The whole 9 yards...

"What's with men and sarees??!!!", they exclaimed, in unison. Here's my take:

A saree is an intrinsically graceful and elegant piece of clothing.
Thus,it endows the wearer with greater grace and elegance, at least, that's how it's perceived. (Assuming, one can carry it off without being awkward).

There is a greater sense of perceived maturity associated with a woman wearing a saree.

Now, who doesn't love grace, elegance and maturity, right? :)

Most Indian men like Indian women. The saree brings out the Indianness of a desi woman far more than a skirt (I love seeing women in those too, but then that would be a digression!) or a pair of jeans. Never underestimate the appeal/power of the 'ethnic factor'.

And, finally, it's also about demand and supply. How often do you see a pleasant looking twenty something woman wearing a saree? As is the wont of our generation, women prefer the comfort/flexibility/ease of slipping into a pair of jeans to wearing a saree (not that they look any less attractive when they wear jeans). Thus, the less you see them in a saree, the more you crave it/them.

And, that's why, the sight of a lovely young Indian woman wearing a saree tends to warm the cockles of many an Indian man's heart.

That being said, for the record, I find women wearing a salwar kameez as appealing as those that wear sarees(all other factors remaining same/comparable).

On a tangent:

My mum always says - a saree is one twisted (no pun intended) piece of clothing.

One can wear it in the most conservative and elegant fashion and cover every inch.
However, a saree also lends itself easily to creativity, whereby one can find every 'window' of opportunity to tease. There is a thin line between being alluring and going overboard when flaunting curves. That middle path, is probably the best and perhaps the toughest to attain.

Thoughts...?