One
of the richest lands of cultural heritage,
India is known for its
intermingled people of different castes and faiths. All of them have
different tastes, fashion likes and dislikes. Actually their cultural and
socio-economic background has a great influenced on their attire. Garments
and classic fashion styles of this country are popular throughout the world.
Women in India wear traditional costumes whereas men in
India can be found
in more conventional western clothing like shirts and trousers. Various
fabrics and textures of Indian hand made clothes fascinate the tourists.
Sari - main dress of Indian women- portrays elegance and beauty. These days
Indian fashion designers are combining western trends with Indian touch and
creating truly outstanding dresses. Even then the tourists visiting India
are easily fascinated by purely Indian dresses. Some of the most popular
traditional Indian dresses are as following.
Dhoti
It's the most popular traditional dress for Indian males. Most of Indian
farmers, which are the two third part of Indian population, still wear
Dhoti. If you ever get the chance to see photographs of Indian men before,
during and soon-after the independence era, you will find them wearing Dhoti
teemed with a Kurta. Dhoti was a casual daily wear of the Indian men until
the modernization of our society. It became just formal clothing later
onwards. The people residing in the rural areas wear it as a regular
clothing attire.
Salwar Kameez
Salwar Kameez is the most popular traditional dress of Indian females. It's
sometimes called Punjabi suit also due to its popularity in the Punjab
region. Salwar is more or less a baggy pajama type of trouser with legs wide
at the top and narrow at the bottom. Kameez is a long shirt or tunic
reaching often up to the knees. Its length may vary depending up on the
latest Salwar suit style in fashion.
Sari
Foreigners
visiting in
India describe Sari as a long strip of colorful multi-patterned
cloth, sensuously wrapped around the body, and teemed with a blouse! This
traditional female clothing in India is indeed, a very long strip of
unstitched cloth, worn over a similar colored petticoat. Length of the Sari
ranges from four to nine meters. It actually depends up on how an individual
wants to wear it. Blouse worn with Sari is also known as Choli or Ravika.
Kurta Pajama
Consisting of two pieces of garments - Kurta-Pajama - is one of the basic
clothing of Indian males. Former one, Kurta, is like a loose long shirt
reaching almost the knees. The second one is Pajama or Pyjama, a lightweight
drawstring trouser. Kurta Pajama is mostly worn on formal occasions, but it
also can be worn casually. Many Indian men, in fact, wear this dress as
their sleepwear.
Sherwani
Sherwani is an perfectly designed coat, with a close body fit. It is
fastened in the front with buttons. Sherwani is supposed to be worn over a
Kurta and a Churidar, or Khara pajama or a Salwar and at times, even a
Dhoti. Traditional Sherwani is recognized as an ultimate wedding and party
attire for Indian males. Resembling an Achkan, or a doublet, Sherwani is
worn by gentlemen of all age-group in the country. This very popular Indian
men's wear is believed to have originated somewhere in Central Asia.
Sharara
A traditional dress worn by Muslim ladies - Sharara - was introduced into
Indian culture during Mughal period. But it now forms one of the major
traditional costumes in
India. Sharara suit consists of a long flowing
skirt, Choli or a blouse and a Dupatta for covering the head. Distinctive
feature of Sharara dress is the skirt, which is actually divided just like a
pant which is fitted till the knee. A big flare hangs down from the knee
onwards. A long Chunni, covering the head, is also a part of Sharara dress.
