Category Archives: Indian Women

On the Street, India

Posted on 02/10/2013 by Anu M

Hair Ornaments, Tie String blouses and saris worn “seedha pallu”; sequinned saris; fluorescent colours; kurtas with lace borders; skinny jeans worn with kameez and dupatta; handloom singlets; the enduring popularity of chikankari; gold and yellow thread. One of the nice … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, fashion, India, Indian Dress, Indian Women, Jewellery, Sari, Sari Blouse, Sets | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Spring-The Paintings Post

Posted on 26/09/2013 by Anu M

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 Maharani Post

Posted on 26/09/2013 by Anu M

A liberal spirit, she was an ardent nationalist and one of the founders of the women’s movement in India. She certainly imbibed some of her non-conformist attitude from her husband Sayajirao Gaekwad. Under him, Baroda became the first princely state … Continue reading →

Posted in 1910s, Asia, British Raj, Colonial, Costume, Early 20th Century, Feminism, India, Indian Women, Royalty, Sari, Sari Blouse, Uncategorized, Vintage Dress, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Families Post

Posted on 20/09/2013 by Anu M

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 80s Post

Posted on 17/09/2013 by Anu M

In the 80s: “Contrast piping” blouse which picked up the sari colours (pic 1 on Rekha). Matching blouse pieces based on the sari (pic 2 on Shabana) or the border (Pic 3 Courtesans of Bombay)-these pieces were often separate and not … Continue reading →

Posted in 1980s, Actor, Bollywood, Cinema, fashion, Indian Cinema, Indian Dress, Indian Women, Sari, Sari Blouse, Vintage, Vintage Blouse, vintage fashion, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The 1930s post

Posted on 17/09/2013 by Anu M

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

Vintage Illustration

Posted on 17/09/2013 by Anu M

Gaganendranath Tagore‘s “Respecting Women?” illustration of 1916. (via sotheby’s). Things haven’t changed vastly in a 100 odd years.

Posted in 1910s, Bengal, Early 20th Century, Feminism, Illustration, India, Indian men, Indian Women, Sari, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The 1920s Paintings Post

Posted on 30/08/2013 by Anu M

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 colours of Telengana

Posted on 30/08/2013 by Anu M

The vivid colours of Telengana – including turmeric and kumkum on the forehead – in Thota Vaikuntam‘s paintings. Shyam Benegal makes use of the same colour palette in films like Ankur and Nishant. Also [X] [X]

Posted in Art, Culture, Hinduism, Indian Women, Paintings, Rural, Sari, Sari Blouse, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The 18th Century Hunt

Posted on 23/08/2013 by Anu M

Note that in pic 1 (dated about 1775), the couple appear to be forest dwellers.  In most paintings women wear a short skirt of leaves or peacock feathers to indicate the forest setting. But the jewellery here may indicate a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1700s, 1790s, 18th century, 700s, Culture, hunt, Illustration, Indian men, Indian Women, Medieval India, miniature paintings, Royalty, vintae art, vintage art, vintage fashion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment