Category Archives: Costume

Lit Post – 1

After a few days, he began to visit the boy’s home in Palayamkottai and met his sisters who, dressed in the daring new style of pavadai, blouse and dhavani, strolled about book in hand. Extracts from Padmavati, A. Madhaviah, Trs … Continue reading

Posted in 1890s, 19th century, Christianity, Colonial, Costume, Culture, Dress Reform, Fashion Quote, Girls, Indian Dress, Indian Literature, Indian Women, Late 19th century, regional styles, sari history, Tamil, tamil Literature, Tamil Nadu, Vintage, Vintage Books, vintage costume, vintage fashion | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Indian Royals – 2

The daughters of the Diwan of Travancore in 1868. They appear to be Bala, Neena, Sundara, Sati?. The Diwan was a Maharashtrian from Thanjavur, the sari and ornaments are similar to that seen in Maharashtra and South India in the … Continue reading

Posted in 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1900s, 1910s, 1930s, Costume, Culture, Early 20th Century, fashion, historical dress, historical fashions, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian royalty, Indian Women, Late 19th century, Maharashtra, regional styles, Royalty, Sari, Sari Blouse, sari drape, sari history, Sets, Studio Portraits, Vintage Blouse, vintage costume, vintage fashion, vintage sari, vintage style, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Indian Royals – 1

Unidentified man, Jaipur, possibly royalty. Painted portrait (gelatin silver print and watercolour) from the 1930s. The collared coat is possibly a sherwani – a garment that displaced the jama, angarkha kind of tunics of the Mughal and Rajput courts by … Continue reading

Posted in 1900s, 1920s, 1930s, 20th century, Colonial, Costume, Culture, Early 20th Century, historical costume, historical dress, historical fashions, History, India, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian History, Indian men, Indian royalty, Islamic Dress, Islamic style, Painted Photographs, Photography, Royalty, vintage costume, Vintage Men | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Sobha Singh’s Art

‘an accomplished but somewhat sugary style that reminds us of Edmund Dulac’, as Partha Mitter describes it (The Triumph of Modernism: India’s artists and the avant-garde 1922-1947, London 2007, p. 146)……approximate date for the pictures….between 1931 and 1941. X. Sobha … Continue reading

Posted in 1930s, Art, Costume, costumes in art, Early 20th Century, indian art, Indian fashion, Paintings, vintage art, vintage style, women in art | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Mulgaokar’s art

Filmy costumes for mythological/historical figures in Raghuvir Mulgaokar’s 1953 paintings/calendar art. Pic 1: Mastani  – this outfit aka a kameez that has a tight fitted bodice and skirt and the jhoomar for the hair is both particular to films and … Continue reading

Posted in 1950s, Art, Bollywood, churidar kameez, Costume, Courtesan, Culture, Dancer, Deccan, Film Costuming, ghaghra, historical costume, indian art, Indian Dress, Islamic style, Maharashtra, mid century, Paintings, Rajasthan, regional styles, Sari, vintage art, women in art | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dancers (Sudhir Khastgir)

For awhile (in the 50s I think), Sudhir Khastgir painted a number of dancing figures. Here are two: Sudhir Khastgir, Dancing Figure, 1962. The lower panels indicate the earrings and forehead ornament, a little bit of the knotted ponytail, bangles … Continue reading

Posted in 1950s, 1960s, Art, Bengal, Costume, Dance, Dancer, indian art, Indian Dress, Indian men, Indian Women, mid century, Paintings, Vintage, vintage art, vintage costume, Vintage Dress, women in art | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Costumes in NS Bendre’s Paintings

Part of a series on costumes as seen in Indian art. Weaving had a special significance for Bendre, who taught it together with painting and papier mache while in Baroda in the 1950’s. He painted several works over the years … Continue reading

Posted in 1980s, 20th century, Art, Bengal, Costume, Culture, Early 20th Century, Folk, indian art, Indian Dress, Indian men, mid century, North East India, regional styles, Vintage, vintage art, vintage costume, Weaving, Women, women in art | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Costume Books

I have been reading a couple of books on Indian costumes and thought I would write a bit about two of them. Queen Subada, Detail from Shahnamah, Sultanate School, 1450. Costume Details: Phiran: of transparent material, form-fitting and ankle length, … Continue reading

Posted in 1990s, 20th century, Accessories, Actor, Ancient India, antique, Art, Asia, Authors, Costume, Courtesan, Culture, Dancer, fashion, Hinduism, historical costume, historical dress, historical fashions, historical hairstyles, Illustration, indian art, Indian Dress, Indian History, Indian Illustrators, Indian Theatre, Indian Women, Jaina Literature, Jewellery, Medieval India, Sanskrit Drama, sari history, Theatre, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Magazine Post

  Covers of Chandamama Magazine. Pic 1: 1957, Pic 2: 1979, Pic 3: 1987 (Hindi), Pic 4: 1968 (Telugu), Pic 3: 1979 (Bengali), Pic 4: 1980 (Bengali), Some of the covers really require a Women in Art History deconstruction (though … Continue reading

Posted in 1950s, 1970s, 1980s, Comics, Costume, Courtesan, Culture, Dancer, fashion, Goddess, historical costume, Illustration, indian art, Indian fashion, Indian Illustrators, Indian Mythology, Indian Tales, Magazine, Uncategorized, Vintage Illustration, Vintage Magazine | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Comics Post

For a lot of us in India at one time Comic = Amar Chitra Katha. My nieces are Australian so their book cupboard is wash with princess stories, fairy stories, Peppa Pig, Horrid Henry and the like.  The Indian comics … Continue reading

Posted in 1970s, 1980s, Ancient India, Art, Comics, Costume, Culture, fashion, Girls, Hinduism, historical fashions, History, Illustration, indian art, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian History, Indian Illustrators, Indian men, Indian Women, Jaina Literature, regional styles, Romance, Royalty, Sanskrit Drama, Sari, sari drape, sari history, Sets, tamil Literature | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments