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The culture, religion, languages spoken and attire of the people of India are
as diverse as the landscape of this vast country. Due to its diversity this
cultural hub does not have just one dress, which can be called as the
National Dress or Indian Dress. If in northern part we find more of the
Muslim influence, in the southern part of India Dravidian style of costumes
dominate.

DELHI

WOMEN'S WEAR
The language, religion and dresses of the people change according to the
region they inhabit. In northern part of India Salwar Kameez is prevalent
among women. Salwar is a type of loose trouser, which is worn with lose
Kurta known as Kameez. This Indian dress is usually accompanied by
Dupatta, a kind of veil used to cover head or bosom. This Indian dress is the
favorite of North Indian women as it is hassle free to wear and easy to
maintain and allows complete freedom of movement which is necessary for
hard working women whether in an office or helping her husband in fields.

Sari, an unstitched piece of cloth which looks common but lends the
uncommon grace and elegance to the women wearing it. In ancient times
unstitched fabric was supposed to be pure this belief gave rise to this Indian
dress in which is there is no problem of size and shape. It is a six to nine
yard piece of cloth. Depending upon the needs and cultural and religious
norms of the region, each region has its own style of draping a sari. The style
of wearing a sari reflects the age, region, religion, status and occupation of
the women to some extent. The different styles of draping a sari are:
North Indian: It is the widely used style in which Sari is draped around a
waist once and then pleats are tucked in the waistband. The remaining
portion of Sari, known as Pallu is put across the left shoulder and is allowed
to fall behind.
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But these days the trends are slightly changing. The traditional Indian
dresses are paving the way for the ones with western touch. Nowadays,
urban Indian women wear jeans, shirt and trouser and skirts, which is more
suitable to her working lifestyle.

MEN'S SECTION
Dhoti and Kurta is supposed to be the native Indian dress for men. Dhoti is a
piece of cloth, which is tied at the waist, and one part of it is passed between
the legs and is tucked at the back, whereas Kurta is a type of an Indian tunic.
In Southern India, men mostly wear Shirt and Lungi. Lungi is also a type of
dhoti, worn differently. It is tied at the waist and hung lose at the legs. These
days due to the changing occupational demands Indian men are opting for
the dresses such as trousers, jeans and shirts etc.
HEADGEAR
The cap and dupatta are the main headgears used by Indian men and women
respectively. Muslim men use a special type of cap known as 'Topi' to cover
their heads whereas turban, locally known as 'Pagadi' in Punjab, is an
integral part of a Sikh men.

Gujrati Dress

Indian jewelry like mangalsutras, necklaces, nose rings, earrings, bangles

and rings, toe rings, bracelets are all part of the Gujarati attire. Most of this
jewelry is made in 22 carat gold but with incidence of theft rising, cheaper
costume jewelry is becoming more common. During weddings, Gujarati
brides wear a lot of jewelry. It is common to see a Gujarati (Hindu) male
wearing a gold chain and a ring.
Years ago, only married Gujarati (Hindu) women wore a red 'bindi' (red
powder worn in a round shape on the forehead also found in the form of
stickers). These days, most women, married or not, wear 'bindi' as a fashion
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accessory when they wear traditional Indian outfits. Modern Bindis are like
stickers, and are available in various shapes, sizes, colors and designs. Only
married women however , wear red powder, called 'sindoor', in a short
straight line on the scalp, starting near the hairline and covers the area where
the hair is generally parted(middle). During a traditional Hindu wedding, the
groom applies 'sindoor' on the bride for the very first time. This act can be
compared to a ring ceremony in western weddings.

South Indian Dresses

South Indian women traditionally wear the sari while the men wear a type of
sarong, which could be either a white dhoti or a colourful lungi with typical
batik patterns. The sari, being an unstitched drape, enhances the shape of the
wearer while only partially covering the midriff. In Indian philosophy, the
navel of the Supreme Being is considered as the source of life and
creativity.[1] Hence by tradition, the stomach and the navel is to be left
unconcealed, though the philosophy behind the costume has largely been
forgotten[1]. This makes the realization of sharira-mandala, where in
Angikam bhuvanam yasya (the body is your world) unites with the shaarira-
mandala (the whole universe), as expressed in the Natyashastra.[1] These
principles of the sari, also hold for other forms of drapes, like the lungi or
mundu or panchey (a white lungi with colourful silk borders in kannada)
worn by men.The lungi can be draped over clockwise or anticlockwise and
can be tied at the back or fixed just along the waist line.It's sometimes lifted
till knee and tied at the waist leisurely or just held in hand to speed up
walking. In parts of north karnataka men wear kachche panchey where it is
tied at back by taking it between legs.Similar pattern is seen in women. All
over the peninsular coastal region men wear coloured lungis and women
wear sari in a way tying it at back.

KASHMIRI DRESS
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Kashmiri Muslims used to wear the pheran, a long loose gown hanging
down below the knees, a white turban tied on a skull cap, a close-fitting
shalwar and lace less shoes called gurgabi. A white piece of material is hung
on their shoulders like a stole. Hindu men wear churidar pyjama instead of
shalwar. The less affluent Muslims wear skull caps, which looks cute and
does not carry any shawl.
Kashmiri women are among the most beautiful in India. They have "an
English rosiness of complexion behind the Eastern tan". The colour of their
hair ranges from golden red to brunette and that of eyes from green, blue,
grey to black. Besides being boats-women and farmers, the women of
Kashmir lend a hand to their men-folk at shawl making, embroidery and
other handicrafts.
The women wear the pheran, the voluminous Kashmiri gown, hemmed with
a border and hanging in awkward folds. The long, loose pheran covers their
physique no doubt, but does not blunt their physical appeal. Whereas a
Muslim woman's pheran is knee-length, loose and embroidered in front and
on the edges, a Hindu woman's pheran touches her feet. For the sake of
smartness and ease it is tied at the waist with folded material called lhungi.
The long loose sleeves are fashionably decorated with brocade. With this
type of Hindu costume goes the head-dress called taranga, which is tied to a
hanging bonnet and tapers down to the heels from behind. The folds of the
taranga are made of brightly-pressed lines fastened to a pointed red-coloured
and brocaded skull cap with a few gold pins at the sides. Over the head and
ears are pieces of muslin embroidered in gold thread . The younger Hindu
women, however have taken to the sari, after the 'reform movement' of the
thirties. Even then, on the wedding day they have to wear the taranga
ceremonially. It is covered with the palav of the bride's wedding sari.
Taranga, thus stays as part of the bridal trousseau.
Unlike a Hindu woman's pheran, which gives her a Roman look, the Muslim
woman's pheran is beautifully embroidered in front. Their head gear, the
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Kasaba, looks very different from the taranga. It is red in colour, tied turban-
like and held tight by an abundance of silver pins and trinkets. It has an
overhanging pin-scarf which falls grace fully over the shoulders. A work-a-
day shalwar goes with it. Unmarried Muslim girls wear skull caps,
embroidered with gold thread and embellished with silver pendants, trinkets
and amulets.
With the passage of years, an appreciable change has come about in the
dress of the Kashmiri women. Saris, shalwar-kameez, churidars and jeans
are becoming popular, yet none of these belong to them as much as the good
old pheran.

Costumes and Dresses of Rajasthan

The site Heritage Hotels of Rajasthan offers to take you on cultural tours to
Rajasthan in North India and exposes you to the style of costumes and
dresses that have been traditionally worn by the people of Rajasthan, North
India.

Colorful Rajasthan is a vibrant patchwork of ancient traditions and culture

and of course the clothes and dresses worn by the people of Rajasthan, north
India is an inseparable part of Rajasthani culture. Even today the men and
women in the villages of Rajasthan sport the traditional clothes and
headgear.

During your cultural tours to Rajasthan, North India you can actually go on
tours to the villages of Rajasthan and marvel at the colorful attires and
ornaments worn by men and women. In fact the costumes worn by the
people of Rajasthan in the villages still reflect the clothing style and
costumes of those who lived in the olden times.
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The costumes of the women and men of Rajasthan, North India are
influenced by the climatic conditions, family status and the economic status.

The popular traditional dresses and costumes of Rajasthan, North India

include the Banda, Dhoti, Potia, Bugatari, Khol, Angrakhi, Dhabla,
Pachewara, Achkan, Burga, Tilak, Skirts and Saris.

The men in Rajasthan wear special headgears called the pagri or the turban
depending upon the climatic condition of the particular region. The tradition
of wearing bandhni clothes in Rajasthan, north India has been going on for
time immemorial. Tie-dye saris, dupattas and turban are very common in
Rajasthan, north India.

Rajasthani women wear ghagra choli's, saris, lehangas and dupattas. The
women who belong to rich families wear special chappals that are decorated
with sequins and gold threads. During your cultural tours to Rajasthan,
North India you will discover that the women of Rajasthan, North India love
to wear ornaments, especially made of gold and silver.

Kerala Dresses

Kerala, known as 'God's own country', has its own textile tradition. Kerala
Sarees are symbolic of Kerala culture and tradition and is not seen anywhere
else in India.
The elegant Kerala Saree, off white with gold border is unique for their
natural colour, texture and golden border. These sarees lend an extraordinary
elegance to the person wearing it. Every Malayali woman possesses at least
one Kerala sari in her wardrobe.
Traditionally women in Kerala also wear a two piece cloth named 'settu
mundu', also known as 'mundum neriyathum' with natural body colour and
breathtaking border shades, which when worn, exactly look like a saree.
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The typical Kerala saree is hand woven and is 100 per cent unbleached
cotton. It is known for its fineness of count in weaving. The traditional
design of a Kerala saree had a 1 inch to 6-7 inch pallu while the body
remained plain. But now the pallu goes up to one metre and the border and
pallu is decorated with common designs of animals such as peacock and
flowers. The sari is now available in checks, stripes and a wide variety of
designs as well as in cotton mixed with silk.
Men in Kerala wear Kasavu mundu or dhothies during festive occasions. In
all places of worship, specially in temples, the most preferred dress is the
dhoti. This light pure cotton handlooms edged with golden thread is some
times touched with contrasting bright colours. Dhoti's are available in
regular, large and extra large sizes.

Assams Dresses
There is a wide variety of clothing and textiles involved with Assamese
culture. An enumeration of the significant items as well as terms used to
refer to them is shown below.
• Cotton

• Dhoti

• Endi

• Eri

• Gamosa

• Jaapi

• Khadi

• Mekhela chador

• Muga silk

• Pat silk

• Riha

• Suriya

• Tongali

• Uroni
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The Gamosa is an article of great significance for the people of Assam.

It is generally a white rectangular piece of cloth with primarily a red
border on three sides and red woven motifs on the fourth (in addition to
red, other colors are also used). Although cotton yarn is the most
common material for making/weaving gamosas, there are special
occiasion ones made from Pat silk.

Mekhela is the traditional Assamese dress worn by women.

There are two main pieces of cloth that are draped around the body. The
bottom portion, draped from the waist downwards is called the mekhela . It
is in the form of a very wide cylinder that is folded into pleats to fit around
the waist and tucked in. The top portion if a long length of cloth that has one
end tucked into the upper portion of the Mekhela and the rest draped over
and around the rest of the body. Invariably there is a blouse that is worn
underneath the top half of the body

HARYANA DRESSES

The dress of the people is generally simple. It consists of a dhoti, shirt,

turban and a pair of shoes. A blanket or chaddar serves as wrapper. The
turban has a different style for a Jat, an Ahir, a Rajput, a Bania or a
Brahman. There is also difference in the dress of various communities
particularly among women. A Jat woman's full dress, thel, consist of
ghaggri, shirt and a printed orhni (a length of cloth draped over the front and
shoulders) the ghaggri seldom falling below the calves. The Ahir woman can
always be recognized by her lehenga or peticoat, angia (a tight blouse) and
orhni. Her orhni is broader than that of a Jat women. She employs it also to
cover her abdomen. It is usually red or yellow, decorated with bosses and
fringes, with a fall. The Rajput woman's dress is similar to that of an Ahir
woman. Their orhni may be plain white with silver fringe but without a fall.
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The dhotis and saris are the favourite items of dress among Brahmans and
Aggarwal women.
A women would need at least three different sets of clothes, one for working
at the grindstone, another for the field, another for drawing water from the
well. Clothes indicate family status.
Coloured clothes are worn by the Hindus at weddings. The marriage party
colour their duppatas only and the bridegroom his turban. A duppata or
overcloth, kamiz or skirt, pajamas, salwar or ghagra with differences in
make and colour is generally the female dress. Among the educated classes
in the villages women are taking to saris of different colours. The dresses
worn by women display more variety than male attires. The dress also
proclaims the caste or community of the woman. A Gujjar woman can be
known at once from the blue clothes and a Chamar from her red clothes.
Round bits of glass are adorned by the clothes of a Gujjar women.
Unmarried girls abstain from gaudy dress to avoid undue attention.

COSTUMES OF WEST BENGAL

The costumes of West Bengal reflect the state's rich cultural traditions. The
traditional costume of the women of West Bengal is saree, though salwar
kameez and western wears are also gaining in popularity. The women of
West Bengal prefer to adorn themselves with a variety of colourful sarees,
which they wear in a characteristically Bengali fashion. Both silk and cotton
sarees are very much popular in West Bengal. Among the silk sarees,
Baluchari sarees have achieved a legendary reputation.
They are the products of wonderful craftsmanship of the weavers of West
Bengal, which endow the wearer with a seminal style statement. Daccai
sarees are also quite famous and popular both within and outside West
Bengal. In fact, West Bengal has an exquisite weaving tradition, which has
given its sarees a unique appeal. Shantipur in Nadia district, Begumpur in
Hooghly district, Kenjekura in Bankura district are weavers' havens.
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The traditional costumes for the men of West Bengal are dhoti and panjabi.
The former is a lower garment, while the latter is an upper garment. Panjabi
is similar to kurtas that are worn in north India as upper garments. The dhoti
and panjabi can be of cotton as well as silk. However, very few Bengali men
of this generation and even its earlier generation, wear dhoti and panjabi,
except on formal occasions like weddings or Durga Puja. In day-to-day
usage, they prefer to wear western wear in work and leisure.
Besides handlooms, West Bengal is also known for its intricate needlework,
which even in this information age is practiced by the women of West
Bengal in homes. Colourful kanthas are the products of this painstaking but
emotionally rewarding embroidery and needlework. These multi-coloured
patchwork quilts, stitched from often discarded pieces of garments, are not
only beautiful to look, but useful. They can serve as bedspreads, as mirror-
wraps or as plain quilts to ward away mild winters. Sometimes these kanthas
have illustrated artworks stitched on them, which adds to their aesthetic
appeal.