Clothing in India 

is dependent upon the different ethnicities, geography, climate, and

cultural traditions of the people of each region of India. Historically, male and female
clothing has evolved from simple garments like kaupina,  langota,  achkan, lungi, sari, 
gamcha, and loincloths to cover the body into elaborate costumes not only used in daily
wear, but also on festive occasions, as well as rituals and dance performances.

In India, unlike in Britain, there were no written codes of conduct or sumptuary laws
about what should be worn. What was considered suitable was spread through word of
mouth. From the mid-eighteenth century up to 1947, most of India was either directly
ruled or indirectly controlled by the British. During this period Western influence
pervaded all aspects of Indian society and culture. Indians were exposed to a new
language, new types of food, new lifestyles, such as sitting on chairs, eating at dining
tables and socializing at clubs. Inevitably, the influence crept into their ways of dressing
and was visible not only in the adoption of Western wear by Indians, but also in the
Westernization of Indian clothes.

The British rule influenced Indian fashion to a great extent. Men were more welcoming to
the British style of clothing and tried to emulate it while women incorporated only some
elements from the western dresses. “The British influence is so intricately woven into our
culture that we don’t even realize that what we are wearing is not Indian. When we see men
wearing an ‘achkan’ with a ‘churidar pyjama’ we just assume that they are both Indian garments,
but in reality they are a fusion of English and Indian elements.

There are photographs depicting Indian men wearing coats and waistcoats with ‘churidars’,
pyjamas, and trousers.

During the British Colonial period, Indian clothing, especially among the nobles and educated
upper classes, began to reflect a clear European influence. The sherwani evolved as a fusion of
the British frock coat and an achkan. Clothes went many changes during the colonial period in
India. 
Men’s clothes in India became slimmer and well-fitted, and the achkan was a fitted
garment like the English coat, from which it took many elements. Not only was this
evident from the cut of the achkan’s sleeves, but also from the manner of wearing a
white, English-style shirt underneath, with its edges peeping out at the achkan’s collar
and sleeves. Other European elements adopted by the achkan were darts, slit pockets
on both sides of the chest, and inner pockets. In line with English tailoring norms, the
armholes were shaped to give a more comfortable fit. In some later-period achkans,
shoulder pads, like those in English suits, were added. The achkan had high stand-up
collars. This collar was adopted by the achkan and the sherwani—and even the kurta—
and it came to be known in Hindustani as the bandgala (closed-neck). A shorter coat, in
the style of the achkan, came to be known as the bandgala coat. Generally, the
bandgala coat was complemented with trousers, though sometimes it was also worn
with breeches. It had a closer resemblance to the British officers’ high-necked coat.
 Europeans found the sari to be a single piece of garment covering the body and
as a covering for the head. Women would then wear only the under wrapper, which was
an unstitched garment. Wearing a choli (a short garment, just covering the breasts,
generally tied with strings at the back) had its own norms, which varied over time and
places.

Even though it can be revealing, as the crop top leaves the midriff bare, the sari has
long been deemed decorous and associated with tradition. In India it was important for a
woman to cover her body with a draped fabric here no matter what is underneath.

Women in certain parts of India, went bare-breasted as they believed covering it

was for the impure only. In southern India, women of some castes did not wear anything
above their waist, and it was only under the influence of Christian missionaries that they
started doing so. In Travancore, in 1858, riots erupted in protest against women
breaking away from the age- old tradition of keeping their bosoms uncovered and
adopting the newer form of dressing.
Perhaps the use of the petticoat, initially by upper- class Indian ladies, started around
this time, taking inspiration from the layers of petticoats worn by European ladies, in the
style prevalent in Europe. Petticoat was, at that time, not regarded as a legitimate
garment by many, and perhaps not accepted by orthodox women, who would remove it
while eating, cooking or praying.

This did not suit Victorian society, which had its own ideas of propriety, and blouses
increasingly became the norm. .

The terms "blouse" and "petticoat" - both English - made the leap into Indian vocabulary
in the Victorian era. Shirts also came to be worn under the sari as part of high fashion
and these rather British innovations are considered traditional garments.

Blouses for the saris evolved, drawing inspiration from European women’s dresses of
the 1860s. The upper parts of women’s dresses were form fitting, and many women
either wore separate blouses with skirts or a single-piece dress.

It was Jnananandini Debi, the wife of Satyendranath Tagore - brother of the famous
Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore - who popularized the blouses, jackets and chemises
and the modern style of the sari today after she was reportedly refused entry to clubs
under the Raj for wearing the sari fabric over her bare breasts. Tagore is believed to
have actively encouraged his wife to adopt Western ideas. The British influence only
became stronger over time. We see different kinds of blouses coming in with sleeve
structures, and various necklines.
The form-fitting blouses had fasteners (buttons or hooks), either at the back, or in front.
Shaping the bodice required skill on the part of tailors, through the incorporation of
darts, curved seams as well as effective fasteners.