ABDF

Hi there.

I thought I’d write a general letter on what kind of clothes to bring if/when you come to Sri Lanka. You’ll notice that women, unfortunately, bear the majority of cautions and dont's. Sorry, but that’s the way it is.

First and foremost, PACK LIGHT. You will need far less than you think. I do laundry every other day. First, because I didn’t bring a lot of clothes, second, laundry is done in a plastic basin and is thus a pain in the ass; doubly so if you have a lot. So for example, I’m doing 8 months with two pairs of pants (although I admit it would be nice to have a third), eight shirts, five pairs of socks, and a half dozen pair of underwear. If you come for a month, you’ll need less.

In general I recommend cotton or a cotton blend. Synthetics tend not to breathe and so you’ll end up swimming in your sweat. Plus some of them require special washing care. Bring stuff that you can wash and hang out to dry. Light cotton dries pretty fast.

In terms of colors I suggest medium colors. White is coolest to wear, but a bitch to keep clean and we all know that everything shows up on white. I have found bleach (Clorox) here. Dark colors like black tend to attract mosquitoes and other nasties. Plus they are extremely hot in the sunlight. So medium colors are a happy compromise between cleanliness (or the appearance of it anyway) and comfort.

Unless you know that you’ll be attending some special function, I recommend leaving dress clothes behind.

At the risk of stating the obvious, don’t bring any coats or sweaters. Except at high altitudes like Nuwara Eliya at night, it never gets cool enough for us Westerners to think it’s chilly.

So here we go, from top to bottom:

Hats. If you bring one, bring only one. Make sure it’s crushable and washable. I suspect a baseball cap would be best. I didn’t bring anything and so far I’m fine with it, as I spend a lot of time in the shade or indoors. If I’m going to be in the sun for a while, for example during a walk, I use an umbrella. True, you only see women using umbrellas in the sun, but what do I care what people think? They probably think I’m trying to preserve my beautifully pasty, sexy pallor. Foreigners are always a little odd, anyway.

Shirts/tops.

Men: I wear mostly collared short sleeve shirts. Tee shirts are OK, but considered casual and might not be appropriate in certain settings. For example, if you go to dinner at someone’s house, it’s polite to have a collar. I don’t recommend long sleeves as they are hot. But bring them if you’re worried about mosquitoes.

Women: In Sri Lanka and India it is considered provocative to show the shoulders. Therefore only bring blouses that cover the shoulders. If you do bring a sun dress or wear spaghetti straps, bring or buy a scarf to cover your shoulders. In fact, an extra scarf is always a good thing to have handy, in case you go into a mosque or other place where they ask you to cover your head; certain Hindu temples do this as well. You can buy lots of beautiful scarves here if you like. Short sleeves are fine; it’s the shoulder that is sexy. Don’t wear anything that shows off too much décollage; you will be constantly stared at. This doesn’t mean you should wear Victorian collars either; just cover the twins up in a loose blouse or shirt. And always wear a bra.

Pants/skirts

Men: If you must bring shorts, only bring one pair. In Sri Lanka and India, shorts are really only worn by boys, manual laborers, or the very rich trying to be Western. You will get more respect if you wear pants. I suggest cotton kaki type pants, as they are easiest to wash and dry and ideally have lots of pockets with buttons. Tight pants are seen as provocative, and are hot and uncomfortable when you sweat anyway. Keep ‘em loose.

Women: Pants are acceptable, but only because you are a foreigner. If you wear pants, make sure they are loose, not tight. Same with shorts, but make sure they are long and baggy; no short-shorts or anything tight. I recommend you don’t bother with either pants or shorts, unless you have a specific reason for bringing them, and bring dresses or skirts. The tops of the dresses should conform to the shoulder rule, and length for everything should be below the knee. Anything above and you’ll receive lots of unwanted attention. Sri Lanka has a ton of gorgeous, exotic fabrics; most Western women I know bring only a couple of skirts and have a bunch made here. It’s cheap and fun to do.

A word on denim. Denim is not just durable, but very fashionable. It’s also really difficult to wash (the weight) and takes a long time to dry (the thickness and weave). I recommend not bringing jeans; the cool factor just isn’t worth the time and labor it takes to maintain them. You do see rich Sri Lankans wearing denim; but they are rich and have servants to do their wash. You probably won’t.

Underwear. The only thing I can recommend is that it be breathable; you’re going to sweat a lot. Anything made of delicate fabrics or requiring special care won’t last very long. Be practical.

Don’t go commando; what with all the sweat it’s easy to get chaffing, rashes, and fungi if you can’t keep your nether region dry.

Socks. I really recommend bringing some. Yes, it’s hotter; yes, it means more to wash; and yes, you’ll look like a German tourist in your socks and sandals. But mosquitoes seem to love feet, and socks will prevent them biting. They also help prevent drying and cracking of the heels, and keep your feet clean. Again, I suggest durable, washable, breathable cotton. Barefoot is the norm here, and socks are cause for great merriment. I usually barefoot it during the day, and put on the socks at sundown.

Footwear. Assuming you’re not doing anything outdoorsy or athletic like camping or hiking, you really won’t need shoes. Well, if you want to lug them around, just bring one pair. You must bring a pair of sandals. They are much cooler than regular shoes. Also, when entering any type of religious building, and always when you enter someone’s house, you leave your footwear at the door. Thus sandals are much more convenient. A word of advice learned the hard way: fancy sandals with Velcro and buckles and all that are a real pain when you’re putting your sandals on and taking them off all day long. I highly suggest sandals that you can slip in and out of easily. Do you know what the most popular form of footwear is in Sri Lanka? Flip-flops! Yup those cheap rubber things we wear around the pool. I know people who wear nothing but flip-flops all their lives and it works perfectly well for them.

Ladies, do not bring anything with heels, no matter how low or wide they may be. You will twist your ankle. Flats only.

Swimwear. Men can wear pretty much what they like; I’ve seen locals in everything from baggy shorts to their bikini underwear. Ladies, however, must be circumspect. Sri Lankan women who go into the water go fully clothed, usually in Punjabis, which are those baggy pant and tunic combinations. I do not recommend women wear bikinis. One-piece bathing costumes are OK, just bring a sarong or scarf to cover up when going in and out of the water. Either way, you’ll get looks. It’s inevitable in all but the most touristy of beaches.

Pajamas/nightgowns. Sri Lanka is pretty hot and humid, even at night. Except up in the Hill Country, I’ve never known it to go below 79 degrees. Bring ‘jammies if you feel you can handle them. I sleep under a net, and am coolest wearing just a pair of big, baggy, soft, all-cotton boxer shorts. You almost never sleep under any kind of covering; it’s just too hot, so wear something that you wouldn’t be embarrassed being seen in; for women I might recommend a big tee-shirt and baggy men’s boxers. Cotton, of course.

Misc stuff.

Makeup. Leave it all home, unless you’re going to some fancy-schmancy event. Most women here don’t wear makeup, and it will be noticed if you do. As a Westerner you are granted more leeway than a Sri Lankan would, but why push it? I mean, you’re gonna sweat it all off within an hour anyway. And we all know how attractive that looks.

Hair products. Again, don’t bother bringing them. Sri Lanka is dusty and has insects; stuff in your hair will only catch both.

Sarongs. Men wear them, women don’t. As a female Westerner you can, but it’s a little odd.

Purses/handbags. Ladies, you can bring one if you like; wealthier Sri Lankan women often carry them. But the truth is they aren’t practical, being just one more thing to carry around and worry about while traveling. I suggest that you bring clothes with pockets that button, and keep what little you will need in them. By this I mean your passport and your money; on a typical day you probably won’t need to carry anything else. Or have your male companion carry them for you if you’re going to be together all day. If you must bring a handbag, bring a big one in which you can put all sorts of handy things like sunscreen or baby wipes and has zippers (not snaps – too easy). In other words, make it a small piece of luggage. But be aware that your companions might take advantage of this and load you down…

Money belts. I find them to be more trouble than they’re worth. There’s nothing more awkward than standing in some little roadside shop, unbuttoning your pants or feeling around your shirt. I keep all that I might need in my wallet in my front pocket. If you wear kakis there is often more than one pocket, hopefully with buttons. Don’t carry anything in your rear pockets. Ladies should also avoid money belts, as groping either above or below will elicit stares hoping for a glimpse of something thrilling. However if you must have a money belt, I suggest the kind that goes around the neck. I knew one woman who used one of those small Indian fabric purses on a string. She wore it slung over one shoulder, across her body, with the bag at her hip, under her arm. Probably doesn’t work as well for ladies with bossoms on the generous side.

Fanny packs. Not only are these highly un-secure as well as obvious, they are a fashion abomination. Just don’t.

Umbrellas. It might be a good idea to bring one of those collapsible ones. It’s usually the rainy season somewhere in Sri Lanka; the west and east coasts are opposite of each other. And when it rains it really comes down. Umbrellas are also a huge relief in the sunlight. Although I’ve never priced them, I do know they are available here.

Clothes shopping here:

One of Sri Lanka’s main industries is textiles, although that’s now under threat from cheaper-labor countries such as India and China. There are lots of ready-made clothes here and they are surprisingly cheap. I priced men’s shirts at House of Fashion, Colombo’s biggest clothing store, and most of them were under $8. The trick is finding stuff that is both made of cotton AND attractive. Most of the clothes are pretty unexciting; in fact, I saw a shirt going for $5 that was from the US: it still had a Kohl’s Department Store price tag on it. Obviously no one in the US wanted it, and they shipped it over to Sri Lanka. I did see some nice linen shirts, though. But linen is really difficult to clean and keep wrinkle-free – just not practical for my situation here.

I noticed that there is very little for big fellas like me. Most Sri Lankans are on the thin side, and the clothes reflect this. For example, at House of Fashion, men’s pant sizes usually stopped at 36 or 38, and I only saw one type of pant that went to 40. But if you’re reasonably fit, most of the clothes should fit you.

Having clothes made:

There are lots of beautiful fabrics that could be used to make clothes. Higher-end sarong fabric is a good example of this. The problem is finding a good tailor. The cost of getting, say a women’s blouse, cut and sewn is incredibly cheap, but you often get what you pay for. The past experience of some of my lady friends here is that you have to be very specific and not assume the tailor knows what you want. For example, if you want a colorful border to be used for the sleeve or hem, you must say so; the aesthetic sensibilities of most tailors is non-existant; usually they do work-horse type of sewing and are not in a design frame of mind. And you must try everything on; one arm being longer than the other, or a collar sewn crooked, and so forth are not uncommon. Even bringing a sample piece does not guarantee a well-made garment. However, these self-same lady friends have said that they did have a good time, despite the frustrations, finding the fabrics, planning what they wanted, and dealing with the tailors. Of course they said this AFTER it was all over.

I hope you have found this information useful. So when do you come?