Indian dressing styles are marked by many variations, both religious and regional and one is likely to witness a plethora of colors, textures and styles in garments worn by the Indians. Apart from this, the rich tradition of Indian embroidery has long been made use of by fashion designers from other countries.
To a foreigner, the powerful attraction is the colorful attire of the people of India. With globalization, dresses are also getting westernized. Though the majority of modern Indian women still wear traditional costumes.
The Salwar kameez (also spelled shalwar kameez and shalwar qamiz) is a traditional dress worn by both women and men in India, Pakistan, Afganistan and Bangladesh. It is also known as Punjabi suit.
Salwars are pleated at the waist and held up by a drawstring or an elastic belt. The pants can be wide and baggy, or they can be quite narrow and made of fabric cut on the bias. In the latter case, they are known as churidars. The kameez is usually cut straight and flat; pre-war kameez’s use traditional cuts, whereas modern kameez’s are more likely to have European-inspired styles and set-in sleeves.
As the world is getting smaller with globalisation, western influences have also introduced the pants suit, where a short top(kameez) is teamed with modern straight-cutting pants, bell-bottom pants or pencil(carrot) cutting pants.
The churidar suit is a slim leg style which is popular among the trendy and young, and in some outfits, has been fused into a indo-western style which has a zip and buckle like most modern pants. These are a variant of the common churidar pants. Salwars are cut wide at the top and narrow at the ankle. Churidars narrow more quickly, so that contours of the leg are revealed. They are usually cut on the bias (at a 45 degree angle to the grain of the fabric) which makes them naturally stretchy. Stretch is important element when pants are close-fitting. They are also cut longer than the leg and finish with a tightly fitting buttoned cuff at the ankle. The excess length falls into folds and appears like a set of bangles resting on the ankle (hence 'churidar'; 'churi': bangle, 'dar': like). When the wearer is sitting, the extra material is the "ease" that makes it possible to bend the legs and sit comfortably. This is known to give the person wearing the churidar, a slimmer and taller outlook.
When women wear the salwar kameez, they usually wear a long scarf or shawl called a dubetta around the head or neck. For Muslim women, the dubetta is a less stringent alternative to the chador or burqa (also known as hijab and purdah). For Hindu women (especially those from northern India, where the salwar kameez is most popular), the dubetta is useful when the head must be covered, as in a temple or the presence of elders. For other women, the dubetta is simply a stylish accessory that can be worn over one shoulder or draped around the chest and over both shoulders.
Also a recent trend is that all bottoms have hand-work done on them, be it just at the bottom or all over the salwar or churidar or pants.
Click here to see Salwars or Churidars.
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