April 17, 2026: Salwar kameez -
Some decades ago, I was visiting my parents, and I observed that a salwar kameez was the most flattering - and also the most comfortable – dressy outfit a woman could wear, especially if she had a little pot belly. (Maybe we’d been down at the Pike Place Market? Maybe we’d seen someone wearing one? I don’t know.) Anyway, I said I wished I had been born into an ethnicity, or on a subcontinent, which would allow me to wear such a wondrous garment. My dad, the research scientist, was often lost in thought. I doubt I made this observation TO him, but I can imagine that maybe I was talking to my mom, and he overheard it. In any case, somehow, it hooked his attention. What was a salwar kameez, why did I covet one, and why couldn’t I wear it? He found a picture. I said see, they have a very comfy fit – loose pyjama pants, a long tunic with room for a small belly, but a fetchingly fitted bodice. And they are often made of these lustrous silks! So why couldn’t I wear one? Well...