A little 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. Chanakyas treatise on public
administration, the Arthashastra written around 3rd century BC,
briefly describes the norms followed in silk weaving.

Most of the present knowledge of ancient Indian clothing comes
from rock sculptures and paintings in cave monuments
1st century AD shows some cultural exchanges
with the Greeks. The Buddhists were portrayed
as wearing the Greek himation, which is the
forerunner of the modern saghti that forms a
part of the Kasaya of Buddhist monks.








During the Maurya and
Gupta period, the people
continued to wear the three
piece unstitched clothing as in
Vedic times. The main items
of clothing were the Antariya
made of white cotton or
muslin, tied to the waist by a
sash called Kayabandh and a
scarf called the Uttariya used
to drape the top half of the
body
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, The earliest mention of jamdani and its
development as an industry is found in Dacca. The
Jamdani weaving tradition is of Bengali origin. It is
one of the most time and labour-intensive forms of
weaving hand loom weaving.

Jamdani is a woven fabric in cotton, and it is
undoubtedly one of the varieties of the finest
muslin.
Kasika vastra of Varanasi
The butidar saree is a rich kind of the Banaras Saree which has traditional
patterns and motiffs done with the use of real gold and silver Jari and Katan
silk.
Ilkal saree takes its name from the town of Ilkal in the Bagalkot district of
Karnataka state, India.

Ilkal sarees are woven using cotton warp on the body and art silk warp for
border and art silk warp for pallav portion of the saree.

The distinctive feature of Ilkal sarees is the use of a form of embroidery called
as Kasuti.
Brocades of silk were woven 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.

The commonly used dies were indigo(Nila),
madder red and safflower.

The technique of mordant dyeing was
prevalent in India since the 2nd millennium
BC.

Resist dyeing and Kalamkari techniques
were hugely popular and such textiles were
the chief exports.

Resist dyeing is a term for a number of
traditional methods of dyeing textiles with
patterns.
Kalamkari is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile.

There are two distinctive styles of kalamkari art in India - one, the
Srikalahasti style and the other, the Machilipatnam style of art.

The Srikalahasti style of Kalamkari, wherein the "kalam" or pen is used for
free hand drawing of the subject and filling in the colours, is entirely hand
worked.

Machilipatnam Kalamkari is a vegetable dyed block paintings, of Kalamkari
variety, over a cloth made in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
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.
Traditional Indian clothing for women in the north and
east are saris or ghagra cholis while many south Indian
women traditionally wear sari and children wear pattu
langa. Bindi is a part of women's make-up.

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.
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 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.
The Dastar, also known as pagri, is a turban worn by the Sikh community of
India.

Pheta is the Marathi name for turbans worn in the state of Maharashtra. Its
usually worn during traditional ceremonies and occasions.

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.

Turbans in Rajasthan are called pagari. They are distinctive in style and colour,
and indicate the caste, social class and region of the wearer.


Embroidery
Embroidery of India includes dozens of regional
embroidery styles that vary by region. Designs in Indian
embroidery are formed on the basis of the texture and the
design of the fabric and the stitch. The dot and the
alternate dot, the circle, the square, the triangle and
permutations and combinations of these constitute the
design.
The most ornate and tedious form of Indian embroidery is
the Zardosi workmanship. This form uses metallic thread
instead of the usual silk or rayon. Many rich women from
the late 16th century had embroidered dresses.
Another form of embroidery from Tamil Nadu is the Ari
work, which is done by stretching the fabric on a frame and
stitching with a long needle, which also holds sequins,
beads, and other embellishments.

Kashida embroidery often draw
inspiration from nature. Birds,
blossoms and flowers, creepers,
chinar leaves, ghobi, mangoes, lotus,
and trees are the most common
themes. The entire pattern uses one
or two embroidery stitches.
Sozni embroidery (dorukha) is often done
so skillfully that the motif appears on
both sides of the shawl with each side
having a different color. Consequently,
there is no wrong side. This is done by a
fine needle and generally a single or at the
most double thread is used.
Another type of needle embroidery is
popularly known as 'papier mache'
embroidery because flowers and leaves are
worked in the satin stitch and employ the
bright colors that are found in papier
mache. Each motif is then outlined in
black. This design is employed either in
broad panels on both sides of a shawl or
on the entire surface of a stole.
Kashir-Jaal implies fine network of embroidery, particularly on the neckline
and sleeves of a dress material.

Naala Jaal implies embroidery particularly on the neckline and chest/yoke,
where Naala means neck in Koshur of Kashmiri language.
Jaama form of embroidery implies a dense and thick spread of f vine/creepers
& flowers, badaam and heart shapes, where the cloth is not visible. Such is the
density of embriodery, that no fabric is seen. Variation of this form is

Neem-Jaama, where neem means demi or half. This cuts down the density of
the embroidery, making it sparse and the fabric shows.

Jaal form of embroidery implies bel-buti means a fine and sparse net of vine
/ creepers & flowers. Variation of this form is Neem-Jaal, where again the
density of the embroidery is severed.
Chikan is a traditional embroidery style from Lucknow. Literally translated,
the word means embroidery.

The technique of creation of a chikan work is known as chikankari. Chikankari
is a delicate and artfully done hand embroidery on a variety of textile fabric like
muslin, silk, chiffon, organza, net etc. White thread is embroidered on cool,
pastel shades of light muslin and cotton garments.

Nowadays chikan embroidery is also done with coloured and silk threads in
different colours to meet the recent fashion trends and keep chikankari trendy
with fashion. Lucknow is the heart of the Chikankari industry today and the
variety is known as Lucknawi chikan.

Embroidery of Gujarat
Aari Embroidery with silk threads using a hook is a popular
craft of Kutch, Gujrat. The motifs found commonly are,
dancing peacocks, human figures in dancing postures and
other delicate and definitive forms.
Embroidery of West Bengal
Kantha embroidery is a popular type of craft created in the
Bengal region of India. It has always been popular amongst
rural women who keep the tradition of this special craft
alive.
Embroidery of Manipur
This area has a unique type of embroidery that uses one
stitch, in deference to the weavers in the area. This is
done in dark matching shade with untwisted silk thread
on the border of the phanek (a lungi or lower body wrap
worn by women).
Embroidery of Andhra
The Mathurias of Andhra Pradesh, a tribe found only
in Adilabad, inhabit the forest area and, being
nomadic, move from place to place looking for
agricultural work on land.
Embroidery of Haryana
In Haryana embroidered fabrics retain their age-old social
values, for they are among the treasures given to a bride on
her marriage.
Phulkari embroidery technique from the Punjab region
literally means flower working, which was at one time used
as the word for embroidery, but in time the word Phulkari
became restricted to embroidered shawls and head scarfs.
Simple and sparsely embroidered odini (head scarfs),
dupatta and shawls, made for everyday use, are called
Phulkaris, whereas garments that cover the entire body,
made for special and ceremonial occasions like weddings
and birth of a son, fully covered fabric is called Baghs
("garden") and scattered work on the fabric is called "adha
bagh" (half garden). this whole work is done with white or
yellow silk floss on cotton khaddarh and starts from the
center on the fabric called "chashm-e-bulbul" and spreads to
the whole fabric.
Resham
Embroidery
Mirror Work Embroidery

Sequins
Embroidery
Kundan Embroidery
Chamba Rumal of Himachal Rajasthani embroidery
Embroidery
of Orissa
Jewelry
Sarpech Traditional
Rajasthan
head jewellery
Kada
Vanki Arm Ornament
LINGA PADAKKA MUTHU MALAI
Necklace
Nath
ODDIYANAM
Waist Ornament

Jhumka Ear Ornament Jadanagam Hair Ornament
Shinka -Gujarat
Chandrahaar Hathphool Hand Ornament Paizeb Foot Ornament
The evolution of fashion in India have been triggered by various socioeconomic
movements during the twentieth century.
During the 20s, one of the greatest influences on dress code was the
movement towards equal status for women. Hence, a new breed of business-
like women emerged and made corresponding demands on their dress, says
A.K.G Nair, Director, Pearl Academy of Fashion. The obvious choice for
silhouette veered towards dropwaist or box and the choice of colour was black
and grey and the fabrics preferred were silk and georgettes he says.
The 30s heralded the idea of socialism,communism and fascism and womens
fashion became more and more feminine in keeping with conservative ideas.
However this period also saw the emergence of the vamp and the culture of
cabaret says Nair, noting that hence the dresses became more body hugging
and the colours deep and dark in tune with such themes. The establishment of
the Indian cinema also proved to be the strongest influence on the fashion in the
decade. Due to the western influence, the use of angarkhas, choghas and jamas
diminished considerably by this time, although the ceremonial pagri, safa and
topi were widespread as ever. They had been replaced by the chapkan, achkan
and sherwani, which are still standard items of formal dress for Indian men
today says Kumar.
The women even though were accepting change, continued to wear their
peshwaz, kurtas, ghaghras and dohnis at religious and ceremonial festivities,
sometimes using imported fabrics but using mostly traditional handwoven
fabrics says Asha Baxi, Director Fashion Design. National Institute of Fashion
Technology(NIFT).

In the 40s,it was Christian Dior who turned fashion upside down with a new
shape, with the bosom pushed up and out, a pinched waist and hips emphasised
with short fluted jackets. It was also a decade marked by the second World War
and the ensuing independence of India with the result that womens clothing
was simple and functional says Nair.

The 50s saw the dawn of art colleges and schools, which became places of
rebels, and hence in silhouette, narrow waist and balloon skirts with bouncing
patterns were in vogue. Also due to the freedom struggle and the espousal of
khadi by Gandhiji, khadi garments became a rage giving a boost to the sagging
handloom industry, according to Asha Baxi.

The 60s one of the most shock-filled decades of the century, saw sweeping
fashion and lifestyle changes that reflected the mercurial passions of the times.
This decade was full of defiance and celebration in arts and music and cinema,
marked by a liberation from constraints and new types of materials such as
plastic film and coated polyester fabric got popular says Nair.
Besides, adds Bax Tight kurtas and churidars and high coiffers competed
with the mini-skirts abroad and at the same time, designers understood the
need of the moment to launch cheaper, ready-to-wear lines
One of the most revisited and retro periods in the fashion, the 70s is
often called the me decade. It saw the beginning of anything goes culture
with the result that fashion became another form of self-expression and bold
colours with flower prints were adapted in tunics, with shirts and bell-
bottoms says designer Manav Gangwani. As drug culture became a mass
phenomenon, psychedelic colours were garish, the shoes were tall and
hazardous and silhouettes were extreme and the dressing of the 50s was
definitely out.

The 70s also saw the export of traditional material with the result that export
surplus was sold within the country itself and hence, international fashion
came to India much before the MTV culture, says Baxi. Synthetics became
popular and the disco culture had a profound influence on fashion and the
clothes became as flashy as the mirrored ball that spins over the dancers.

In the 80s the big money ruled. It was the era of self consciousness and
American designers like Calvin Klein became household names. In India
too,silhouettes became more masculine and the salwar kameez was made with
shoulder pads says Baxi, Power dressing and corporate look became
dominant dress code. The influence of cable TV became more prominent and
the teenage market boomed with youngsters going in for the trendy look,
which in turn influenced the elders.

The 90s the last decade of the millenium, was one of the extremes. The excess
of the early decade gave way to the drastic pairing down and stripping away
in the hands of German designers like Helmut Lang and Jil Sander. Perhaps
the biggest fashion news of the 90s has been the ascendancy of the younger
generation of designers into the mainstream. The decade also looked for
independent women with comforts, poise and confidence as key features,
says Nair. But the decade also saw the revival of ethnicity with films too
becoming more discreet and launching a back to ethnic look.
While on the one hand the new drive for information technology popularized the
corporate look, an ethno-cultural revival made people again go back to the
traditional forms of art and crafts states Baxi As it is Indian fashion is
extremely alive and whatever the decade or the century, it is here to stay. For not
only it is comfortable, practical and aesthetically beautiful but has changed with
time with the result that it has, in the past century, and will in the coming one,
remain contemporary she sums up. Although sari is a fast disappearing
garment for everyday wear, it will survive as special occasion wear. More and
more Indian women today prefer stitched garments and Western wear of easy
to maintain and wash and wear fabrics. And yet there was a time when
ladies rode horses wearing saris and even swan in rivers with their saris tucked
between the legs, much like an unstitched pair of shorts. Saris were even draped
longer in pantaloon like fashion. If the principles of these wearing styles were
put into practice, many more could possibly be evolved for contemporary needs.
Interestingly, the sari is asserting a growing presence in the boardrooms of
multinational corporate organizations, in law chambers, courts and among the
new power professionals who are conscious of their identity and draw strength
from it.