Salwar Kameez- Reasons Behind its Traditional Modernity

Salwar Kameez, in whatever form, is perhaps the most popular woman wear in India today. It is simple, neat, trendy, classy, cool, smart- all at the same time. That's why it seems to be so popular among the young Indian women- in colleges, offices, parties- everywhere you can see these women donned in some or the other beautiful creation of salwar suits.

What makes salwar kameez so popular?.....May be the reason is the comfort and ease of wearing it. It is comfortable in all seasons and at all places. You just need to choose the fabric with care and to change the salwar suit designs a little and it becomes apt for any place and occasion. Women who feel a little uncomfortable in revealing dresses like skirts etc. (it is not a generalized belief, such dresses are revealing in their view), they also can remain trendy by wearing a designer salwar kameez. The salwars give women the freedom of movement- especially to those women who find jeans and trousers a little tight and uncomfortable. By just shortening or lengthening the kurtas one can get different looks. Moreover, a dupatta carried with salwar kameez lends further grace to the overall personality of the wearer. What more! One can even mix and match- take a kurta and match it with neutral color salwars or swap the kurta to be worn sometimes with salwar and at other times with churidar. In short, there is a lots of scope for experimenting with salwar kameez.

Know more about this traditional as well as modern attire of Indian women- Salwar Kameez!

Indian Women & Embroidery Touch New Global Heights

Indian Fashion, particularly said, traditional Indian fashion has touched new international heights. Karnataka's kasuti (embroidery), which is used to embellish the Kanjeevaram Sarees and Mysore Silk Sarees, will now be seen on western outfits in the boutiques of Amsterdam and London. Not only India's cherished craft of embroidery has gone global but our women- the rural women of India too have gone global with the help of their art. These western clothing with Indian touch will be designed and tailored by women of Hubli, Karnatake, India.

Maharashtra-based NGO Mann Deshi Foundation (MDF) has joined hands with Holland-based NGO Satara Foundation to popularize the traditional form of embroidery. Not only the foundation conducts training in tailoring and kasuti but it also trains the poor women in making hand-embroidered folders, pouches, saris, jeans, tops and newborn baby suits. Although, the main aim is to empower women, it is taking Indian fashion to the international levels through new roads. This will help the women of low income group in earning a steady income by creating international market for their products.

The Dutch volunteers from the prestigious Amsterdam Fashion Institute are training 15 women on the intricacies of western outfits. These women were earlier trained in tailoring by MDF who plans to set up a production unit in Hubli. The NGO will then export the designer clothing to the Netherlands and London. They will be marketed with the help of NGOs and fashion institutes. Now, this is called fashion with social cause!

Indian Women Clothing- The Myths!

Indian women clothing has been a fascination for not only Indians but worldwide. However, nowadays, it seems Indian woman is slowly distancing herself from the traditional Indian sarees and other Indian dresses. With due respect to all western and other clothes adopted by the women in India, it seems that she has certain misconceptions about the dresses of her own country. This article brings out the reality behind these fashion myths about Indian clothing.

Myth#1 Saree is so unprofessional!

Reality It is true that it takes a little longer to drape a saree and it also requires more care and maintenance. However, sari can never be said unprofessional. If draped properly, saree brings an unparalleled grace to one's personality. How else can you justify the charm of great personalities like Indira Gandhi, Gayatri Devi and more contemporary Sonia Gandhi? True, they are politicians and need to be seen as true Indian and so they can't shed the traditional Indian clothing! Then how will you justify the business personalities like Chanda Kochhar, the Joint MD of ICICI Bank and Neelam Dhawan, the MD, Microsoft India who are rarely seen in other dresses than saree. And no one can debate over how professional and successful top business executives are they!

Myth#2 Salwar Kameez is not for modern women!

Reality There you see a girl clad in salwar kameez and here you give her the tag 'behen ji'. However, every girl secretly admires the fabulous churidars and patialas worn by their fellow beings. Fashion designers are doing more and more experiments with this fabulous attire of India. Models on ramps flaunt their designer salwar kameez. How could it happen then? If its not for today's woman, why the fashion industry wasting so much of its manpower and money on designing these salwar kameez? And I thought business runs on demand and supply principle and also that today's woman is 100 percent a modern woman.

Myth#3 Wearing skirts is non Indian!

Reality Here people don't accept the salwar kameez and there they say that skirts are against traditional values of India! But look at them carefully, don't you find any resemblance between Indian skirts and lehenga? The long skirts are more like lehengas but with a little lesser diameter. Yes, one more difference- skirt is worn with shirts while lengha is worn with choli and dupatta. Did I hear someone saying stoles with skirts?

Myth#4 If you are slim, you'll look good in any clothing!

Reality This myth prevails all over the world and not only in India. Although being slim provides an advantage of looking good in most of the dresses but if you wear a saree without proper pleets and pallu setting, I swear, you'll not like yourself in the mirror! Wear a blouse which is either too loose or too tight, and you finish off the whole charm of an elegant saree. And just try a badly stitched salwar kameez to see how it coverts you in a hanger with clothes on it instead of a girl with lovely curves! The mantra to look good is ofcourse a good figure and properly stitched and worn dresses, whether Indian or western.