said it was uncomfortable or kept rolling down, and roughly one in five said it worked well.
People who had a poor experience may be more likely to tell us about it, so this does not say how often shapewear goes wrong. It does say that a poor first experience is something many people arrive with, and that many others are arriving with none.
What These Plans Cannot Tell Us
The plans cover a limited set of situations. Commuting, travel and caring for children are not among them, so their absence says nothing about whether they matter. Several questions were optional and many people skipped them, so we have left out anything that rests on a small or partial group.
What We Will Do With This
We will use it to decide what to write and test next: long days, first-time wear, and office and everyday dressing. We will add to this note as more plans arrive, and say what changed.
These numbers tell us what to test. They do not tell us what is true for everyone.