Indian costume

India is a country with an ancient history. Mention is made of India several thousand years before our era. And all this time, the Indian people kept and protected their culture and traditions.

Indian culture is distinguished by great originality and originality. In the process of development, the ancient Indians mastered various crafts that were passed down from generation to generation, which contributed to the achievement of the highest mastery in each of them.

India is a very large state, and moving from one region to another, one cannot stop wondering how the lifestyle and traditions of the indigenous population of this mysterious country are changing. This diversity is reflected in the creation of a traditional Indian costume.

The unique color, the variety of patterns, the unusual and beauty of Indian clothing made her the most recognizable in the world. The woman of India, dressed in national attire, amazes the eye with her irresistibility and beauty, however, she is not without modesty and chastity.

As diverse are traditions in different regions of the country, so the costume differs in its color, cut, pattern and style of wearing. However, despite all its versatility, national clothes retained common recognizable features.

The history of traditional women's clothing dates back to ancient India. There is no unequivocal opinion of historians about the stages of creating a traditional outfit. But they all agree that he began with long sections of fabric draped around the figure in various ways.

This layering has survived to the present, but has overgrown with new forms and options, creating a modern traditional Indian costume.

Clothing in India was made exclusively from natural fabrics: linen, cotton, wool. Even in ancient India, local craftsmen mastered the art of producing natural silk, along with ancient China. And in the north of the country in the province of Kashmir hiding around the world famous Kashmir shawls from the wool of high-mountain goats.

Kashmir shawl is a work of art by local craftswomen. The wool used for its production was thinner than a human hair, which gave the product an unprecedented lightness and airiness. This shawl was of the highest value and was often presented as a gift to the queens of different countries.

A particular pride of the Indians was the art of dyeing fabrics. Only natural dyes were used, and legends went about the craftsmanship of the Hindus. It was believed that local colorists could distinguish up to six shades of white and up to twelve shades of black. Thanks in part to this art, women's clothing in India is so striking in its variety of colors.

In addition to bright colors, Indian women’s clothing uses a rich list of fabrics, widespread use of embroidery, ribbons, and beads. Especially popular embroidery with gold and silver threads. Such embroidered and richly decorated fabrics immediately create a unique flavor of the Indian costume.

This is the most famous Indian women's clothing, which has received worldwide recognition. Sari, thanks to its delicate material and skillful drapery, makes the figure very feminine and graceful, and the silhouette - graceful.

The sari is made of a very long thin cloth (4–9 meters), which expertly wraps around the woman’s waist, and one end is thrown over her shoulder and descends to the chest. In different areas of the country, the winding technique and the names of the sarees are slightly different. But everywhere - this is a very popular clothing, whose history goes back more than one thousand years.

Everyday options are made of cotton or linen fabrics and do not have rich decoration. Festive sarees are always made of silk, batiste or muslin, decorated with painting and embroidery.

A wedding sari is ordered from masters who come up with their own unique pattern for each bride, which is why each bride has her own individual outfit.

In ancient India, exclusively for men weaved fabrics for this garment. Due to the complex pattern and decoration, its production could take up to six months.

This is a traditional blouse with short sleeves, covering the chest and slightly opening the belly of the girl. Choli is very popular not only with sari, but also with other types of national costume.

In modern times, choli can have various cut options. You can find a blouse with long sleeves or without sleeves, on thin or thick straps.

This is another very popular type of Indian costume. It consists of three parts and includes lehenda (lengu), choli and dupatta.

Lenga is a skirt of various lengths, which is cut like an umbrella. The length of lenga could determine the status of a woman. Higher castes Indian women always wore only long skirts covering their ankles.

Dupatta is a light airy cloak that covered both the head and shoulders. If earlier only Indian women of the higher castes could afford dupatta, now it is an indispensable attribute of the costume of any Indian woman.

Festive and everyday lekhenga choli differ in material and an abundance of jewelry and murals. For everyday use cotton or linen fabrics, for holiday brocade, velvet, silk, satin or chiffon.

The outfit is the most popular in the Punjab area. Shalvars (salvars) are sharovary, narrowed to the bottom. Kamiz is a fitted tunic with cuts on both sides. Shalwar Kamih is often complemented by a cloak - dupatta.

Another kind of outfit consisting of trousers and tunic. But unlike the shalvar, the churidar are narrow trousers that are twice as long as the legs. Because of this, they gather on the shins in numerous folds. Such panties are worn with a long shirt reaching to the knee called kurta.

These are very wide harem pants that drape around the waist in numerous folds. They are also worn with kamiz.

This outfit consists of anarkali dresses, churidar trousers and is complemented by dupatta. Anarkali is no longer a tunic, but a full-fledged dress, the length of which can vary from knee to floor. The dress fits the figure to the waist, and then flares. This costume is widely used in everyday life, and at special occasions.

This is the oldest version of the traditional costume of an Indian woman. It is the first variety of sari. It differs from the modern sari in that it completely covers the woman's body, including both her stomach and chest. The shoulders remain open.

Traditional dress for residents of the province of Assam. This is the most complex type of outfit, consisting of three components: mekhela, sadora (chador) and rihi. All parts are put on each other, skillfully draped in folds on the right side. Riha, which is a very narrow dress, completes the outfit, is worn on top.

Children's national costume is not as diverse as an adult. Little girls wear pattu padawai. This is a long dress reaching to the tips of the toes, decorated with a strip of gold threads at the bottom.

Teenage girls often wear semi-saris. It consists of lenga (skirt), choli (short blouse) and stole, which is wrapped like a sari.

Jewelry of an Indian woman is a matter of national pride. Works of art created by Indian jewelers have been famous for 4 thousand years. Each element in the decoration carries a deep meaning, and not just a decorative function.

The traditional Indian set consisted of 16 kinds of jewelry. For each part of the body invented its own unique options. Bracelets, rings, rings, necklaces, necklaces - this is only a small part of the abundance that Indian craftsmen created and continue to create.

In modern India, a traditional costume is mixed with modern western clothing. Increasingly, you can meet a woman in jeans and a fireplace. Sarees are combined with regular t-shirts. But to this day, it is not customary to demonstrate open legs or chest. Still, India is an eastern country where traditions and religion have a very big influence.