A Non-Indian Parent’s Guide to Indian Children’s Clothing

As an African-American woman married to an Indian man whose parents are originally from Northern India, I was clueless about Indian clothing. And when it came time to meet my husband’s parents for the first time I had to go shopping for my first Indian outfit. With my husband, then boyfriend as my “wing girl” and after calling for back up from an Indian girlfriend, I found a salwar kameez to wear for the occasion. Since that time I created the Non-Indian Woman’s Guide to Indian Clothing to help those of you like myself that want to understand what size you wear in ready-made Indian clothing. This is outside of custom order attire or lehengas in which you have to know or take your measurements for the blouse.

And now as a Mom to a 2.5-year-old biracial, blindian child I again had no clue about what size salwar kameez or dress to purchase for our daughter to attend her first Indian wedding at ten months old. Since that time I have come to understand the ins and outs of Indian children’s clothing. Indian children’s clothing is not similar to the U.S or U.K. kids clothing sizes. Hence, this is a basic guidebook for Moms and Dads that have children that are biracial and/or attend or will be attending an Indian festivity and want to know what size clothing their child should wear for the occasion.

Our daughter, Amaya in a salwar kameez at 10 months old.

Indian Children’s Clothing Guide

Child’s Age          US Clothing Size     UK Clothing Size    Indian Clothing Size
6 months -1 yr            6m-12m          6m-12m                            14
1 year old                      12m-18m              18m                            16
1 -2 year old                 18m-24m            24m                             18
2 – 3 year old                2T-3T                   2-3                             20-21
3 – 4 year old                3T-4-T                 3-4                               22
4 – 5 year old                 5                           4-5                               24
6 – 7 year old                6-7                        5-6                              26-27
7 – 8 year old                7-8                         7-8                               28
8 – 9 year old                9-10                      8-9                               30
9 – 10 year old                10                        9-10                            32-33
10 – 11 year old               11                        10-11                            34
11 -12 year old                12                       11-12                            36
13-14 year old                 14                       13-14                          38-39

Salwar Kameez

Below is what girl’s Salwar Kameez looks like.  The pants for the Salwar Kameez suit is traditionally a drawstring or half elastic with a zipper and hooks.  This Salwar Kameez is available at Amazon.

Lehenga

Below is what a Girl’s Lehenga looks like.  This lehenga is available at Amazon.

Boy’s Kurta Pyjama

Below is what a boy’s kurta pyjama looks like.  This boy’s kurta pyjama is available at Amazon.

When To Wear What

For girls: Salwar Kameez are for less formal events like birthday parties while Lehengas are for more formal occasions such as a wedding.For For boys: the Kurta Pyjama is all-purpose, and it comes with a dupatta (scarf).

Accessories

For girls: bangles, earrings, and a tika can be worn with an Indian outfit to an event.

Indian Bangles

These bangles are available at Amazon.

Tika

Tika’s are worn on the forehead for decorative purposes.  This assortment of Tika’s are available at Amazon.

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