Center for the Built Environment

The sari is everyday attire for most women throughout the year all across South-Asia. It is a versatile ensemble because, a single set of garments can provide different levels of insulation just by changing the drape. 

We tested three Indian ensembles of saris (for four drapes) with a thermal manikin following ISO: 9920 protocols. The insulation on all the sixteen body parts and the whole-body were recorded. This provides information for advanced thermal comfort modelling needing clothing insulation at segmentation level.

The sari offered a wide range of insulation (0.94 to 0.62) for a given set of garments. Winter ensembles provided 1.11 – 1.39 clo while the summer and monsoon ensembles had 0.62 – 0.96 clo.