Over the coming weeks, The Daily Advertiser will highlight fashions from cultures that are thriving in Wagga, with women leading the way forward.

Geeta Parajuli said the traditional Nepali dress is the sari and chaubandi cholo.

"The sari is a five-metre long material that is folded into plaits and tucked into a long skirt with no plaits in it that we wear underneath to hold the material in place," she said. "The sari is wrapped in such a way to fit bodies of any size. Cholos and saris could be made out of any fabric, but Dhaka is unique to Nepal."

Ms Parajuli said she came to Australia to ensure her child received the best education.

"Though I am an Australian citizen, Nepal is always in my heart," she said. "I have lived here about 15 years, so I love Australia equally. I always love to wear our cultural costume to represent my country."

Ms Parajuli said her dress is made out of the original fabric that forms the basis of one of the most important small industries in Nepal.

"Chaubandi means closed in four points and there are no buttons," she said.

"Dhaka is a hand-woven fabric and the national hat, called topi, for men is also made out of the same material.

"Palpali Dhaka is woven in the Palpa district of western Nepal and is very famous and provides employment to the local community."

As well as the fabrics, there is a range of accessories used to add colour and signify relationship status in Nepalese culture.

On example is the choora, the glass bangles and all gold jewellery is 24-carat.

"The red on my hair partition is called sindoor, which is a sign of being married," Ms Parajuli said.

"We also put a red tika on [the] forehead.

"The golden necklace is called potey, the bunch of beads are called tilahari, which is another sign of being married. The husband will give the wife these items during the wedding ceremony."

Ms Parajuli said when a woman's husband dies, she is not supposed to wear the tilahari or sindoor.

The traditional outfit used to be the daily wear, especially for those in rural areas, until there were modifications.

"These days we only wear it on certain occasion like weddings and other festivals as it is very hard to carry while doing day-to-day chores," Ms Parajuli said.

"It is also time-consuming to put a sari on."

Ms Parajuli said she is proud of her heritage and the traditional dress that reminds her of Nepal's rich history.