The traditional Indian garment made from a long length of draped, unstitched cloth is called a sari.
A sari is usually a woven piece of fabric about 4.5 to 9 metres long. In the widely seen Nivi drape, it is wrapped around the waist, gathered into pleats, and then passed over one shoulder. It is commonly worn with a fitted blouse called a choli and a petticoat, although regional styles and garment combinations vary considerably.
Sari-like draped clothing has roots in the Indian subcontinent reaching back thousands of years. The garment is not one single uniform style: weaving traditions, fabrics, borders, colors, and draping methods differ across regions including Bengal, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. Silk, cotton, handloom, ikat, brocade, and printed textiles are all used.
“Saree,” “sari,” and several regional spellings refer to the same garment. It is also a mistake to treat every draped South Asian garment as a sari; the dhoti, dupatta, lehenga, and mundum neriyathum have distinct forms and histories.