Indian Dresses: India's most colorful side

India's most colorful side

What dazzles me most in the Indian culture is their costume and accessories. Predominantly Indians wear more of Shalwar kameez and Sarees. Although what they wear for weddings and functions are totally different attires. The dresses, their patterns and colours are eye-catching, Indian women also adorn themselves with a lot of jewelry which seriously mesmerizes me.

While Sarees and Shalwar kameez are worn more on the casual side, Ghagara cholis, Shararas, Lehengas are worn during functions and  weddings. The bride’s costume is marked with extravagance (extravagance personified)  and the  close relatives of both the bride and groom too are dressed lavishly with embellishments on their clothes detailing to look dressy and festive. Their jewellery too AH…!!  it stops me for a second look and a breathe too.

It took me a while to understand and memorise their clothing and the terms. As i am married to an indian it was inevitable to embrace and to know more about this culture. We decided to have our wedding ceremonies in Istanbul. So my Mother-in-law had asked me to wear indian dresses for all the 4 day long functions. Most of the time when she told me something about the styles, the first thing I did was to check google about that dress type.

If you have any wedding ceremony to attend you can choose an elegant long indian dress or if you want to do something authentic for your henna night then go ahead, what is more authentic than the indian culture? They are so beautiful with plenty of choices, I am really looking forward to wearing one for my next special occasion.

I am going to tell little more about different types of Indian clothing. Lets have a look how the Indian style is.

Casual wears:

Dupatta: Whatever style Indian women wear, they definitely carry their dupatta either on their shoulder or head which means modesty for them. Dupatta is like a scarf or shal type of long rectangular fabric. Both in the casual wear and party wear it is like a must for women in India. Only young girls with jeans and blouse are not wearing dupatta. At first, honestly it sounded weird to be to be stuck with a piece of cloth on me hanging all the time. However, even i started feeling dupatta is really a must with indian dresses as it completes the style and gives an exquisite look. 

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Salwar: it is a baggy pajama type of trouser which has legs wide at top and narrow at the ankles. There is no pocket or zip on them just a drawstring or an elastic belt to tighten on the waist.

Churidar: It is a tight trouser with its fabric ending in numerous small folds around the ankle. Again there is no pocket or zip on them just a drawstring or an elastic belt to tighten on the waist.

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Salwar Kameez: It is the most popular Indian daily wear. The salwar is a baggy pajama type of trouser, which has legs wide at the top and tightens towards the bottom. The kameez is a long shirt, which often reaches upto the knees. I have seen many muslim indian prefering below the knee kameez. But you cannot really identify their religion based on the length of the kameez. it varies depending on the latest style in trend. 
Although sari seems to be the traditional wear, i feel like salwar kameez is most common, particularly for working women. I think its more convenient due to travelling etc.

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Sari: Saree is prepared with a very long non-stitched cloth, which is worn over a similar colored short blouse and petticoat. Its length ranges from four to nine meters, depending on how a person wants to wear the sari. Its wrapped around the body. I still couldn't figure out how to wear it alone. Each state of India has different style of wearing sari's and has famous for their own certain sari fabric.

In south India, women prefer wearing sari as their causal wear.

Watch this video to learn how to wear a Sari.

Party Wears:

Lehenga: Lehenga is a long skirt usually worn with a choli (short blouse) and dupatta. It is also called as Ghagra Choli. The length of Choli depends on a person's choice. if  its a muslim indian wedding the bride wears a long choli to cover the belly part. if I am not wrong, short choli is quite popular in Rajasthan.  

Indian women usually prefer red lehenga for their weddings. As Turkish people, we have the "white" concept for our bridal outfit however its a "red" concept in India. Tho, the new generation in India started choosing different color combinations. The one thing does not change though is that the weight of bridal lehenga! Specially, when you wear the dupatta over your head, all the weight goes to your neck. it is incredibly heavy due to long clothes and heavy embroidery, stones etc. But it really shows its beauty. I really cannot choose between a white wedding turkish gown and indian lehenga.both are truely beautiful on their own style. So for that reason, to represent and experience both the cultures i wore them both in my wedding. My only suggestion to those who are planning to wear lehenga for their wedding is to carry the dupatta over their arms like a shal while standing so to reduce the weight that goes to neck.

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Sharara:  The Sharara is combination of a long skirt, a choli and a dupatta. The main difference of this dress type is that the skirt is divided. It is like a pant stitched till the knee, with a big flare from the knee onwards. This dress is mostly worn by the Muslims with long choli. While moving, the dress looks like a pant however while standing it looks like a flowing skirt. It looks nice and different. I have not seen anyone wearing it for some part but only for the weddings.

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Lacha Lehenga: It is very smilar to Ghagra Choli/Lehenga. The distinctive feature of lacha lehenga is the long choli, going a few inches past the hips. Depending on the fashion the length can go down to ankles. I find this type very stylish, as it gives volume on the skirt.

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Anarkali: It is a long, frock-style top and worn with churidar and dupatta.  Some are tight on the waist some are loose.It varies in many different lengths and embroideries including floor length anarkali styles. Although some anarkalis are floor lenght i have seen many people still wearing a slim bottom. When you turn around suddenly the dress rises and makes a circle around you and reveals the legs. Maybe thats the reason indian women prefer wearing churidar.
I think as Turkish, we find it little funny to wear something under the long dress. It gives a feeling of wearing something unnecessary, or excessive clothing under your dress.

I really do not find the western party dresses attractive anymore. They are expensive, and there is not much embroidery or handwork on them. Particularly if someone is looking for a modest dress in Istanbul, It is really difficult to find a really nice one.  Either there is a deep cleavage or its backless or the dress is short. So you might end up checking the shelves which meant for elderly people (loose and dark color dresses). We call such dresses here as 'mother dresses'. :) 

if you ask me which style is more beautiful, I cannot really choose one  over another. it really depends on the trends of the year. But by far lehenga is mostly preferred as a bridal dress and Anarkali is a trendy style on parties. If you are attending to a party or a wedding, Anarkali would be the style as its in fashion. If you do not want to look authentic, then you can choose a simple design as each style has its varieties on its own.

I hope this writing helps you to know more about indian dressing styles. Meanwhile ending it, I am longing to attend to a party of a wedding soon to wear a beautiful indian dress. I could not stop my self saying it.

With Love,