Category Archives: 1930s

The Group Photo Post

Group photographs are great because they give an actual sense of what people wore back in the day. The first pic for example is probably Madras in the 1930s. All the women are in the then modern six-yard sari.  The … Continue reading

Posted in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, churidar kameez, Colonial, Costume, Early 19th century, Education, fashion, Girls, History, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Photography, Salwar Kameez, Sari, Sari Blouse, Sets, Tamil, Vintage Blouse, Vintage Dress, vintage sari | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to dress like a 1937 heroine

This post on ruffled blouses refers to Mukti (1937)* [X] [X].  The movie was a bit of a fashion influencer with Kanan’s crown braid and  Barua’s beret worn backwards apparently all the rage. It turns out the movie is on … Continue reading

Posted in 1930s, Actor, Bengal, Cinema, Colonial, Culture, Early 20th Century, fashion, Hair, Indian Cinema, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian men, Indian Singers, Indian Women, Movies, Sari, Sari Blouse, Singer, Vintage, Vintage Blouse, Vintage Dress, vintage fashion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Puff Sleeve

The puff sleeve blouse. Always popular in almost every decade of the 20th century, particularly for young women. Judging from photographs I have seen, the simpler version (unlike the exaggerated sleeves of previous decades) was kind of de rigeur in … Continue reading

Posted in 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 20th century, 21st century, Actor, Colonial, Contemporary, Early 20th Century, fashion, Indian Cinema, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Sari, Sari Blouse, Sets, Vintage Blouse, vintage fashion | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Stunt Queens of the 1930s

Next evening we too saw her as she sat in front of the Well of Death, looking bored, chain smoking Scissors cigarettes.  She wore a “birjis”* of shining blue satin, and her heavily painted face looked weirdly blue in the … Continue reading

Posted in 1930s, Actor, Cinema, Early 20th Century, Feminism, Indian Cinema, Indian Women, Old Bollywood, Vintage Dress, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Spring-The Paintings Post

Spring is always the red tower of the May tree; alive, shaken with bees, smelling of honey; and the blood, a moving tree of May, (Judith Wright). Its spring – sort of – in the Southern Hemisphere. Today’s painting is … Continue reading

Posted in 1930s, Art, Colonial, Culture, Early 20th Century, Flowers, Girls, Goa, India, Indian Women, Paintings, Uncategorized, Vintage, vintage art, Vintage Blouse, Vintage Dress, vintage fashion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Families Post

A look at families from the late 19th century till about the 1980s.  Its impossible for me to do justice to the many photographs documenting families across region, religion and caste so this is just a sample. First up, North … Continue reading

Posted in 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 19th century, 20th century, Asia, Bengal, Colonial, Contemporary, Costume, Culture, Diaspora, Early 20th Century, Edwardian, Family, fashion, History, Immigration, Indian Dress, Indian History, Indian men, Indian Women, Islamic Dress, Late 19th century, Photography, Royalty, Sari, Sari Blouse, Sets, South India, Vintage Blouse, Vintage Dress, vintage fashion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The 1930s post

In the 1930s (and perhaps a little bit on either side of this decade) it is very common to see a) the sequinned sari and b) plain sarees with gold borders. In some cases these are fine silks and cottons … Continue reading

Posted in 1930s, Actor, Bollywood, Colonial, Culture, Early 20th Century, fashion, Indian Dress, Indian Women, Sari, Sari Blouse, South India, Vintage Blouse, vintage fashion, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The 1920s Paintings Post

Mazumdar tended to hint at nudity by draping his models in semi-transparent or wet saris, a technique that was later adopted by Indian cinema. Hemendranath Mazumdar‘s naturalistic oils of partially clothed, vaguely erotic looking women were unsurprisingly popular in the … Continue reading

Posted in 1920s, 1930s, Art, Bengal, Culture, Early 20th Century, Indian Dress, Indian Women, Jewellery, Paintings, Sari, Sari Blouse, Vintage, vintage art, vintage fashion, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The “Sari Wrap” Post

Judging by portraits in the decade, a sari style like a warp was quite popular in the 1930s. It appears to be wound once so the sari border crosses or falls around the knee and then wound again to drape … Continue reading

Posted in 1930s, 1960s, Indian Cinema, Sari, Sari Blouse, Sari Dress, Vintage Blouse, Vintage Dress, vintage fashion, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Odds and Ends

Notes from Singapore 15 August 1936 and Olympic Gold. Jewellery for a Pretty Girl Lipstick Ladies and my favourite: the waist brooch for a sari.  

Posted in 1930s, 1950s, 1960s, Indian Women, Jewellery, Sari, Sari Blouse, Vintage Dress, vintage fashion, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment