Category Archives: Sari

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

Midweek Post- 3

In the closing decades of the nineteenth century in a land already thronging with all manner of gods and goddesses there surfaced a novel deity of nation and country who at some moments in the subsequent years seemed to tower … Continue reading

Posted in 1910s, 1920s, Art, British Raj, Colonial, Early 20th Century, Flapper, Goddess, History, Illustration, Independence, India, Indian History, Sari, Sari Blouse, vintage art, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Midweek Post-2

Women in blue saris playing cards, B Prabha George Keyt‘s cubist work, Woman in a Blue Sari, mid 1940s

Posted in 1940s, 20th century, Art, Early 20th Century, India, Indian Dress, Indian Women, Paintings, Sari, Sari Blouse, Sri Lanka, vintage art, vintage fashion, Women | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Ayah Post-3

A look at how past fashions influence modern fashions: Detail from Warren Hastings with his wife and Indian maid, painted sometime between 1784-87. Floor length “anarkalis” (no doubt known by a different name) can be spotted in 18th century/19th century … Continue reading

Posted in 1780s, 1880s, 18th century, 19th century, British Raj, Colonial, India, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Late 19th century, Paintings, Photography, Sari, Sari Blouse, servind maid, Vintage, Vintage Dress, vintage fashion, Women, Working Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Ayah Post-2

Ayahs on film: Nandita Das in Earth. Ayahs on Stage: Anneika Rose in The Empress.

Posted in 20th century, Actor, British Raj, Colonial, Contemporary, India, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Movies, Period Drama, Sari, Sari Blouse, Vintage, Vintage Blouse, Vintage Dress, vintage fashion, Women, Working Women | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Ayah Post-1

By the 1930s the image of a cherished ayah had been enshrined in the nostalgia of the Raj that had been generated at the close of the nineteenth century. As that image took on a life of its own, individual … Continue reading

Posted in 19th century, 20th century, British Raj, Colonial, Early 20th Century, History, India, Indian Dress, Indian Women, Late 19th century, Sari, Sari Blouse, Vintage, Vintage Dress, Women, Working Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Ayah

A number of fashion blogs feature couture, pretty stuff, beautiful fabrics, embellishments, trends and women admired for their beauty. Which is fine for the most part, it is what elevates clothing above the mundane. Once in awhile though it is … Continue reading

Posted in 19th century, 20th century, British Raj, Colonial, Early 20th Century, History, India, Indian Women, Late 19th century, Sari, Sari Blouse, Uniforms, Vintage Dress, Women, Working Women | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Goa Post – 2

Angelo da Fonseca, who was known for his Indianised Christian themed art. The two paintings, dated 1967 and 1959, represent the two most common dress forms worn in India, the sari and the three piece that includes a dupatta and … Continue reading

Posted in 1950s, 1960s, Art, Christianity, Goa, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Paintings, Salwar Kameez, Sari, Sari Blouse, vintage art, vintage fashion, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kumbakonam

My grandparents came from the villages around Kumbakonam but lived most of their adult lives in Maharashtra and Bihar.  My great grandparents had a house in Tiruvidaimarudur, they moved here in the 1950s from Mumbai. Given their long lives, we … Continue reading

Posted in 20th century, Contemporary, Culture, fashion, Flowers, Girls, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Salwar Kameez, Sari, Sari Blouse, Tamil, Village, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Bengal Cotton Sari

Shabana Azmi’s cotton saris in Swami (1977) [X] set in rural Bengal. There is a long history of cotton clothing from Bengal and the woven cloth has distinctive patterns so that even most urban users can recognise a Bengal sari. … Continue reading

Posted in 1970s, Actor, Bengal, Cinema, Culture, Early 20th Century, Indian Cinema, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Period Drama, Sari, Sari Blouse, Vintage Blouse, Vintage Dress, vintage fashion | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment