An Indian Day – 1967

Posted on 21/07/2023 by Anu M

Sukhdev’s documentary India ’67 alternately titled An Indian Day, captures life in some parts of India in 1967. The filmmaker’s camera is a restless traveller covering urban and rural life, different geographies, industrialised India as well as agricultural and pastoral India. There are also vignettes of parties, art villages (Cholamandalam), temples and weddings, the stuff of daily life. It also references some of the major events, a Thackeray rally in Mumbai for example as well as the Bihar famine of 1966-1967.

As a result, the documentary captures all segements of society, from the wealthy to the destitute. Though clothing is not at all the focus of the documentary, given its scope it gives us a glimpse of what was worn in everyday life around the late 1960s.

The women in the documentary do have specific styling and clothes that indicate that it is the 60s,e.g. the sarees with short pallus, blouses and make up of pic 5 or the everyday handloom of pic 3. But there is also a bit of a contemporary feel, especially in the images that Sukhdev captures of a group of friends, one of whom is screen-capped in pic 2. There are also many working women in the documentary, often in a lab or the shopfloor.

Sukhdev employs a lot of closeups so you get to see a lot of the ornaments and hair accessories – these screencaps are from the HMT factory in Bangalore. The red resin locket of pic 3 was extremely common in the late 60s and 70s in South India, usually with a gold motif inside. The pink-red stone of the ring of pic 4 is also of the time.

A lot of close ups of head coverings/veils too with the colour red being a connecting feature. I think all of these are taken in Rajasthan amongst rural and pastoral communities. As is apparent, the traditional bandhani as well as textile prints feature.

A few examples of the kind of profuse silver jewellery that was worn as everyday wear, usually in rural India.

Scenes from weddings, three are of a Christian wedding in Mumbai or thereabouts, the last one from Rajasthan. The groom wears a side ornament which I think is called mod. Marigold (as I also mentioned in my post on Gaman) was not as ubiquitous as now, the flower garland here has pink and white flowers (often flowers like rajnigandha and oleander).

Sukhdev also extensively captures images of the working class – in pics 1 and 2 you can see that a short saree without a blouse was still common for agricultural work. The last pic is of people rendered destitute by the Bihar famine of 1966. Though this segment is of a famine and the dire poverty that resulted, much worn and mended clothing as well as hand me downs were common in the 60s if you were poor. The situation is different now – though fast fashion is much decried, it does provide affordable clothing to all segments of society.

More close ups from the film include a rather contemporary bracelet, elegant mojris and the ubiquitous transistor. Tucking a flower above the ear for a temple visit is not so common now but it has an interesting parallel in Bali where it is still prevalent.

Men, traditional and modern, from the documentary.

The documentary, to use the phrase from this article, is a biography of a nascent republic circa 1967. An important record of its time, it is also as this post shows, useful for a serious student of vintage and historical clothing. Do check out!

Posted in 1960s, Accessories, Cinema, clothing, Documentary, Films Division, Flowers, Indian Cinema, Indian Dress, Indian Women, Working Women | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Indian Autumn

Posted on 09/11/2022 by Anu M

In a country as varied as India, autumn arrives in different ways. Way up north you can see fall colours while down South the autumn sees rains. Nevertheless for most of India, the autumn comes after the monsoon and a time of being constricted and confined by the rain is replaced by clear skies and an abundance of life, reflected in the country’s many festivals in October/November.

Given urban life as well as the many influences and images that are now readily accessible, autumn may well evoke both our festivals with their Indianised marigold flowers as well as the American fall, Halloween and the like, even if the latter is confined to the urban, upper classes.

But to really understand the Indian autumn (sharad ritu), you have to go back to the works of pre-Industrial India which evoke the landscape and people, often through poetry. Vishakhadatta for example evokes the skies that follow the rainy season.

The above fragment refers to waterlilies, which along with lotuses, are autumn blooms. Understandable given rivers, ponds and lakes are full after the monsoon. It really is the flower of the season, though not one we would see often nowadays.

Lakshmi, Sunayani Devi via NGMA. The goddess, who is worshipped
in this season, holds a lila-kamal (long stemmed lotus).

Along with the lotus, the Ritusamhara’s opening lines (above) also refer to kash phool, which is still very much part of the mythos in the east of the country and probably most famously appears in Pather Panchali (1955). As for the wild geese, they along with cranes, also appear in autumn poetry.

In the pic above Durga chews sugarcane, in general grasses grow all through the monsoon and are ripe and ready as it ends. The paragraph below refers to this. The extract is from Qurratulain Hyder’s Fireflies in the Mist, which has a beautifully evocative chapter on the seasons.

In the South, the autumn is associated with the kurinji flower, though it blooms at intervals. I looked around for a picture with a garland but it appears the flowers remain untouched since the God Muruga wove one for his marriage to Valli. The blue flowers seen in this wall painting probably represent kurinji. See also this illustration of Valli’s marriage.

Perhaps due to its once in a while blooming, it is best experienced than plucked:).

Pic of kurinji via Vikatan.

Lotuses, waterlilies, kash, saptaparni – the trees and flowers that occur in old poetry are no longer as abundant as they once were. Neither do women use flowers as ornaments anymore. Still once the monsoon is past, even in an urban environment the changed landscape, the falling and drifting leaves, the flora all inform us that an Indian autumn is upon us. Soon it will be winter – largely mild in India of course – but still a different season, a different mood.

PostScript: Of course if anyone has observations on autumn and its festivals in other parts of India (see for example the Bihu of Assam), do post in the comments!

Posted in autumn, Flora, Indian Flora, Indian Flora and Fauna, Sanskrit Literature, Seasons, tamil Literature | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The 90s Post – Aaina

Posted on 03/11/2022 by Anu M

During the lockdown I decided to watch my aunt’s favourite film, Aaina (1993). Normally I don’t review classic Bollywood because it doesn’t aim for authenticity as much as novelty and visual spectacle. With the caveat of course that often “filmi” styles do percolate down to mass wear.

But as it happens, Aaina in parts made me quite nostalgic as I was a young person in the 90s and remember more than a few of the trends. And I was pleasantly surprised by the way the movie uses clothes to create a persona.

The ensemble cast of this movie is on good form but the star of the film is definitely Amrita Singh. And her high voltage act is definitely helped along by some strong statement outfits which Amrita carries with aplomb. In fact it felt like much of her single, bold colour palette is what we are seeing of late. Almost throughout Amrita’s character wears clothes that are vividly coloured with chunky accessories, making her the central point of the scene. The clothes convey to the viewer her headstrong single mindedness as well as her confidence and allure. When she does wear pattern, it is usually housewear with large motifs.

In contrast, Juhi Chawla, as the mousy and moral sister, wears a more subdued palette though it brightens up a bit post marriage. The interesting thing for me was that a lot of her clothes were surprisngly relatable, I remember similar stuff in the shops back in time.

The 90s tended to favour over-large yoke patterns for kurta, the embroidery also tended to rely on larger elements as opposed to the more delicate, finer work you may see today. See for example the kurta of pic 1 here. It was also the era of suit sets which meant that dupattas were a given.

One of the interesting style choices of the movie was Juhi Chawla’s hair ties. I don’t remember these from back in time but they definitely give her chracter’s everygirl persona a quirky, individualistic twist.

A few screengrabs of the full outfits. Now that I think of it the A-line/fit-and-flare kurtas of this era anticipate the full on volume of the Anarkalis of the 21st century. As the last pic shows, most of Juhi’s outfits have a narrow salwar while Amrita’s outfits are flowing chiffony kurtas worn often with a chudidar.

On to the sarees. Amrita’s sarees – again single tone – are worn seedha pallu style. I don’t remember if this was a trend but the style is of course there in Hum Aapke Hain Koun too. There are a few short tunic sort of blouses too, the character marching to her own beat as it were.

Juhi’s character wears a lot of sarees post her marriage midway through the film. One of the things to note is that this decade saw the “saree with blouse piece” trend. In fact it was a very matchy-matchy decade with everything from blouse to bindi to bangles colour co-ordinated, I knew girls who dressed like this on a daily basis (Bhargavi, Nisha where are you!). Of the sarees, a fair few seem to be handloom, the pink is definitely Odisha. The white and black saree is I think a Comibatore saree which were quite popular – my mother had a few. Lastly, I think this was also the decade of the black bead mangalsutra – of course sindoor was around – but black beads were popular signifiers of marital status and you could get different styles as opposed to the traditional design.

And of course there is the 90s bindi, with all the crystals and glitter, the matching bangles and a very 90s photoshot featuring a hat. There is also that lipstick matching the cravat detail:). In fact Jackie Shroff has some pretty flamboyant and colourful outfits as do some of the other younger male characters. The male style in this decade was generally a little loose and boxy, even for the formal clothes.

A bit about the design and settings. This movie has several interior shorts and given that it takes place in a well-off milieu, the houses are big and let’s say a bit over-decorated. Nevertheless they do reflect the families, the sisters’ house a little smaller and cluttered, with darker colours (last pic) and the more light filled interiors of Jackie Shroff’s house with a lot of whites, corals and house plants. And two B. Prabha paintings also make an appearance:).

In sum, the movie is a soap opera with effective performances that make it reasonably entertaining viewing. As the post shows, within a format which must offer the viewer visual escape, costume can play an important role in establishing the characters. This film combines everyday elements and glamour quite effectively – looking back movies like these shaped the evolving fashion sensibilities of liberalising India as well as a more visible diaspora. The movie thus belongs to an era that established “Bollywood fashion”, often drawing from North Indian aesthetic and lifestyles. We may not wear these styles anymore but it’s appeal lies in the fact that it is the last decade before globalisation and travel changed the way we dress (on screen and off) significantly.

COSTUME CREDITS: Neeta Lulla and Anna Singh.

Posted in 1990s, 20th century, Accessories, Actor, bindi, churidar kameez, churidar kurta, Cinema, clothing, colour, costume design, Costumes in Cinema, dupatta, fashion, film costumes, Film Costuming, Hindi cinema, Indian Cinema, Indian fashion, Indian Women, late 20th century, retro, retro cinema, retro fashion, Salwar Kameez, Sari, Sari Blouse | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Net of Pearls

Posted on 13/09/2022 by Anu M

At the time of Rhea Kapoor’s August 2021 wedding, I was struck by her pearl net veil, surely the standout feature of the ensemble. Back then I also did a mini poll on the veil with a few folk and the overwhelming response, bar one, was that they didn’t like it. Perhaps it was the newness of it or perhaps it felt too gimmicky for most folk.

As it happened, I never got around to doing a post on it and wasn’t sure if it needs one now, given the short life of celebrity events:). Nevertheless, since it seems to be still rattling around in my head somewhere, here is the post. It’s not entirely a “historical precedents to the veil” kind of post, perhaps more like rummaging through the myriad thoughts and associations brought about by looking at an ornament or dress. And then turning it to somewhat coherent prose. So here goes!

FROM KALIDASA’S MEGHADOOT
RHEA KAPOOR ON HER WEDDING DAY

The lines above in the first screenshot (source) are the last of the Purva Megha of Kalidasa and as in much of his poetry draw a parallel between the natural world (in this case the rain clouds poised over the city of Alakapuri) and an ornament, here the net of pearls aka muktajala over a woman’s hair. Here Kalidasa suggests that the rain clouds look like a pearl net over the city, suggesting that such an ornament was in use and familiar to his audience.

Generally, around the time of Kalidasa, woven hair nets (jalika) with pearls (muktajala) or gems (ratnajala) were used to decorate the hair as well as keep it in place. There is reference to sculptures at Bharhut, as well as Ajanta murals, having women wearing such hair nets but I couldn’t locate a picture that unambiguously showed a net. Suffice it to say that head coverings/veil, be it silk cloth (like Shakuntala’s in the Kalidasa play) or one with gemstones are quite extensively described in Indian literature. There is some degree of ambiguity, however – it could be that the net lies over the hair or pearls are interwoven through the hair to form a net.

The hair net is of course not particular to Indian attire. In Renaissance paintings, for example, subjects often wear hairnets, veils and snoods. Pearls, gemstones or just metal threads were used to form the nets. See for example, the painting of Eleanor de Toledo wearing a hair net (resilla) as well as a pearl net that forms a shoulder detail of her dress. The same detail is seen in another painting of Eleanor. Like in India, the ornaments serve both purposes, to keep the hair tidy as well as add visual appeal.

Source: 1, 2, 3. See also the Juliet cap.

Of these paintings, Ambrogio De Predis’ work (3) shows the net draped and fastened to the hair. But it remains a hair ornament and is by no means a veil.

As I mentioned earlier veils (or more correctly head coverings) are mentioned in old Indian texts. Where once it was the uttariya, serving a practical function of covering the upper part of the body or head as required, the use persisted even after the adoption of the modern saree. Thus even though the modern saree’s pallu is a good enough head covering, you often see brides wearing an extra piece of cloth primarily to veil the face or cover the head during ceremonies.

Head coverings appear quite extensively in miniature paintings. More often than not it is a fine translucent fabric as in the pic below, intended to display the head jewellery as well as the base garments. And that aesthetic has persisted to this day, making this the conventional covering or veil or dupatta.

In the late 19th to early 20th century however, the head covering enjoyed a brief spell as a fashion accessory. That required a bit of a twist, thus the European inspired head covering, often of fine lace. It looks much like a mantilla and I had covered this in an earlier post. Here you can see it on Suniti Devi of Cooch Behar.

Coming back to Rhea’s veil, the most obvious comparison is the bridal veil in western fashion which often incorporates pearls. However the pearl net here draws entirely on a timeless gem and then uses it in a way that has several cultural nods, thus making it its own thing. Of course as Rhea is a celebrity it was much reported on, but other takes on the veil are also around – example floral ones that seem fairly popular (this pic via wedmegood, pic by Aviraj Saluja). .

In liking the pearl veil I might be in a minority. I think I was drawn to it because it reminded me of the above quoted lines from Meghdoot. Much of Sanskrit poetry in fact evokes the movement of jewellery and the comparison of pearls with water drops is also common. So if one is fanciful, this veil goes beyond the confines of the cloud and net in the poem as well as the renaissance snood. It is a cascade akin to rain drops and it does not as much contain the hair as flows with it.

To end, like with art, any costume is imbued with the tastes, history, stage of life and the like of the creator and wearer. In turn, the viewer or observer brings her own views and interpretations to it. This is mine, no doubt others may have different views or be able to elaborate more on jewelled veils.

Posted in 1900s, 19th century, Accessories, Ancient India, Costume, Early 20th Century, fashion, gems, Indian Aesthetics, Indian Bride, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Jewellery, Late 19th century, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

On Uski Roti (1969)

Posted on 28/01/2022 by Anu M

Uski Roti (1969) and Gaman (see my previous post) have a vehicle driver and a lonely wife in common and there the comparison ends. But this post is a companion piece to the Gaman post because like Gaman it’s limited number of costumes convey a sense of place and time, in this case rural Punjab in the late 60s. Where Gaman’s costumes signal a faded gentility and melancholia, the costumes of Uski Roti are rugged and utilitarian, with spashes of bold prints in keeping with the time. Add to this hints of ornamentation, a bit of tinsel, an anklet and so on. In this movie the men are a little on the margins, but given the rural setting and the truck driver protagonist, their costumes convey a direct sort of masculinity.

Balo
and her sister.

The female protagonist, Balo, and her sister are rural women. Throughout the movie they appear in a salwar kameez, the dupatta draped over the head and often with a shawl indicating a colder season.

The type of salwar suit worn is not dissimilar from say early 20th century photographs of the Punjab, in particular the shorter kurti worn by the sister. Given the otherwise just below the knee kurtas in the film, it did make me wonder if the shorter length indicated the sister’s youth. The prints however are like those of the 60s and 70s – often the kind of fabric and the prints are a more useful indication of the period than the tailoring per se. Where the sister’s kurta has strong sunflower prints that stand out against the stark background (and we can assume that it was brightly coloured too, given the 60s), Balo’s is a little faded. Nevertheless the motifs are large. Balo’s kurta sleeve is also like a buttoned down shirt – kurtas upto the 50s often incorporated western detailing in the collars, sleeves etc and these no doubt percolated into rural areas too.

A full length view of the salwar kurtas of the film above (click for larger view).

The movie has a lot of close ups and frames its actors against stark surroundings, you can therefore see the texture of the fabric as well as embroidery details on shawls and dupattas. I think the embroidery on the first 2 pics is Kashmiri but I am happy to be corrected if this is not the case.

Just a few more screengrabs that show the little details like the bangles and payal (anklet). As well as the protagonist’s bridal dupatta – synthetic with a bit of tinsel. And the winter signallers like the shawl (Kulu?), sweater and the razai/quilt (the block print Rajasthani sort).

Sucha Singh, Balo’s husband

The men in the movie have a bit of a mustachioed swagger overriding any ordinariness of clothing. Turbans and scarves tied around the head feature a fair bit. Much of the costumes can I guess be categorised as the tamba and kurta though I couldn’t always see the folds in the front.

As an aside, the lungi in a temperate climate like the Punjab is a bit interesting for me because broadly sarong/lungi garments are more common in tropical areas with divided clothing like trousers being favoured in drier, colder weather (there is the robe of course but that’s a separate story).

Sucha Singh’s mistress appears to live in a small town/city on his route. Though dressed not too dissimilarly from the rural women in the movie, the cosmetics and other things that surround her speak of the influence of cinema as well a greater focus on her appearance than the rural protagonists of the movie.

There are of course plenty of rural scenes in the movie as well as a card playing session filmed at Sucha Singh’s pit stop where the costumes provide a picture of the milieu but I haven’t really used those as they flow out from what I already have here.

I coudn’t ascertain who did the costumes for the film.

This review is part of summarising the costumes of older Indian cinema, you could say the little details that play a part in drawing us into a world long gone by.

PS: Uski Roti is not a movie I would easily recommend, though I quite liked it. I guess I would say read the non-spoiler reviews before giving it a try:)

Posted in 1960s, Costumes in Cinema, dupatta, film costumes, Film Costuming, Indian Cinema, Indian Costume, Indian Dress, Indian Textiles, Indian Women, Punjab | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Gaman Post

Posted on 18/01/2022 by Anu M

Last year we got ourselves a subscription for mubi and ended up quite enjoying their selection of films. We caught a fair few old Indian films – some of the films we saw are also on youtube but I guess the print quality might be a bit better on mubi. One of these movies was Gaman (1978). It is still relevant, many of the migrant issues raised in the film remain and some have grown more complex.

In comparison to the Muzaffar Ali films which followed later, notably the opulent Umrao Jaan, the costumes of this film are very few and often quite threadbare. Nevertheless they have the elegance of well worn clothing worn by a dignified people. And are also Uttar Pradesh/Awadh specific which is quite unusual in a movie.

Khairun (Smita Patil in a quiet, lovely performance) wears about 3 or 4 gharara suits in tones of black, white and red throughout the movie. I think this chevron print dupatta is quite characteristic of Avadh (more colourful versions appear in the movie Umaro Jaan too).

Ghulam Hasan (Farooq Shaikh) is largely in city clothes – especially the taxi driver uniform – so I might skip the male costumes in this film.

A clear view of the suits worn in the film, this costume was quite common among Muslim women and is often revived even now for contamporary suits, The dupatta is probably a block print mul sort.

Plainer versions of the everyday dress worn by Khairun.

Khairun as a bride, contrasted with Ghulam Hasan’s passenger in Mumbai, a young Maharashtrian bride, The yellow flowers of the latter are a kind of blanket flower (common in garlands for a long time but I rarely see them these days in Mumbai).

The only bit of glamour in the film comes from Protima Bedi in a handloom saree exuding Indian upper class elegance. These days the large bindi is relegated to TV soaps and it is hard to think of a contemporary actress carrying it off as well as Ms Bedi.

For the brides as well as an upper class woman, jasmine strings are the unifier.

The characters played by Geeta Siddharth and Hira Devi Mishra are representative of contemporary city styles among the lower middle classes and in an Uttar Pradesh village (although I am not a fan of always using the ilkal saree to indicate that the character is Maharashtrian, Mumbai had a more varied range to choose from in the 70s).

The ending is filmed at a train station and while there is a great deal of movement and it was difficult to get screen grabs, these two images show both the plain cottons as well as the synthetic mill cloth that went into cheaper, everyday sarees at the time.

The decoration of Ghulam Hasan’s house and the filmmaker’s grandmother in a costume similar to that of Khairun’s.

And as always the costume credits for the movie. Amir Bano also acts in the film and plays Ghulam Hasan’s mother.

Posted in 1970s, 20th century, clothing, Costume, Costumes in Cinema, dupatta, film costumes, Film Costuming, Flowers, Indian Actors, Indian Costume, Indian Dress, Islamic style | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Strange Weather in Mumbai

Posted on 15/01/2022 by Anu M
Deeka the Dog encapsulates the mood of 2021

Nearly a year has elapsed since I blogged here. Even for someone like me, used to a quiet life, pandemic anxiety and fatigue set in by mid 2021. If our immediate family made it through the year covid-less, this was not always the case for extended family. And so fashion and clothes weren’t much on my brain for much of last year. And of course there was also the lack of visual stimuli that everyday life provides – a girl in a new dress, passengers on a train, clothes on a rack – so vital in kick starting thoughts about clothes gone by. For most of the latter part of 2021, I felt unable to cohere my thoughts and put it down and something of it still lingers.

During the pandemic I also found myself firmly in middle age and found my relationship with clothes fundamentally altered. The aesthetic I have always been drawn to – traditional and decorative but a little off kilter and bohemian -didn’t seem to serve me any more. It is one of those periods in my life where I feel out of sync with my clothes. Oddly it felt like a question I needed to settle before writing about vintage fashion and clothes:). But that feeling has now passed.

Like most folk, I ended up consuming a great amount of content I had hitherto not paid much attention to. Since most of my posts rely on text and image, youtube was something I used sparingly and for specific purposes. And then last year idly flipping through short videos on India, I found a fair few video clips that were the source of images that I had used in my blog. Take for example, Indira Devi, whose stills are widely available on the Internet. Here she is in the video below at 1.07 and then 2.29.

Or a still of 1920s style that I had once used (and that felt like a great discovery back then). The video version is below, at 3.00 you can see all the ladies featured in the still.

And I must admit to letting out a little gasp when Homai Vyarawalla appeared at the end of the video below at 5:20, walking with equipment through a parade. It is such a cool few seconds, one of our first women photojournalists looking pretty unflappable on the job.

These videos give a very different sense of vintage fashions and style. On the one hand an image yields up minute details provided it is of good quality. But with videos the frozen glamour of stills is replaced with a sense of “real life” – the way clothes fall, move etc very much in evidence. I certainly found these videos very useful and might profile a few at some point this year.

While excavating fashion details from these videos still remains an art, it did make me wonder if the static blog format may no longer be the best way to interpret vintage styles. This feeling was only reinfornced by a fair few vintage/historical fashion bloggers I watch now and then on youtube, among them Karolina Zebrowska (whose droll observations I very much enjoy) and Bernadette Banner as well as non vintage channels like Audrey Coyne’s. For awhile I toyed with the idea of a video essay but the time committment and tech skills required made me put it on the back burner.

Too often in the past few years, a resolve to blog has more often than not fallen by the wayside. So let me not make any resolutions and simply hope to blog more. In the meantime, happy new year to anyone still reading!

Posted in Indian Women, Personal, Vintage | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Knits in Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!

Posted on 28/02/2021 by Anu M

I must confess I was a little lukewarm towards DBB when it released but meant to do a review of its vintage vibe all the same. A second viewing awhile ago made me appreciate the film, its attention to detail and the performances (poignant to see Sushant Singh Rajput and pity it didn’t get a sequel).

Indian knits – streetwear i.e. – are a humble and modest article of clothing. The colours are varied of course but they – along with the requisite muffler and shawl – are less about style and more about comfort. And even now, when machine made acrylics are around, they still exude a bit of the handmade, daggy vibe. Somehow it goes with chilly nights, steamy chai, mini bonfires to keep warm and the like.

And so the winter viewing meant I was drawn most to the ordinary knits of a movie that has a good amount of period detail to give the viewer a feeling of the decade in question (1940s) in Calcutta. For much of its running time, its male characters are seen in attire suggestive of a mild winter. Apart from the requisite Bengal=Shawl, characters wear vests often . Almost all of these look hand knit and range from the shabby to more refined versions indicating the social status of the wearer. And so onto the eponymous character.

If my viewing and screencapping is correct:), Byomkesh wears the peach and mustard vest below throughout the film. This is his first case and he is a lad from the provinces so presumably he sticks to the basics. Almost always it is combined with a pista green lightweight jacket and a dhoti. This was probably the last decade where attire combining several elements that were indigenous with English influences (note for e.g. Byonkesh’s shoes and socks with his dhoti) were routinely worn. Its probably also the only vest that has a nifty -albeit unused – pocket.

On to knits (basically vests) worn by other male characters in the film. Each vest has its own detailing (e.g. the front buttons in the first green vest) and almost all characters, right down to the servant Puntiram, wear one. Byomkesh’s love rival, Atanu Sen (Tirtha Mullick), appears to have the most upmarket one – a powder blue vest for the office man. In the pics are also the characters Kanai Dao (Meiyang Chang) and Ajit (Anand Twari).

Only one of the women characters wears a knit. The ensemble worn by Byomkesh’s former sweetheart Leela (Moumita Chakraborty) features a knit vest accesorised with a sari. The blouse is a little Victorian for the time since the styles were a little simpler in the 40s. But the ensemble is quite charming and the vest echoes sweater blouses of the time. In fact they remained popular I think, since my grandmother had a few back in the 1980s. Note also the front braided hair. Additions of this sort to a simple plait or updo were quite common in the 40s. And of course the brooch – the last decade to have a love affair with the accessory,

Though this post is all about the knits, briefly on the saris:

Satyavati (Divya Menon) for some reason did not need winterwear – perhaps a woman who never feels the cold?! Expectedly her wardrobe is full of local handlooms accesorised with simple blouses – again no extravagant styles but simple cuts with an occasional puff sleeve or a bit of detailing. One detail I liked was that the bindi is quite small or absent.

Anguri Devi (Swastika Mukherjee) is an actress so bling and glamour is on display. Spectacular as this fringe sari is, the syling is reminiscent of contemporary Bollywood and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Not very surprising since Manish Malhotra designed for this character in the film. They had a lot to draw on, but apart from a film sequence that is being shot, the styling seems a mishamash of old Hollywood and new Bollywood.

Last but not the leasr: Costume Credits!

Posted in 1940s, Actor, Bengal, Bengali, Bollywood, Cinema, costume design, Costumes in Cinema, film costumes, Film Costuming, Indian Actors, Indian Aesthetics, Indian Cinema, Indian Dress, Indian men, indian style, Indian Women, Period Drama, retro fashion, Sari, Vintage, Vintage Dress, winterwear | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Polka Dot Post

Posted on 21/09/2020 by Anu M

Today let’s look at Rekha’s commitment to the polka dot – with a side serving of leheria (diagonal stripes or literally waves)! As with Vijeta, the look is very consistent, bar a “dream sequence” and a wedding.

The movie: 1982’s Jeevan Dhaara. Bit of a three hanky movie about the travails of the breadwinner of a large family. Remade from the Tamil Aval Oru Thodar Kathai (which has some interesting wardrobe choices of its own). Most of what follows is a working woman’s wardrobe – the everyday curated and modified for a star but still faithful to the character.

First up the 200% all polka dot starter!

The template for Rekha’s sarees in the movies is a saree with a thin border/piping with the colours inverted for the blouse, which too has piping (in general you see a fair bit of piping in 1980s Rekha sightings). When it is the saree that is plain – as here – the pallu mirrors the polka dot blouse. The blouse remains more or less the same, high-necked with a keyhole fastened with a closure. All completely colour co-ordinated and usually employing two colours.

Almost throughout the jewellery is simple studs and a small nose ring and finger rings.

The 70s and 80s were big on matching glass bangles and this movie is no exception.

I can’t figure out if the saree material is terene but it is one of the synthetics available then, albeit not the sheer, flowered polyesters that were popular in the latter part of the decade.

Here the saree has polka dots. Again the colour palette is restricted to two colours, Everything else is similar except that the saree doesn’t have a separate pallu. In general all patterned sarees in the movie do not feature a pallu.

The hair is usually a plait with a sleek middle parting . But the at home scenes feature Rekha’s signature cloud of hair.

Another plain saree/polka dot blouse combo. The polka dots are almost invisible but they are there:) Note the watch – a staple back in time to denote the working woman. Also note the room decor – the basics of a lower middle class home.

Again a similar template. Soft colours but bolder polka dots. As also hoop earrings.

This is a little different in using the same template with three colours. Also note the white clutch.

A bit of a variation here in having a flowered section of the saree, Also note the Kolhapuri chappals.

A couple of the sarees and blouses feature leheria. Generally two colours but also employs three when the blouse is patterned. You will note that the design and styling is consistent with the polka dot ensembles.

If you note carefully, with a few exceptions where the keyhole closure button is contiguous with the piping, it usually picks up the blouse colour thus providing a tiny visual contrast to the piping.

And lastly the shaded/ombre leheriya and polka dot sarees:)

Jeevan Dhaara is truly an example of how to style with a few elements, maintain a consistent look and provide a rich variety. The variety is all in the details and this is practically a collection of its own. I doff my non-existent hat to the team that designed it (see below) as well as the ever glorious Rekha who brings it all to life and more.

Above via imdb.

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The Film Post (1980s)

Posted on 29/07/2020 by Anu M

Everything 1980s can be found in one Rekha movie or the other. From indie style to gharelu chic to plain old Bollywood glamour, she showcased it all in her 1980s films. Each movie often had a signature look with the actress sticking to a distinctive, restrictive style.

In Vijeta (1982), the actress played a Maharashtrian character.  Showcased are a number of sarees one may loosely term Puneri/Ilkal/Narayanpet, all with matching blouses (almost all have the same fabric as the saree, a few are matched, heavier fabrics known as “khun”). The blouses hark back to the 70s with their cap sleeves and round neck, Rekha herself favoured a closed neck style of blouse which was a bit of a 1980s trendsetter.  The large bindi and the mangalsutra complete the look, fairly common among middle class women of the time. Not seen in the pic are the coordinated glass bangles, a bit of a 70s/early 80s style.

The costume designer for the film was Jennifer Kapoor/Kendal.

Posted in 1980s, 20th century, Actor, bindi, Bollywood, Cinema, Costumes in Cinema, film costumes, Film Costuming, handlooms, Indian Actors, Indian Aesthetics, Indian Cinema, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, indian style, Indian Textiles, Indian Women, Movies, retro cinema, retro fashion, Sari, Sari Blouse, Vintage, Vintage Blouse, vintage sari | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment