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Clothing in India

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Clothing In India

Clothing in India varies from region to region depending on the ethnicity,

geography, climate and cultural traditions of the people of that region.

Historically, men and

women clothing has evolved

from simple Langotas, and

loincloths to cover the body

to elaborate costumes not

only used in daily wear but

also on festive occasions as

well as rituals and dance

performances. In urban

areas, western clothing is

common and uniformly

worn by people of all strata.

India also has a great

diversity in terms of weaves,

fibers, colours and material

of clothing. Colour codes are

followed in clothing based

on the religion and ritual

concerned. For instance,

Hindu ladies wear white

clothes to indicate

mourning, while Parsis and

Christians wear white to

weddings

History

India's recorded history of clothing goes back to the 5th millennium BC in

the Indus Valley civilization where cotton was spun, woven and dyed.

Bone needles and wooden spindles have been unearthed in excavations at

the site. The cotton industry in ancient India was well developed, and

several of the methods survive until today. Herodotus, an ancient Greek

historian described Indian cotton as "a wool exceeding in beauty and

goodness that of sheep". Indian cotton clothing was well adapted to the

dry, hot summers of the subcontinent. The grand epic Mahabharata,

estimated to be written between 3000-4000 BC, has a mention of an

uneding saree gifted to Draupadi to protect her dignity. Most of the present

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knowledge of ancient Indian clothing comes from rock sculptures and

paintings in cave monuments such as Ellora. These images show dancers

and goddesses wearing what appears to be a dhoti wrap, a predecessor to

the modern sari.The upper castes dressed themselves in fine muslin and

wore gold ornaments. The Indus civilisation also knew the process of silk

production. Recent analysis of Harappan silk fibres in beads have shown

that silk was made by the process of reeling, a process known only to

China until the early centuries AD.

According to the Greek historian Arrian

"The Indians use linen clothing, as says Nearchus, made from the flax

taken from the trees, about which I have already spoken. And this flax is

either whiter in colour than any other flax, or the people being black make

the flax appear whiter. They have a linen frock reaching down halfway

between the knee and the ankle, and a garment which is partly thrown

round the shoulders and partly rolled round the head. The Indians who

are very well-off wear earrings of ivory; for they do not all wear them.

Nearchus says that the Indians dye their beards various colours; some that

they may appear white as the whitest, others dark blue; others have them

red, others purple, and others green. Those who are of any rank have

umbrellas held over them in the summer. They wear shoes of white leather,

elaborately worked, and the soles of their shoes are many-coloured and

raised high, in order that they may appear taller."

A variety of weaving techniques were employed in ancient India, many of

which survive to the present day. Silk and cotton were woven into various

designs and motifs, each region developing its distinct style and technique.

Famous among these weaving styles were the Jamdani, Kasika vastra of

Varanasi, butidar and the Ilkal saree. with gold and silver threads and were

deeply influenced by Persian designs. The Mughals played a vital role in

the enhancement of the art, and the paisley and Latifa Buti are fine

examples of Mughal influence

Dyeing of clothes in ancient India was practised as an art form. Five

primary colours (Suddha-varnas) were identified and complex colours

(Misra – varnas) were categorised by their many hues. Sensitivity was

shown to the most subtlest of shades; the ancient treatise,

Vishnudharmottara states five tones of white, namely Ivory, Jasmine,

August moon, August clouds after the rain and the conch shell and

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safflower. prevalent in India since the second millennium BC were the

chief exports.

Integral to the history of Indian clothing is the Kashmiri shawl. Kashmiri

shawl varieties include the Shahtoosh, popularly known as the 'ring shawl'

and the pashmina wool shawls, historically called pashm. Textiles of wool

finds mention as long back as the Vedic times in association with Kashmir;

the Rig Veda refers to the Valley of Sindh as being abundant in

sheep,garments',mentioned in Afghan texts of the 3rd century BC, but

reference to the Kashmir work is done in the 16th century AD. The sultan

of Kashmir, Zain-ul-Abidin is generally credited with the founding of the

industry.purple pallium from a Persian king, made of Asian wool of the

finest quality.cochineal insects and purple obtained by a mixture of red

and blue from indigo using weaving spools with coloured thread called

kani and a single shawl taking more than a year for completion and

requiring 100 to 1500 kanis depending on the degree of elaboration.

Indian textiles were traded from ancient times with China, Southeast Asia

and the Roman Empire. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions

mallow cloth, muslins and coarse cottons.Port towns like Masulipatnam

and Barygaza won fame for its production of muslins and fine cloth. Trade

with the Arabs who were middlemen in the spice trade between India and

Europe brought Indian textiles into Europe, where it was favored by

royalty in the 17th–18th century.French and British East India Companies

competed for monopoly of the spice trade in the Indian Ocean, but were

posed with the problem of payment for spices, which was in gold or silver.

To counter this problem, bullion was sent to India to trade for the textiles,

a major portion of which were subsequently traded for spices in other trade

posts, which then were traded along with the remaining textiles in London.

Printed Indian calicos, chintz, muslins and patterned silk flooded the

English market and in time the designs were copied onto imitation prints

by English textile manufacturers, reducing the dependence on India.

The British rule in India and the subsequent oppression following the

Bengal Partition sparked a nationwide Swadeshi movement. One of the

integral aims of the movement was to attain self-sufficiency, and to

promote Indian goods while boycotting British goods in the market.was

idealised in the production of Khadi. Khadi and its products were

encouraged by the nationalist leaders over British goods, while also being

seen as a means to empower the rural artisans

In India, woman's clothing varies widely and is closely associated with the

local culture, religion and climate.

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Traditional Indian clothing for women in the north and east are saris or

ghagra cholis and (lehengas) while many south Indian women traditionally

wear sari and children wear pattu langa. Saris made out of silk are

considered the most elegant. Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, is one

of India's fashion capitals.In many rural parts of India, traditional clothing

is worn. Women wear a sari, a long sheet of colourful cloth, draped over a

simple or fancy blouse. Little girls wear a pavada. Both are often patterned.

Bindi is a part of women's make-up. Indo-western clothing is the fusion of

Western and Subcontinental fashion. Churidar, dupatta, Khara Dupatta,

gamchha, kurta, mundum neriyathum, sherwani are among other clothes.

The traditional style of clothing in India varies with male or female

distinctions. This is still followed in the rural areas, though is changing in

the urban areas. Girls before puberty wear a long skirt (called

langa/paawada in Andhra) and a short blouse, called a choli, above it.

Traditional clothing

Sari

A saree or sari is a female garment in

the Indian subcontinent. A sari is a

strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from

four to nine meters in length, that is

draped over the body in various styles.

There are various traditional styles of

saree: Sambalpuri Saree from East,

Kanchipuram from South, Paithani

from West and Banarasi from North

among others. The most common

style is for the sari to be wrapped

around the waist, with one end then

draped over the shoulder baring the

midriff. The sari is usually worn over

a petticoat. Blouse may be "backless"

or of a halter neck style. These are

usually more dressy with a lot of

embellishments such as mirrors or embroidery and may be worn on special

occasions. Women in the armed forces, when wearing a sari uniform, don

a half-sleeve shirt tucked in at the waist. Teenage girls wear half-sarees, a

three piece set consisting of a langa, a choli and a stole wrapped over it

like a saree. Women usually wear full sarees.

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Saris are usually known with different names in different places. In Kerala,

white saris with golden border, are known as kavanis and are worn on

special occasions. A simple white sari, worn as a daily wear, is called a

mundu. Saris are called pudavai in Tamil Nadu. In Karnataka, saris are

called kupsas

Ghagra Choli (lehenga choli)

A Ghagra Choli or a Lehenga

Choli is the traditional clothing

of women in Rajasthan and

Gujarat. Punjabis also wear

them and they are used in some

of their folk dances. It is a

combination of lehenga, a tight

choli and an odhani. A lehenga

is a form of a long skirt which is

pleated. It is usually

embroidered or has a thick

border at the bottom. A choli is

a blouse shell garment, which is

cut to fit to the body and has

short sleeves and a low neck.

Different styles of ghagra cholis

are worn by the women, ranging

from a simple cotton lehenga

choli as a daily wear, a

traditional ghagra with mirrors

embellished usually worn

during navratri for the garba

dance or a fully embroidered

lehenga worn during marriage

ceremonies by the bride.

Popular among unmarried

women other than shalwar kameez are Gagra choli and Langa voni

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Salwar Kameez

Salwar is a generic description of

the lower garment incorporating

the Sindhi suthan, Dogri

pajamma and the Kashmiri

suthan.

The Salwar kameez is the

traditional wear of women in

Punjab, Haryana and Himachal

Pradesh. The suthan, similar to

the salwar is common in Sindh

and Kashmir. The salwar kameez

has become the most popular

dress for females. It consists of

loose trousers (the salwar)

narrow at the ankles, topped by a

tunic top (the kameez). It is

named as "Punjabi suit" or

simply "shalwar" in the north

and "churidaar" in Southern

India. Women generally wear a

dupatta or odani (Veil) with

salwar kameez to cover their head and shoulders. It is always worn with a

scarf called a dupatta, which is used to cover the head and drawn over the

bosom. The material for the dupatta usually depends upon that of the suit,

and is generally of cotton, georgette, silk, chiffon among others. This dress

is worn by almost every teenage girl in lieu of western clothes. The salwar

kameez is most common in the northwestern part of India. Many actresses

wear the salwar kameez in Bollywood movies.

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Churidaar Kurta

Churidaar is a version of salwar,

which is loose up to knees and then

fits the calf below. A salwar is a

baggy pyjama with pleats which

gets narrow at the ankles whereas

churidaar fits below the knees with

horizontal gathers near the ankles.

Usually a long kurta, which goes

below the knees, is worn with the

churidaar.

Pattu Pavadai/Reshme Langa

Pattu Pavadai or Langa davani is a

traditional dress in south India and

Rajasthan, usually worn by teenage

and small girls. The pavada is a cone-

shaped garment, usually of silk, that

hangs down from the waist to the toes.

It normally has a golden border at the

bottom.

Girls in south India often wear pattu

pavadai or Langa davani during

traditional functions. Girls in

Rajasthan wears this dress before

marriage (and after marriage with

sight modification in certain section

of society. )

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Langa - Voni/Dhavani

This is a type of South Indian dress

mainly worn in Andhra Pradesh and

Tamil Nadu also in some parts of Kerala

and Karnataka. This dress is a 3- piece

apparel where Langa or Lehanga is the

cone shaped long flowing skirt

Mundum Neriyathum

Mundum Neriyathum is the oldest remnant of the ancient form of the saree

which covered only the lower part of the body, a traditional dress of

women in Kerala, South India. The basic traditional piece is the mundu or

lower garment which is the ancient form of the saree denoted in

Malayalam as 'Thuni' (meaning cloth), while the neriyathu forms the upper

garment the mundu

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Mekhela Sador

Mekhela Sador

(Assamese) is the

traditional Assamese

dress worn by women. It

is worn by women of all

ages.

There are three main

pieces of cloth that are

draped around the body.

The bottom portion,

draped from the waist

downwards is called the

Mekhela. It is in the form

of a sarong—very wide

cylinder of cloth—that is

folded into pleats to fit

around the waist and

tucked in. The folds are to

the right, as opposed to the

pleats in the Nivi style of

the saree, which are

folded to the left. Strings

are never used to tie the

mekhela around the waist,

though an underskirt with

a string is often used.

The top portion of the three-piece dress, called the Sador, is a long length

of cloth that has one end tucked into the upper portion of the Mekhela and

the rest draped over and around the rest of the body. The Sador is tucked

in triangular folds. A fitted blouse is worn to cover the breasts.

The third piece is called a Riha, which is worn under the Sador. It is narrow

in width. This traditional dress of the Assamese women are very famous

for their exclusive patterns on the body and the border. Women wear them

during important religious and ceremonious occasions of marriage. Riha

is worn exactly like a Sador and is used as Orni.

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Traditional Men’s Clothing - India

For men, traditional clothes are the Sherwani, Lungi, Kurta and Dhoti or

Pajama. Also, most recently Pant and shirt have also been accepted as

traditional Indian dress by the Government

of India

Dhoti

A dhoti is from four to six feet long white or

colour strip of cotton. This traditional attire

is mainly worn by men in villages. It is held

in place by a style of wrapping and

sometimes with the help of a belt,

ornamental and embroidered or a flat and

simple one, around the waist.

In south India men also wear long, white

sarong like sheets of cloth known as Mundu.

Its called dhotar in Marathi. In north and

central Indian languages like Hindi, and

Oriya, these are called Mundu, while in

Telugu they are called Pancha, in Tamil they

are called veshti and in Kannada it is called

Panche/Lungi. Over the dhoti, men wear

shirts.

Panche or Lungi

A Lungi, also known as sarong, is a traditional garment of India. A Mundu

is a lungi except that, it is always white. It is either tucked in, over the

waist, up to knee-length or is allowed to lie over and reach up to the ankle.

It is usually tucked in when the person is working, in fields or workshops,

and left open usually as a mark of respect, in worship places or when the

person is around dignitaries.

Lungis, generally, are of two types: the open lungi and the stitched lungi.

The open lungi is a plain sheet of cotton or silk, whereas, the stitched one

has both of its open ends stitched together to form a tube like structure.

Though mostly worn by men, elderly women also prefer lungi to other

garments owing to its good aeration. It is mostly popular in south India,

though people of Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and

Somalia also can be seen in lungis, because of the heat and humidity,

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which create an unpleasant climate for trousers, though trousers have now

become common outside the house.

Sherwani

A Sherwani is a long coat / jacket that usually

sports exposed buttons through the length of the

placket. The length is usually just below the

knees and the jacket ends around high on the

calf. The jacket has a Nehru collar, which is a

collar that stands up. The Sherwani is worn with

tight fitting pants or trousers called churidars.

Churidars are trousers that are loose around the

hips and thighs, but are tight and gathered

around the ankle. Sherwani is usually worn

during the wedding ceremonies by the groom

and is usually cream, light ivory, or gold

coloured. It may be embroidered with gold or

silver. A scarf called a dupatta is sometimes

added to the sherwani.

Headgear

The Indian turban or the pagri is worn in many regions in the country,

incorporating various styles and designs depending on the place. Other

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types of headgear such as the Taqiyah and Gandhi cap are worn by

different communities within the country to signify a common ideology or

interest.

Dastar

The Dastar, also known as

pagri, is a turban worn by the

Sikh community of India. Is

a symbol of faith

representing values such as

valour, honour and

spirituality among others. It

is worn to protect the Sikh's

long, uncut hair, the Kesh

which is one of the Five Ks

of Sikhism. Over the years,

the dastar has evolved into

different styles pertaining to

the various sects of Sikhism

such as the Nihang and the Namdhari.

Pheta

Pheta is the Marathi name for turbans worn in the state of Maharashtra. Its

usually worn during traditional ceremonies and occasions. It was a

mandatory part of clothing in the past and have evolved into various styles

in different regions. The main types are the Puneri Pagadi, Kolhapuri and

Mawali pheta

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Mysore Peta

Originally worn by the kings of

Mysore during formal meeting

in durbar and in ceremonial

processions during festivals, and

meeting with foreign dignitaries,

the Mysore peta has come to

signify the cultural tradition of

the Mysore and Kodagu district.

The Mysore University replaced

the conventional mortarboard

used in graduation ceremonies

with the traditional peta

Rajasthani pagari

Turbans in Rajasthan are called pagari. They are distinctive in style and

colour, and indicate the caste, social class and region of the wearer. In the

hot and dry regions, turbans are large and loose. The paggar is traditional

in Mewar while the

safa is to Marwar.

The colour of the

pagaris have special

importance and so

does the pagari itself.

In the past, saffron

stood for valour and

chivalry. A white

turban stood for

mourning. The

exchange of a turban

meant undying

friendship

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Gandhi cap

The Gandhi cap, a white coloured cap made of khadi was popularised by

Mahatma Gandhi during the Indian independence movement. The practice

of wearing a Gandhi cap was carried on even after independence and

became a symbolic tradition for politicians and social activists. The cap

has been worn throughout history in many states such as Gujarat,

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and is still worn by many

people without political significance. In 2013, the cap regained its political

symbolism through the Aam Aadmi Party, which flaunted Gandhi caps

with "I am a Common Man" written over it. This was partly influenced by

the "I Am Anna" caps used during Anna Hazare's Lokpal movement.

During the Delhi Legislative Assembly election, 2013, these caps led to a

scuffle between Aam Aadmi Party and Congress workers, based on the

reasoning that Gandhi caps were being used for political benefits.

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Fashion in India

India is a country with an ancient clothing design tradition, yet an

emerging fashion industry. Though a handful of designers existed prior to

the 1980s, the late 80s and the 1990s saw a spurt of growth. This was the

result of increasing exposure to global fashion and the economic boom

after the economic liberalization of the Indian economy in 1990. The

following decades firmly established fashion as an the industry, across

India

Post-independence: Ethnic revival and Bollywood fashion

History of clothing in India, dates back of ancient times, yet fashion in a

new industry, as it was the traditional Indian clothings with regional

variations, be it sari, ghagra choli or dhoti, that remained popular till early

decades of post-independence India. A common form of the Indian fashion

originates from the Western culture. Fashion includes a series of sequins

and gold thread to attract customers and apply a statement to the Indian

fashion community. A famous Indian fashion trademark is embroidery, a

art of sewing distinct thread patterns. A way to include the traditional look

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and create a new fashion statement includes embroidery applied to

different dresses, skirts, shirts, and pants to reflect the western culture

influence as well as include the Indian tradition. As a part of larger revival

movement in the Indian textile industry, Ritu Kumar, a Kolkata-based

designer and textile print-expert started working on reviving the traditional

hand block printing techniques of Bengal, and making it a part of the

fashion industry, established "ethnic chic". She opened her first boutique

in Delhi in 1966. In 1973, she first showcased the Zardozi embroidery in

his garments, which had its origins in the royal costumes dating back to

the Mughal era. This led to the revival of this lost art. In time embroidery

became prominent feature of Indian wedding attires, and also one of the

biggest fashion exports.[3][4] This was period of revival, where various

organisations, NGOs and indicuals were involved in reviving traditional

Indian techniques, in weaving, prining, dyeing or embroidery, including

ikat, patola (double-ikat), bandhani (tie & dye) and shisha (mirror

embroidery).

An early trendsetter in fashion was

Bollywood (Hindi cinema), where

costume designers like Bhanu Athaiya,

started experimenting with film fashion in

the 1960s. Athaiya started working on

period costumes in Sahib Bibi Aur

Ghulam (1962) and Amrapali (1966),

though went on to introduce varied trends

through Teesri Manzil (1966), Chalte

Chalte (1976), Karz (1980) and Chandni

(1989). These were soon followed by the

mass market. Also situations and themes

in Indian cinema became westernised

making way for the display of diverse

fashion. Over the years, popular

Bollywood trends have been the

Madhubala's Anarkali-look with kurtas and churidars in Mughal-e-Azam

(1960), purple embroidered sari worn by Madhuri Dixit in Hum Aapke

Hain Koun...! (1994), to Rani Mukherji's short kurti-suits in Bunty Aur

Babli (2005), Veer Zaara suits and blouses from Parineeta. This comes

besides various fashion interpretation of the sari in films like Chandni

(1989) with Sridevi, Main Hoon Naa (2004) with Sushmita Sen and

Dostana (2008) with Priyanka Chopra, which became fashion trends.

However, in the recent decades, with increasing exposure to the West, its

influence is no longer as strong as in the previous decades, by the 2000s,

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with rise in Indian diaspora around the world and the non-resident Indians,

Bollywood continues to

exert far greater

influence on the fashion

sensibilities amongst

Indians around the

world.

Post-1990s boom

By early 1980s, the first

generation of Indian

fashion designers started

cropping up, including

Satya Paul. However,

it was Rohit Khosla

(1958–1994), who

became a pioneer in

fashion industry, when

we founded co-founded

Ensemble" in 1987, with

Tarun Tahiliani, Abu

Jani-Sandeep Khosla

and others. Though, the

"Anarkali-style" has

been around ever since,

it was first popularized

after Mughal-e-Azam

(1969), it was Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla, who inspired by costumes of

Mughal courtesans and Meena Kumari's costumes in Pakeezah (1975),

introduced the floor-length Anarkali-style of churidaar-kurta in 1988,

which soon became the Indian version of the ball gown. In 1986, Ministry

of Textiles, Government of India opened the National Institute of Fashion

Technology (NIFT) in Delhi with the help of the Fashion Institute of

Technology, New York. It played an important role in bringing in locally

trained fashion designers. By 2010, it had developed 15 branches across

India, and smaller private fashion institutions had also developed.in 1991

The Apparel Training and Design Centre has intiated by Ministry if

Textiles to empower the shop floor Vocational Training

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Soon in 1990,

economic

liberalization of

the Indian

economy took

place, which

also propelled

the fashion

industry. In the

coming decade,

fashion industry

experienced a

boom, both in

terms of volume

and trends.

Designer

Suneet Varma, inspired by his corsetry-training in France, introduced

indo-western, metal breast plate, followed by the "Corset blouse" in 1992,

made with satin, polyester taffeta or stretch lace, it was designed to replace

the traditional choli, or Indian-blouse worn with a sari. In the its early

years, the 1980s, Indian designer largely focussed on haute couture,

however in the next decade saw a growth in the domestic retail industry,

as well as an influx outsourced garment business from the western

countries. This meant better quality and larger manufacturing facilities

available locally. Together, these reason spurred many Indian designers to

start their prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) lines

"God-printed T-shirts" were introduced by Manish Arora in 1997, along

with Indian kitsch and street art in saturated colours on to

fashionwear.Another important reinvention was made in 1998 by Monisha

Jaisingh, who shortened the traditional kurta to develop, the kurti, and

became popular worldwide as "Indian embroidered tunic". Also in the

same year, Fashion Design Council of India was established, which later

started the India Fashion Week in Delhi, to promote Indian designers and

manufacturers. In 2000, another Bollywood costume designer, Manish

Malhotra became an important influence on Indian fashion. Having

designed the trendy looks for actresses Urmila Matondkar in Rangeela

(1995) and Karisma Kapoor in Raja Hindustani (1996), introduced the

"cocktail sari" in 2000. Using pastel colours, and fabrics like chiffon, satin

or net, it revived the traditional sari in a modern avatar. He was in turn

inspired by the popular Bollywood saris of the ’1960s and the chiffon saris

worn by actress in Yash Chopra films, like Chandni (1989). This also

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started another era of Bollywood fashion influence and its collaboration

with leading designers, besides leading actor and actresses occasionally

walking the ramp for some designers.

By 2009, the Indian fashion industry, despite the ongoing recession, was

worth INR2.9 billion (US$48 million).[12] Also in the same year, Manish

Arora, known for his quirky-kitsch, became the first Indian designer to

participate in the Paris Fashion Week.

Source: Wikipedia

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