Category Archives: Indian Dress

प्रेमचंद के फटे जूते/Premchand’s Torn Shoes

Source: Flickr. Most folk would have seen the Google Doodle of 31 July 2016 in honour of Premchand’s birth anniversary. My translation of Harishankar Parsai‘s essay Premchand ke Fate Joote (Premchand’s torn shoes) below. Original Hindi version from which I … Continue reading

Posted in 1930s, 20th century, Authors, Early 20th Century, hindi literature, India, Indian Authors, Indian Dress, Indian Literature, Indian men, Literature, My Translations, Photography, Vintage Men | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Shanta Hublikar

In the sequence above, we notice that, even in parody, Kesar and Moti manage to find a private mode for communicating desire for each other. Though the lyrics might deride silly love songs from Chandidas and Achhut Kanya, Moti’s wit … Continue reading

Posted in 1930s, Costumes in Cinema, Early 20th Century, fashion, film costumes, Indian Cinema, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Marathi cinema, retro cinema, retro fashion, Sari, Sari Blouse, Vintage Blouse, vintage sari | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On Colour

The most common colors on the market are the kind you cannot name, the not quite blues, not quite grays and the not quite yellows that are used only for background and referred to as neutral colors, camouflage, “civilized colors,” … Continue reading

Posted in 1750s, 18th century, 1930s, 1940s, 20th century, 21st century, Actor, colour, Contemporary Style, Costume, Courtesan, Culture, fashion, Fashion Quote, Folk, Indian Aesthetics, Indian Costume, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Textiles, Indian Women, natural dye, Prints, Sari, Sari Blouse, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Short Sari

Sharkeswari Agha received a B.A., M.A., and LL.B. from the University of Allahabad; then she completed her Master’s degree in Education at U-M in 1930. In India, she later served as the head of the Teacher Training Department of Crosthwaite … Continue reading

Posted in 1920s, Education, Girls, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Sari, Sari Blouse, sari drape, sari history, Vintage, Vintage Blouse, vintage sari | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

In the 1960s

I had a query awhile ago on styles for students and young women in the 1960s. While I answered that privately I thought a few points from it might be interesting to some of you. For comparison screencaps (top) are … Continue reading

Posted in 1960s, Actor, Bollywood, churidar kurta, Costumes in Cinema, fashion, film costumes, Films Division, Hairstyles, India, Indian Cinema, Indian Costume, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Women, retro, retro cinema, retro fashion, retro hair, Sari, Sari Blouse, sari history, Vintage Blouse, vintage cinema, Vintage Dress, vintage fashion, vintage hair, vintage sari | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Art and Fashion

I came across Uma Damle’s interpretation of Hemen Majumdar paintings the other day. Her site also has her take on Raja Ravi Varma’s works. That got me into doing a few posts of spot the artwork in today’s fashion and … Continue reading

Posted in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 19th century, 20th century, Art, art recreation, Bengal, bindi, contemporary fashion, Contemporary Style, costumes in art, Culture, Early 20th Century, fashion, indian art, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Textiles, Indian Women, Late 19th century, Paintings, Sari, Sari Blouse, Sets, vintage art, Vintage Blouse, vintage costume, vintage fashion, vintage sari, women in art | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The 70s in a single pic

I chanced upon this pic on ebay and in it are all the glorious 70s trends! First up its prints, prints, prints. The maxis* – at least I think they are maxis, the construction of the lower part is interesting. … Continue reading

Posted in 1970s, fashion, Girls, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Women, late 20th century, Photography, retro, retro fashion, Sari, Sari Blouse, Vintage, Vintage Blouse, Vintage Dress, vintage fashion, vintage photography, vintage sari, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The costumes of Dadar Kirti (1980)

Dadar Kirti  (1980) is based on a Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay  story and is a highly fun, easy watch with a charming ensemble cast doing it justice. While it is not subtitled, a rudimentary knowledge of Bengali is enough to enjoy the movie.  The movie … Continue reading

Posted in 1980s, 20th century, Accessories, Actor, Bengal, Bengali cinema, bindi, Cinema, Costume, Costumes in Cinema, Dancer, Early 20th Century, film costumes, Film Costuming, Girls, Indian Cinema, Indian Costume, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Textiles, Indian Women, Manipur, Movies, Period Drama, Regional cinema, Regional period drama, regional styles, Sari, Sari Blouse, shawls, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Spring Post

A little late for this, probably should have posted around mid-February but I still have time till Holi so here goes! Everything is yellow and the fiery red of palash (though in our cities you see a lot more gulmohur … Continue reading

Posted in 1940s, 1950s, 20th century, Art, Bengal, costumes in art, Culture, Flora, Flowers, indian art, Indian Dress, Indian Literature, Literature, Love, Paintings, Poetry, Rural, Sari, Sari Blouse, Seasons, Vintage, vintage art | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

For my mother

I don’t post much personal stuff but today is my mother’s death anniversary and once in awhile I like to remember her in a public way:) The post does however tie in with the themes of my blog, retro style … Continue reading

Posted in 1980s, Family, fashion, India, Indian Awards, Indian Dress, Indian Navy, Indian Women, Maharashtra, Military, retro, Sari, Sari Blouse, Uniforms, women doctors, Women in Uniform | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments