National costume india
A bit of history
The costume of any nation always reflects its history, culture, climatic features of the country, living conditions of people, attitude to religion. All this can be traced in an Indian costume.
The hot climate helped to make clothes made of fine cotton or linen fabrics. For a long time they remained white - this is practical in those climatic conditions. But for the Hindus, each color had its own meaning, and gradually the clothes became colored.
And since India is a country with a large number of regions, the costumes differed in colors, patterns, ways of wearing.
In addition, the people of India since ancient times were divided into castes, and each was prescribed their own clothes. It was possible to judge the membership of a caste by the length of the dhoti. Dhoti is a kind of pants made from a long strip of fabric.
Features
Indian clothing has its strongly pronounced differences, it is difficult to confuse it with national costumes of other countries.
First of all, it is skillful drapery from whole pieces of fabric. Their complexity varies in relation to the situation. For the festive obligatory abundance of bulk jewelry and bright makeup for women.
Men wear a kind of headdress - turban. It is also draped fabric.
Such clothes have their advantages.
Turban perfectly protects the head from the scorching sun. Put it on wet. Multilayer prevents the evaporation of moisture, which saves from heat stroke.
Although for Europeans the Indian outfit has an unusual appearance, it is very practical and comfortable, does not constrain movements. The fair sex in this dress has a more feminine and slim look.
An interesting feature is that the outfit is not fastened with clasps and pins.
Description of the dress
The basis of the men's national costume is dhoti. A strip of fabric about 5 meters long is draped around the body and legs. The ends of the fabric lay in the belt. Most often, the fabric is white, but another monochromatic color is acceptable. May be present border.
Dhoti for everyday wear is made from simple cotton fabrics. Celebratory - from materials of more thin manufacture or from silk. They have a rich decoration in the form of a gold border.
The addition of dhoti is kurta - a long wide shirt worn from above. Her, like the dhoti, is made of cotton or silk fabrics. For cooler seasons, denser fabrics are used, such as wool. Color can be any. Casual jackets are simple, plain. Holiday - brighter, decorated with embroidery. There is no collar in this type of clothing.
In some regions of India, men wear a cape on the shoulders; it can be colored.
Kurt is also worn with pants that are of two kinds. The first is a long narrow pants. Especially so that they are gathered folds, they cut out longer legs. Another type is very loose pants, they are not narrowed down to the bottom.
Another type of men's national clothing is a frock coat. It is called shirvani. Its length falls below the knee, it fastens to the gate. Wear it with narrow or wide pants.
Since this is usually festive clothing, the frock coat looks accordingly. It is made of bright fabrics, solid or patterned, decorated with embroidery and sparkles.
The turban completes the outfit. On the occasion of the holiday, it can also be decorated with precious stones, beads, sparkles, feathers.
Clothing by which an Indian woman can always be distinguished from a representative of other nations is a sari.It is a strip of thin cotton or silk fabric with a length of 7-9 meters. It is draped around the hips, and the end is thrown over the shoulder on the chest. Under the sari, wear a petticoat and a blouse.
Coloring sari is absolutely any. Monochrome sarees and drawings are widespread.
The outfit is suitable for all occasions. For larger events and holidays, the sari is handcrafted. The master creates a pattern for the garment, and after doing the work, destroys the sketch. Thus, the sari turns out to be unique.
Another type of traditional women's clothing is salvar-kamiz. So called pants with a tunic. The costume can be made in different ways, the width of the pants and the length of the tunic vary. The color variety of outfits is also very wide.
In order not to hamper the movements, on the sides of the tunic there are cuts. Its gate is usually decorated with embroideries from Lurex, beads; sequins and sparkles are used.
The outfit is complemented by a long dupatta cape scarf.
For big celebrations, another outfit is provided - Leng. This is a combination of a long skirt and a short blouse. Like salwar kamiz, lenga is worn with dupatta.
It is impossible to ignore such elements of the national costume as jewelry and makeup. Since ancient times, women used paints for the face, nails and hands. And without a huge number of beads, necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets for hands and feet, completed Indian attire is simply unthinkable.
Since Indian clothing is comfortable and made of thin natural fabrics, it is also suitable for children.
However, for girls there is a kind of dress - pata-pawadai. It has a conical shape and is sewn of colored silk. The dress is decorated with a gold border. It is worn on solemn occasions.
Also, girls and girls before marriage wear a long skirt and a short jacket.
Modern models
Western-style clothing penetrates everywhere. India does not stand aside. Today you can see European clothes not only for visitors, but also for indigenous people, it is widely represented in stores. Jeans are not uncommon as casual wear.
However, miniskirts and dresses with a deep neckline are not very appropriate: in India it is not customary to parade open parts of the body. She, like no other country, has remained committed to her national style of dress to this day. All its kinds are widespread both in the city and in the village; they are worn both on holidays and on weekdays.
Of course, some details undergo changes, they are influenced by modern European fashion. Modern fabrics are used, patterns are changed, the cut of coats, tunics, pants varies, innovations in decors are applied.
There is a mixture of styles. Men wear a turban with a business suit. You can see the combination of a national tunic or shirvani with modern-cut trousers and jeans. And women flaunt in skirts fashionable styles.
But, nevertheless, the Indian costume does not lose its uniqueness.
Designers are working on an Indian costume, and chic models appear on the catwalks. The Internet is abundant in offering beautiful women’s and men’s attire.
It is obvious that India will not lose its identity for a long time, its inhabitants will wear national costumes. And who knows, maybe we will ever be dressed in these wonderful beautiful dresses?
