Category Archives: Vintage

The costumes of Devdas (1936)

Devdas may well be summarised by these three screen captures:) Saratchandra was 17 when he wrote Devdas, it is likely the author himself thought the novel an immature work in later age.  Despite it being a “youth novel” and  despite the … Continue reading

Posted in 1910s, 1930s, 20th century, Accessories, Actor, Bengal, Bengali cinema, Cinema, Colonial, Costume, costume design, Courtesan, Culture, Dancer, Early 20th Century, fashion, film costumes, Film Costuming, Hairstyles, Indian Cinema, Indian Costume, Indian fashion, Indian men, Indian Women, regional styles, Romance, Sari, Sari Blouse, sari history, Vintage, vintage costume | 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

The Period Drama Post

A look at a few contemporary period dramas in regional cinema, almost all are set in the 20th century. मी वेगळी आहे विन्या (I am different, Vinya).  The staging of a play in Ravi Jadhav’s short, Mitraa, during which Sumitra realises … Continue reading

Posted in 1880s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 20th century, Actor, Bengal, Bengali cinema, Costume, Early 20th Century, fashion, fictional detectives, Film Costuming, Indian Cinema, Indian Costume, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian men, Indian Women, Late 19th century, Lesbianism, Literature, Love, Malayalam Cinema, Marathi cinema, Novels, Period Drama, Regional cinema, Regional period drama, regional styles, retro cinema, retro fashion, Sari, Sari Blouse, Sets, South India, Tamil Cinema, Vintage, Vintage Blouse, vintage costume, vintage fashion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A short list of Indian period dramas

While doing posts on contemporary regional Indian period movies, I made a rough list of Indian period films. These are listed below. Some are historicals but the bulk fall into the 19th and 20th century.  The list is fairly rough … Continue reading

Posted in Actor, Ancient India, Bengali cinema, Bollywood, British Raj, Colonial, Costume, fashion, Film Costuming, historical costume, History, Independence, Indian Cinema, Indian Costume, Indian fashion, Islamic Dress, Medieval India, Movies, Mughal India, Old Bollywood, Regional cinema, Regional period drama, regional styles, retro, Sari, Sari Blouse, South Indian Cinema, Vintage, vintage cinema, vintage fashion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Shawl Post

I did a series of posts on shawls on tumblr that started in the early winter. We are past that now but still in winter so rug up for the ride:) Unless you are in the Southern Hemisphere i.e. In … Continue reading

Posted in 1800s, 18th century, 1940s, 1950s, 1970s, 19th century, 2016 posts, 20th century, Bengal, Costume, Culture, early 18th century, Early 19th century, Early 20th Century, fashion, Girls, historical costume, historical fashions, India, Indian Costume, Indian Dress, Indian men, Indian Textiles, Indian Women, Islamic Dress, Late 19th century, Mughal, North East, photodivision, Politicians, regional styles, retro, Sets, shawls, Vintage, Vintage Dress, Vintage Men, vintage style, Weaving, winterwear | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Rangoli Post

Source for Rangoli terms-X.  Pic Source – X. (~1890s, click for larger view). Making an Alpana, Santiniketan, 1954. Life Magazine, 7 February 1955. From what I know, the use of rice flour or paste is intentional and is meant as … Continue reading

Posted in 1890s, 1950s, 1980s, 1990s, Bengal, Culture, Decorative Arts, Early 20th Century, Hinduism, India, indian art, Indian Dress, Late 19th century, Photography, regional styles, Salwar Kameez, Sari, Sari Blouse, Vintage, vintage art, Vintage Dress, vintage photography, Women, women in art | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

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

Vintage Illustration

Tamil caption loosely translated: The two men in the background sporting a kudumi  – “We are now fashionable (or fashion has taken inspiration from us). No one dare tease us anymore.”  from Ananda Vikatan, 1962. I also found this illustration while … Continue reading

Posted in 1960s, ananda vikatan, fashion, Fashion Quote, Hair, Hairstyles, Illustration, Indian fashion, Indian men, Indian Women, Magazine, retro fashion, retro hair, Sari, Sari Blouse, Tamil, Vintage, Vintage Blouse, vintage hair, Vintage Illustration, vintage illustrations, Vintage Magazine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments