Why is traditional wear better?

So, we Indians have always heard the phrase in Hindi “jaisa desh waisa bhes” meaning you should wear the clothing according to the place that you are residing in.

Why exactly is that so ?

The first and most important thing is that the traditional wear is designed according to the climate of that place.

Have you ever heard of Dr. Anandi bai Joshi ?. she was the first ever Indian doctor. she completed her MBBS from Princeton university in New Jersey. She was the women of her culture and refused to give up her traditional attire and diet. This made her pretty sick and she got tuberculosis. She was a very hard-working person and she completed her degree besides all these hurdles. But she was unable to do her practice as a doctor and died after completing her degree.

Alaska

Every state has their own traditional wear according to their weather. Native people who live in colder climates like Alaska called as eskimo has developed most compatible clothing for the harshestclimate. They develop clothing from  fur mammals, birds and sometimes fishes whatever was available. Needles were made from animal bones. They developed an instrument made “ulu “to process and cut skins of animals for clothing. Clothing was one of the most important mechanism for combating to the weather.

Maharashtra, India

Now we come to my favourite Maharashtrian saree which we call as “Nav-vari” this literally means a piece of fabric which is nine yards long. This cloth is draped over the body so gracefully that it looks beautiful and it is very functional. It is draped around your legs so that it fits like a pant. Remaining cloth is draped around upper body called as “Pallu” in Hindi. So, women were able to do any kind of chores they wanted and look pretty. Wars were fought by women like Rani Lakshmi bai wearing this very saree. Men had similar draping technique called as dhoti which fits the same around legs but they don’t wear the “Pallu” as women. This was often made from cotton to be light and airy for Maharashtra’s temperal climate.

Scotland

Highland dress of Scotland. Men’s  clothing surprisingly consist of a skirt called as kilt made of Scottish wool. This provides protection from cold weather.

Sporran – pocket or wallet made of leather.

sgian dubh – small knife.

ghillies – shoes.

kilt hose – long stockings.

Women’s clothing consists of kilted skirt and tartan shawl. Kilt means the pattern that is seen normally on Scottish clothing. Another variation is ladies’ great kilt and a blouse.

Native American

Native American clothing is the most under-rated. Men wore breech cloths. Which is kind of the modern-day butterfly topping that girls wear. Leather leggings were for winter. Women mostly wore one-piece breechcloths or skirts and leggings along with it. These attires differ from tribe to tribe and are very specific to that tribe . they can also be identified based on their clothing.

France

When talking about clothing, fashion capital of the world “France” can’t be forgotten. Ever since I watched the Netflix series “Reign” I couldn’t stop thinking about French fashion. This type of clothing is a little complicated.

Men’s clothing  basically consist of five pieces

Chemise – linen undershirt

Culottes – knee length pants.

Metastases – protective gear for legs.

Guillette – small short vest.

Capote – heavy coat with large cuffs.

French women’s clothing has 4 basic pieces

Chemise – undershirt

Jupon – skirt

Mantle – short waist coat

Fichu – square cloth piece  worn around neck and shoulders

All the outfits generally have hats or headwear. These hats have become important part of their culture. It is mandatory to wear hats in European royal weddings.

Korean

Have you watched the movie “ps. I still love you” there was an awesome Korean costume worn by Lana Conor.

Korean women’s clothing is called hanbok.

Jeogori – blouse or jacket

Chima – wrap around skirt

The assembly is called chima jeogori.

Men’s  hanbok has

Jeogori – shirt

Baji – loose fitting trousers

This is the kind of outfit which I would love to try out. Which one’s your favourite?

These outfits also represent the general occupation of that population. If they do more labour some work or they did clerical work more. This is only generalised clothing. Different people wore different fabrics and different clothing according to their status and occupation. Also, different trends in clothing were seen from decades to decades.

History of fashion is a very interesting subject and its mesmerising to see how it changes. Nowadays we all wear pant and a shirt over it. Many of the traditional forms of clothing are forgotten or rarely worn. Do you know what your traditional attire is ? try it out for a day and let us know how it goes in the comment section below.

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http://tutusediblelogic.food.blog/2020/05/14/refreshing-summer-recipes/

http://tutusediblelogic.food.blog/2020/05/07/indian-history-of-tadkas/