Indian Accessories

Look back, you can see clothes have always been a fascination for mankind from the very early times. The older generations of Indian society are mostly familiar with the traditional wears like sari, salwar kameez, kurta churidar etc.

But the younger generations are reluctant to accept these dresses as in their old forms and designs. Evenwhen a young girl attempts to wear one she is consider as old-fashioned by the younger wings of the society. As the time changes trends also take up new forms. These varied trends have resulted in the evolution of Indian costume and the traditional wears after necessary changes are increasingly worn by the youngsters, thus gaining popularity in the younger sections of society.

Indian designers have taken this as a challenge and are working hard to satisfy these young ones by combining comfort with modern fashion trends. They make a lot of changes in the designs and styles of the outfits to be fit for various occasions. The designers combine traditional embroidery with ultra modern cuts giving the traditional attires new sensational looks. Fully realizing the needs of the fashion-minded Indian youths the designers convince them by giving a little western touch to the traditional clothes. This latest combination has given birth to an ultra-modern salwar kameez. This salwar consists of a sleeveless top and salwar and again in the place of a regular sleeve the top can have spaghetti straps which give the outfit a unique identity. By changing the cuts, length and hemline new styles like short kurti kameez have been generated. This shorter version of kurta can be worn over pants, capris, parallels etc…These kurtis look more attractive and appealing in a variety of colors, textures, prints and styles.

Keeping pace with the changing trends, even sari, the most popular traditional wear has evolved to an easy-to-wear stitched skirt like attire. Saris are now made in various fine fabrics and eye-catching colors decorated with different types of embroideries using semi-precious stones, beads, mirrors etc. Every season introduces new innovations in saris. In accordance with the tastes of the young girls blouse also has changed its designs drastically. The younger sections love to be looked sexy in various types of sizzling cholis/blouses, to name a few, spaghetti straps, backless, off-shoulder, halter, boat neck, asymmetrical and U-neck blouses. Now a lot of importance is given to the back of the blouse with key holes and strings. Instead of cotton, blouses now come in fine materials like handloom cotton, chiffon and georgette and in winter velvet and silk are worn.

Fashion may change, design may change, but the tradition has its mark on all changing stuff.

In its long history India has produced a large variety of traditional dresses; some are in the national level while others are in the state levels. Kurta/kurti, the evergreen Indian costume, comes in the first category and also is a traditional

wear of countries like Pakistan, Bangla Desh and Afghanistan. Kurta is the name for the male wear and Kurti, the female name. Kurti is a long lose fitted shirt that reaches just above or below the knees. Kurta is normally worn over salwar, jeans or trousers. A versatile garment like this is suitable for both formal and informal occasions.

The original traditional Kurti consists of rectangular fabric pieces with some gusset inserts and is usually very simple and plain; only certain forms come in decorative patterns. The sleeves are also very simple and plain and fall straight to the wrist without narrowing and are not cuffed. But you can see certain kurtas with embroidery and decorative works. The Kurti has its side seams left open for 10-12 inches so that the wearer can move about freely.

Almost all kurtis have front opening, often a hemmed slit in the fabric either tied or buttoned at the top, though certain types might feature plackets instead, with or without buttons at shoulder seam. You can see the opening centered on the chest in most of the kurtis while in other cases it is little away from the center. The traditional kurits do not feature a collar whereas some designs are seen with stand up collars called “Mandarin collars”

Kurti is an ideal dress for both hot summers and chilly winters. Summer wear kurtis are made of thin silk and cotton fabrics while thicker fabrics like wool or khadi silk, a thick coarse hand spun and woven silk mixed with other fabrics, is used for making winter wears.

The modern version is available in almost all fabrics, various designs and patterns. The designs might be simple and plain or moderately to richly decorated to satisfy a wide variety fashion tastes of the people and to suit the various occasions. Embroidery is the most common decorative work done on the kurtis. Especially several light summer kurtis come in chikan embroidery around the hem and front opening. The embroidery work is usually done on light semi-transparent textures with matching threads. This Kurti is a blend of traditional looks and subtle nuances of modernity.

The ultra-modern kurtis for women are short, just touching the waist, with short sleeves or without sleeves and come in various enchanting color combinations, designs and vibrant colors. These kurtis, worn over churidars, jeans, parallels or capris, look extremely magnificent and fit for any casual or formal wear.

The women in Haryana state, India, wear a traditional costume termed as Daman-Kurti-Chunder. While daman and chunder represent lehenga and dupatta respectively the kurti is a shirt-like blouse in white color. This decent daman-kurti-chunder costume beautifies the Haryana girls with its rich outlook.