Indian Fashion
Indian Fashion Biography
Source (google.com.pk)
Clothing in India varies from region to region depending on the
ethnicity, geography, climate and cultural traditions of the people of
that region. Historically, men and women's clothing has evolved from
simple Langotas and loincloths to cover the body to elaborate costumes
not only used in daily wear but also on festive occasions as well as
rituals and dance performances. In urban areas, western clothing is
common and uniformly worn by people of all strata. India also has a
great diversity in terms of weaves, fibres, colours and material of
clothing. Color codes are followed in clothing based on the religion and
ritual concerned. For instance, Hindus lady's wear white clothes to
indicate mourning while Parsis and Christians wear white to weddings.The
Didarganj Yakshi depicting the dhoti wrap.India's recorded history of
clothing goes back to the 5th millennium CB in the Indus Valley
Civilisation where cotton was spun, woven and dyed. Bone needles and
wooden spindles have been unearthed in excavations at the site. The
cotton industry in ancient India was well developed, and several of the
methods survive until today. Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian
described Indian cotton as "a wool exceeding in beauty and goodness that
of sheep". Indian cotton clothing was well adapted to the dry, hot
summers of the subcontinent. Most of the present knowledge of ancient
Indian clothing comes from rock sculptures and paintings in cave
monuments such as Ellora. These images show dancers and goddesses
wearing what appears to be a dhoti wrap, a predecessor to the modern
sari.The upper castes dressed themselves in fine muslin and wore gold
ornaments The Indus civilisation also knew the process of silk
production. Recent analysis of Harappan silk fibres in beads have shown
that silk was made by the process of reeling, a process known only to
China until the early centuries AD.According to the Greek historian
Arrian:The Buddha, in Greco-Buddhist style, 1st–2nd century CE,
Gandhara(Modern eastern Afghanistan)."The Indians use linen clothing, as
says Nearchus, made from the flax taken from the trees, about which I
have already spoken. And this flax is either whiter in colour than any
other flax, or the people being black make the flax appear whiter. They
have a linen frock reaching down halfway between the knee and the ankle,
and a garment which is partly thrown round the shoulders and partly
rolled round the head. The Indians who are very well-off wear earrings
of ivory; for they do not all wear them. Nearchus says that the Indians
dye their beards various colours; some that they may appear white as the
whitest, others dark blue; others have them red, others purple, and
others green. Those who are of any rank have umbrellas held over them in
the summer. They wear shoes of white leather, elaborately worked, and
the soles of their shoes are many-coloured and raised high, in order
that they may appear taller."Evidence from the 1st century AD shows some
cultural exchanges with the Greeks. Indo-Greek influence is seen in the
Greco-Buddhist art of the time. The Buddhas were portrayed as wearing
the Greek himation, which is the forerunner of the modern saṃghāti 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.
New trade routes, both overland and overseas, created a cultural
exchange with Central Asia and Europe. Romans bought indigo for dyeing
and cotton cloth as articles of clothing. Trade with China via the Silk
road introduced silk textiles into India. The Chinese had a monopoly in
the silk trade and kept its production process a trade secret. However,
this monopoly ended when, according to legend, a Chinese princess
smuggled mulberry seeds and silkworms in her headdress when she was sent
to marry the king of Khotan (present day Xinjiang). From there, the
production of silk spread throughout Asia, and by AD 140, the practise
had been established in India. Chanakya's treatise on public
administration, the Arthashastra written around 3rd century BC, briefly
describes the norms followed in silk weaving.
Indian Fashion
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Indian Fashion |
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Indian Fashion |
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Indian Fashion |
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Indian Fashion |
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Indian Fashion |
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Indian Fashion |
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Indian Fashion |
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Indian Fashion |
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Indian Fashion |
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Indian Fashion |
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