Fashion in India can be a hit and miss affair. While most women look graceful and gorgeous in jewel-coloured sarees or neatly co-ordinated in matching churidars, others have a style all of their own. Since snapping the delightful ensembles above, I've spotted even more lurid creations popping up in a shop window in town, and have been mighty glad of my sunglasses.
The Indian 'housedress' is also ubiquitous behind closed doors. Flatteringly cut to bear a close resemblance to the potato sack, this hideous garment buttons up to the neck, falls to the ankles and seems to be available only in the 'one size fits all' variety.
But that's enough of the ladies. I've mentioned popular menswear before, and here it is: the dhoti in all its glory. Not usually worn with a vest, I should hasten to add. Oh no. Fashionable men in India (or rather, their wives and mothers) buy their dhotis in packs, complete with matching western-style shirt. So, if your dhoti has a pink stripe down the side, the matching shirt will be in the same shade. Men are western from the waist up, with their neatly brushed hair and crisply laundered shirts complete with pen in the pocket, but traditional Indian from the waist down, the dhoti wrapped nappie-style above the knees leaving bare legs and sandals poking out below.
Worn as originally intended as I've seen in Hindu festivals, where the dhoti reaches the ankles with the chest left bare, it looks dignified and timeless. Combined with western-style above the waist, it's a tad incongruous!
No comments:
Post a Comment