SOCIOLOGY
ACTIVITY
Abhishekh
Zeba
Himasheree
riya
Jyananjalee
CHANGE IN LIVING
TRADITION :
CLOTHING WORN
BY MEN AND
WOMEN .
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INTRODUCTION
We’re no strangers to the fact that as with every
other rule, the British Raj too stirred up a lot of
changes in the ways of our people. One of the
most significant transformations though was the
perception of clothing. Before colonization, Indian
fashion was based primarily on weather
conditions, and, clothing aligned with
‘convenience’. Later though, instead of evolving
creative expression, Indian fashion partly gave in to
the ways of the English. It wasn’t a direct effect of
colonization, but stemmed from the strategy of
‘Divide & Rule.’ Indian wardrobes welcomed
European fashion by will, by force or by
CLOTHING OF WOMEN
IN INDIA BEFORE
INDEPENCE:
Blouses and petticoats once were an alien concept, even
though cholis and lehengas existed among other stitched pieces.
A significant percentage of women wore a drape of white colored,
yards-long cloth called the saree, and it was integral to battling
hot & humid weather conditions. The entry of the Britishers
brought with it an upturned smile about the layers that were
lacking in the saree. The rulers found it offensive to wear it
without a blouse or a petticoat, thus infusing it with European
influences.
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AFTER INDEPENDENCE :
Fast-forward to the years following
1947, blouses and petticoats made a
permanent home for themselves in
every wardrobe. even today, one isn’t
.
complete without the other when it
comes to the traditional silhouette.
with western culture much more
prominent in the decolonized, well-
travelled and evolved India.
CHANGE IN CLOTHING 6
OF MEN
BEFORE INDEPENDENCE
: DHOTI-KURTA WAS THE TRADITIONAL AND HUMBLE
WAY OF DRESSING FOR INDIAN MEN. DUE TO BROAD
CLASSIFICATIONS AND A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE
FOLLOWING THE SAME DRESSING STYLE, SEVERAL MEN
ADAPTED THE SHIRT-TROUSER STYLES THAT
THE SAHIBS WORE. INDIAN KINGS WERE EXTREMELY
FOND OF THE BRITISH DRESS CODE, AS WERE SOME OF
THE COMMONERS. WHEN IT CAME TO THE OTHERS,
WEARING SHIRTS AND SUITING UP MEANT THAT THEY’D
BE FAVORED AND THOUGHT THAT IT SIGNIFIED LITERACY
SINCE CLOTHING BECAME A SYMBOL OF THE POSITION
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AFTER INDEPENDENCE :
When the British left India, shirts & trousers
were etched into Indian attire so much that they
didn’t seem foreign anymore. Bollywood played
a massive role in infusing Indian fashion with
western influences. The films made them
famous, but that doesn’t mean Indian men
forgot their humble ways of dressing. They were
still depicted with kurtas and dhotis, mainly in
white.
CONCLUSION
Fashion has always been a considerable part of
India’s history. Given a choice, we know we
would always pick authentic Indian
silhouettes over anything else. We like to define
the words ‘pride of India’ as pieces that survived
it all. The people of our nation found a voice
through clothing. That is why, no matter the
modifications, they will always
remain unapologetically Indian, in our eyes –
and the world’s.
