Indian Clothing
Illustration of different styles of Sari & clothing worn by women in India.
Traditional
clothing in India greatly varies across different parts of the country
and is influenced immensely by local culture, geography and climate.
Popular styles of dress include draped garments such as sari for women
and dhoti or lungi for men; in addition, stitched clothes such as
churidar for women and kurta-pyjama and European-style trousers and
shirts for men, are also popular.
In
India, a person's social status is perceived to be symbolized by his or
her attire. Indian dress etiquette discourages exposure of skin and
wearing transparent or tight clothes.Most Indian clothes are made from
cotton which is ideal for the region's hot weather. Since India's
weather is mostly hot and rainy, majority of Indians wear sandals.
Worn
by women on their forehead, the bindi is considered to be a highly
auspicious mark in Hindu religion. Traditionally, the red bindi (or
sindoor) was worn only by the married Hindu women, but now it has become
a part of women's fashion. Some Indian traditions consider the bindi to
be representative of the third eye.
India's
clothing styles have continuously evolved over the course of the
country's history. Ancient Vedic texts mention clothes made from barks
and leaves (known as phataka). The 11th century BC Rig-veda mentions
dyed and embroidered garments (known as paridhan and pesas respectively)
and thus highlights the
development of sophisticated garment manufacturing techniques during the Vedic age. In 5th century BC, Greek historian Herodotus describes the richness of the quality of Indian cotton clothes. By 2nd century AD, muslins manufactured in southern India were imported by the Roman Empire and silk cloth was one of the major exports of ancient India along with Indian spices. Stitched clothing in India was developed before 10th century AD and was further popularized in 15th century by Muslim empires in India. Draped clothing styles remained popular with India's Hindu population while the Muslims increasingly adopted tailored garments.
development of sophisticated garment manufacturing techniques during the Vedic age. In 5th century BC, Greek historian Herodotus describes the richness of the quality of Indian cotton clothes. By 2nd century AD, muslins manufactured in southern India were imported by the Roman Empire and silk cloth was one of the major exports of ancient India along with Indian spices. Stitched clothing in India was developed before 10th century AD and was further popularized in 15th century by Muslim empires in India. Draped clothing styles remained popular with India's Hindu population while the Muslims increasingly adopted tailored garments.
During
the British Raj, India's large clothing and handicrafts industry was
left paralyzed so as to make place for British industrial cloth.
Consequently, Indian independence movement leader Mahatma Gandhi
successfully advocated for what he termed as khadi clothing — light
colored hand-woven clothes — so as to decrease reliance of the Indian
people on British industrial goods. The 1980s was marked by a widespread
modification to Indian clothing fashions which was characterized by a
large-scale growth of fashion schools in India, increasing involvement
of women in the fashion industry and changing Indian attitudes towards
multiculturalism. These developments played a pivotal role in the fusion
of Indian and Western clothing styles.
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