Arts
Don’t want to repeat that saree or buy one? Check out the Saree Library
Sarees will never go out of fashion in Sri Lanka. From weddings, graduations, to themed parties; sarees are our go-to six yards of material that we adorn and drape to our liking to attend any sort of function.
Afrah Ismail Saldin
The Saree Library - an online platform to rent sarees begun by Afrah Ismail Saldin is the new talk of the town on social media. Facing the dilemma that confronts most Lankan women, the idea for the Saree Library began with Afrah being invited for many weddings from her office.
“I was of the mentality that I could not wear the same saree more than once, given that it would be seen by the same crowd! That was when I began to entertain the idea of borrowing sarees from friends, but that too left me feeling quite uncomfortable,” Afrah explains how the idea had been at the back of her head for quite a few years.
Afrah admits that she was the girl who would buy a new saree for every wedding/ function she was invited to. However the unfortunate Easter attacks this year changed all that.
“This year has been quite a difficult one. It was a depressing time for all communities and somehow, your purpose kind of changes and I had to re-orient myself, my needs and wants and truly ask myself if I really needed that new saree come a wedding or that new dress, especially when people around me were going through such traumatic times.This is how this idea came back to me,” she says.
Afrah opened the Saree Library in early July and her online platforms on both Facebook and Instagram have fast gained traction in the past few months.
Neatly packed in box: Saree for rent. Pix by M.D. Nissanka
“There are rental shops for bridal sarees but there is nothing for occasion or evening wear. A saree doesn’t have a size or shape, it fits anyone. I think I was very lucky because the concept was very new and due to its novelty, people kind of took to it,” she says.
Started with 23 of Afrah’s sarees, the Saree Library has now expanded to a collection of around 70. Wanting to encourage women to share their sarees which have been buried in cupboards, Afrah began a suppliership initiative in which women can use the platform to rent their own sarees. Once a saree has been rented, Afrah shares the profits equally. It is a way of recovering ing the money spent on a saree that may have been only worn once, creating a win-win situation.
How Afrah makes it her own, is through the styling tips she provides her followers on social media.
“Fashion is something that evolves every day, but if you look at it, all these old styles are coming back. You can do so much with six yards of cloth. You can turn it into a dress, you can wear it with pants. We should respect the fact that it has been around for thousands of years but I think we should also elevate it and give it new life,” she says.
Afrah shows how each saree can look different on a person by simply changing your hairstyle or accessories, to how you drape the saree.
“Sarees can go out of style, so it was also a way of showing how you can take an outdated saree and make it relevant or modern. Through the way you style it, you can reuse sarees and completely update them. I enjoy styling sarees because that’s when you can really complete an outfit.”
Afrah says through the Saree Library she has been able to reduce her consumption in many ways so she could reduce her carbon footprint on the world.
She sincerely hopes that the Saree Library would encourage people to reuse what they have been storing in their closets, and be part of the sharing economy to help and support other women.