A sarong is a beautiful and simple garmet (hey, it’s just a single piece of fabric, usually cotton) that is typically worn as a dress or skirt by women and as

a kilt by men throughout much of Southern Asia, Southeast Asia, the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and many of the Pacific islands. The sarong most often has a checkered pattern or woven plaid, and it’s often very brightly colored which is done through the use of batik or ikat dyeing, even though, more recently, they are

more likely to have printed designs, such as plants and animals. The sarong itself can be worn as a garment all on its own (underwear optional 😉 ), or it can put on over a bikini. It should be noted that in places where the sarong is popular, such as the South Pacific Islands, it’s quite common to use the sarong as an everyday garment, so don’t feel like this is a ‘beach only’ sort of deal, it’s perfect for use during the sort of weather that you might expect to find in the South Pacific, plus it’s very quick and easy to put on, requiring much less fuss than any typical Western clothing that a woman might wear (and it looks a lot better than what you would see a lot of Western women walking around in day-to-day, as well).

This video is a bit long (just short of 15 minutes), and the reason for that is that it covers a multitude of ways of tying and wearing the sarong, but thankfully it starts with the simplest techniques first and progress to more complicated and elegant styles, so you certainly don’t have to watch the whole thing before you try it. Enjoy:

More Information about Sarongs and Pareos

Amazon has got a very nice selection of sarongs (click here) , several of which are quite inexpensive (sub-$10 range 😯 ), definitely worth a look.

Here’s an excellent site on tying the sarong as well as wearing and maintaining it.

One British man’s fight for the right to wear his Sarong!! (hilarious, and he makes good points, too, especially about how uncomfortable it is to sleep in what is, essentially, a pair of pants)