Clothing in I ndia

Indian woman wearing a lehanga, choli & odhani

Clothing in India varies widely and is closely related to local culture, religion and
climate.
Traditional Indian clothing for women are the sari or the salwar kameez and also
Ghaghra Cholis (Lehengas). For men, traditional clothes are the Dhoti, Lungi or
Kurta. Bombay, also known as Mumbai, is one of India's fashion capitals. In some
village parts of India, traditional clothing mostly will be worn. In southern India
the men wear long, white sheets of cloth called dhoti in English and veshti in
Tamil. Over the dhoti, men wear shirts, t-shirts, or anything else Woman wear a
sari, a long sheet of colourful cloth with patterns. This is draped over a simple or
fancy blouse. This is worn by young ladies and woman. Little girls wear a pavada.
A pavada is a long skirt worn under a blouse. Both are often gaily patterned. Bindi
is part of the women's make-up. Indo-western clothing is the fusion of Western and
Subcontinental fashion. Churidar, Dupatta, Gamchha, Kurta, Mundum
Neriyathum, Sherwani are among other clothes.
Women's Clothing
The traditional style of clothing in India varies with male or female distinctions.
This is still followed in the rural areas, though is changing in the urban areas. Girls
before puberty wear a long skirt (called langa/paawada in Andhra) and a short
blouse, called a choli, on top of it. Teenage girls wear half-sarees, a three piece set
comprising of a langa, a choli and a stole wrapped over it like a saree. Women
usually wear full sarees.


This painting by Raja Ravi Varma depicts several traditional styles of draping the
sari
A sari or saree or shari is a female garment in the Indian subcontinent.
[1]
A sari is a
strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped
over the body in various styles. The most common style is for the sari to be
wrapped around the waist, with one end then draped over the shoulder baring the
midriff.
[1]
The sari is usually worn over a petticoat (pavada/pavadai in the south,
and shaya in eastern India), with a blouse known as a choli or ravika forming the
upper garment. The choli has short sleeves and a low neck and is usually cropped,
and as such is particularly well-suited for wear in the sultry South Asian summers.
Cholis may be "backless" or of a halter neck style. These are usually more dressy
with a lot of embellishments such as mirrors or embroidery and may be worn on
special occasions. Women in the armed forces, when wearing a sari uniform, don a
half-sleeve shirt tucked in at the waist.
The salwar kameez is another form of popular dress for females. It consists of
loose trousers (the salwar) topped by a long loose shirt (the kameez). It is often
mispronounced as "salwar kameez" or simply "salwar". It originates from the
Muslim invaders from Turkey and Afghanistan. For a long time it was considered
a "Muslim dress" but now has become popular all across India, as well as other
South Asian countries. Due to its Muslim origin, it is very common in Pakistan and
Afganistan. It is commonly worn with a narrow scarf called a dupatta, which is
used to cover the head. The salwar kameez is most common in the northwestern
part of India.


Girls wearing Gagra choli
The women of Rajasthan and Gujarat often wear colorful swirling skirts called
lehenga, paired with a short bodice called a choli. If they must cover their heads,
they do so with bright veils called odhani. Popular among unmarried women other
than salwar kameez are Gagra choli and Langa oni.
Nowadays many of them have started wearing Trousers (not 'PANTS') and tee-
shirts as a result of the influence of westernisation.
Men's clothing
The most common male attire consists of the dhoti and kurta, worn in most of the
western and central regions. A sherwani is typically worn for special occasions,
particularly in North India. pakistani men wear salwar kameez, often in plain white
cotton, and top the kameez with a dark waistcoat. The lungi (a type of wrap-around
garment) is worn in many parts of India, but depending on the social practices of
the region it may be restricted to indoor-wear only.
A kurta is a traditional item of clothing worn in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India,
Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is a loose shirt falling either just above or somewhere
below the knees of the wearer, and is worn by both men and women. They were
traditionally worn with loose-fitting paijama (kurta-paijama), loose-fitting salwars,
tight-fitting churidars, or wrapped-around dhotis;
[2]
but are now also worn with
jeans.
[3]
Kurtas are worn both as casual everyday wear and as formal dress.



Modern fashion in India
Many aspects of Western fashion have become common among Indian men,
particularly in the professional community. Horizontal stripes and plaids are
common on casual business shirts, particularly among Punjabs and Indians in
North America. Owing to growth of women empowerment and influence of
western culture, nowadays most of the teen and adult girls in cities wear low hip
jeans, low neck tops, tight jean trouser with salwar, half trousers, sleeve less T
shirts etc. Women who hail from rural villages usually wear frocks and half sarees;
boys normally wear a shirt and pants, whether formally or casually.