Category Archives: Vintage Dress

Regional Dress in the 1920s

Posted on 13/03/2013 by Anu M

From MV Dhurandhar’s set of watercolours from the 1920s. It pretty much covers the diverse costumes of communities at the time and you can see a number of regional variations at play. This set largely has attire worn in Bombay and Gujarat … Continue reading →

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International Women’s Day

Posted on 08/03/2013 by Anu M

  Russia appears to have an International Women’s Day that is also Mother’s Day.  On the other hand of late Mother’s day seems to fall in  November there. This is a 1986 postcard commemorating the day (they seem to have had a number … Continue reading →

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The Tribal Sari

Posted on 04/03/2013 by Anu M

Post on the tribal sari.  Doing this post was an exercise in paring. The tribes in India (I am going with the nomenclature of tribes here though that itself makes one curious) are extremely varied, their dress changes with region as does their socio-economic … Continue reading →

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The Music Post

Posted on 26/02/2013 by Anu M

Women and Stringed Instruments: a) Temple Sculpture (anklets!) b) Kalighat Painting (the women always have anklets and pointy shoes) c) Mid 19th century portrait (the attire appears late Mughal) d) Raja Ravi Varma’s woman playing sitar (love the casually discarded footwear detail, the sari is the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, 1950s, 19th century, Ancient India, fashion, Indian Dress, Sari, Sari Blouse, Vintage, Vintage Dress | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Classical Drape

Posted on 17/02/2013 by Anu M

Post Alexander’s North Indian excursion, there were a number of Hellenic influences in that part of India.  It is hard to say how much the Greeks influenced the precursor of the sari (Greek garments at the time included the peplos and chiton) but thedepiction of … Continue reading →

Posted in 19th century, Colonial, Paintings, Sari, Victorian, Vintage, Vintage Dress | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Lotus Post

Posted on 31/01/2013 by Anu M

There are plenty of representations of the lotus in Indian art, more often than not religious iconography. Here is a (non religious) selection. Additional posts on the choli and nihonga paintings of Indian women can also be sampled on tumblr.

Posted in Flowers, Indian Cinema, Paintings, Photography, Vintage Blouse, Vintage Dress, Women | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Bhopal Post

Posted on 12/01/2013 by Anu M

    Between 1819 and 1926, Bhopal was ruled by an unbroken line of 4 women, the Nawab Begums of Bhopal. Bhopal had a distinctive culture with Turkish, Persian and Northern Indian Islamic influences.  Bhopali dress consisted of a Turkish-style long … Continue reading →

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The Science/Medicine Post

Posted on 07/01/2013 by Anu M

Indeed, in the early twentieth century, the press loved nothing more than featuring women medical students from around the world in their native costumes. A few posts at tumblr on women in medicine/science in the period from the 1880s-1940s.  More … Continue reading →

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The Birds Post-2

Posted on 03/01/2013 by Anu M

  Courtesan, possibly late 19th century.  Accessories: A Bird. And Attitude. The ensemble is a loose style of salwar-kameez with what looks like a short kameez/tunic.  Up close she has interesting shoes with bow ties. And anklets. And a substantial … Continue reading →

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The Birds Post-1

Posted on 03/01/2013 by Anu M

  Birds appear a great deal in Indian art. They often talk, often they are messengers of love. And parrots are a particular favourite. Today’s post has women in varying attire in different times and their birds.  The first sculpture … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, India, Vintage, Vintage Dress, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments