Sarongs have been adorned by women throughout India, Southeast Asia, and Africa for centuries, but the Western world has only recently discovered the sheer pleasure of wearing this extremely versatile swath of fabric. This simple rectangle of fabric brings with it a world of wearability options, making it a must-have in any wardrobe, especially with the summer season fast approaching.
To enjoy your sarong to the fullest, you need to have an idea of how many ways it can be tied, worn, and styled. In this post, you’ll learn how to tie a sarong, so you can get the most out of this humble piece of fabric.
The Side Tie Skirt
If you’ve ever tied a beach blanket around your waist, then you already know who to wear a sarong in this style. But if you haven’t, then here’s how to do it:
- Fold the sarong in half to make a triangle.
- Wrap the sarong around your waist and tie two of the points together over your hip.
The Strapless Dress
This option should also be familiar to you if you’ve ever wrapped yourself in a beach blanket. To turn your sarong into a strapless dress, do the following steps:
- Hold the sarong lengthwise and wrap it around your back.
- Tie the top two corners of the sarong together in front of your chest, making sure to knot the fabric as closely as possible to your chest.
The Halter Dress
A sarong makes for the perfect halter dress at a fraction of the price. And unlike the halter dresses you can buy off the rack, a sarong can be worn as a halter dress in three different styles. The first way to wear a sarong as a halter dress follows these steps:
- Hold the sarong lengthwise and wrap it around your back, so its top edge is under your arms.
- Bring two ends up and cross them over each other.
- Bring the ends behind your neck and tie them into a knot.
The next style of halter dress is the Twisted Halter, which follows the same two first steps above. Then, the third step is to twist the two ends around one another in front of your chest as many times as you’d like (at least two to three times) before knotting the remaining fabric behind your neck.
The third variation of the halter dress is also considered a Twisted Halter, but for this version the third step involves tightly twisting each end (like you would a strand of hair). Once you have both ends fully twisted, bring both ends around the back of your neck and tie them into a knot.
The One-Shoulder Dress
The One-Shoulder Dress is a fun and easy way to turn a sarong into a fashion statement at the beach or poolside. To learn how to tie a sarong in this way, follow these steps:
- Hold the sarong horizontally and loop it under one arm.
- Knot the top two corners of the fabric above the opposite shoulder.
- Grab the sarong at the front and back of your body near your waist or hips and tie the fabric into a knot at your side.
The Open-Front Cardigan
Who knew a sarong could double as an open-front cardigan? And best of all, this is one of the easiest ways to wear it! It’s just two steps:
- Hold the sarong lengthwise and drape the fabric evenly over your shoulders.
- Take the top two corners of the fabric and wrap them behind your back.
The Side Slit Dress
The Side Slit Dress is a great way to wear your sarong while at the beach or relaxing outside in the backyard. And wearing it this way couldn’t be any easier. All you need to do is:
- Hold the sarong vertically behind your back.
- Tie the top two ends of the fabric into a knot in front of your chest.
- Grab the sarong at the front and back of your body near your waist or hips, bring the two pieces together in front of your waist, and tie the fabric into a knot.
- Twist the waist knot to one side, so the bottom slit runs along the side of your leg.
The Sweetheart Dress
The Sweetheart Dress is probably the most complex way to wear a sarong, but it’s still incredibly easy to achieve this look. To learn how to wear a sarong as a sweetheart dress, simply do the following:
- Hold the sarong horizontally and wrap the fabric around your back.
- Pull the top two corners of the fabric across your front.
- Twist the corners around one another once, so each corner is oriented toward the side it started on.
- Pull the fabric tight and wrap the corners under your bust and around your back, then tie the ends into a knot to keep everything in place.
Now that you know who to tie a sarong in so many fun and creative ways, all you need to do now is to add one to your wardrobe. Shop online at JamesPaulCheung.com for the best selection of premium sarongs and scarves. Get your sarong today, so you have it in time for beachcombing season!