"OMG What do I wear?"

A friend from London - a rather attractive Englishwoman in her late twenties - was in Mumbai last month. We went sightseeing and shopping. Because it was muggy and warm, she wore a dress with a halter neck. It took her all of ten minutes on Mumbai's streets, to realise it was a mistake (if stares could burn, her shoulders would be charred to a crisp). For the rest of the day, she wore a hot cardigan, and didnt take it off even in the 'safe' environs of the Taj Sea Lounge. I met her again in London last week, and over drinks at Corney and Barrow, we laughed the whole incident off.

I was in Dubai as well last week - and I worked with several young women, all of them modestly dressed in black abayas. In the ladies loo, the abaya's would be adjusted, the head-scarves wrapped and re-wrapped until modesty was assured. In the same office, there were women from South Africa and London, wearing exactly what they would wear in their home countries - skirts, trousers, jackets. On Day Two at work, I wore what is called 'Indo-Western' - a black raw silk kurta with black trousers and a stole. I realised I was standing almost *exactly* at the sartorial mid-point between the abayas and the business jackets.

The whole thing has set me thinking about 'appropriate' business dressing.

In the first place, there is the debate about whether or not to be appropriate.

When I travel on work to London, I agonise over what to wear. What I *want* to wear is some of my sarees. I know I will look confident and attractive - but Lord, I won't fit in. And it's a bit disconcerting in meetings when people keep eyeing your midriff/waist. It's strange - in London, there's so much cleavage on display at work, and men don't stare. But when it's comes to saree-clad midriffs, there are definitely some startled glances. It is irritating at meetings, when you're standing up to make a presentation, and the audience is not looking at your face.

Anyway - what I end up wearing is clunky business jackets, hating how they fall on my five-foot-nothing frame. I tell myself it makes business sense to not look exotic, when you're trying to convince some staid banker that you know what you're talking about. But I resent the unspoken rules. I don't *want* to fit in!

On some recent trips, I've started wearing the saree (to hell with the consequences). Perhaps it's a sign of new-found confidence, or perhaps it is just vanity. I don't know.