Every Saturday, there is a show by on the
discord. Ever since it started, I try not to miss it because we get to hear the opinions and advice of many people whom Pravesh invites. Members of the India United community also chat after the guest speaker talks for a while and is then given an opportunity to answer questions from the audience.
Yesterday, we had a special guest Please check him out. I am not spoiling things by writing about him. he deserves all the recognition and praise he can get for his work.
So, why am I writing about all this?
I asked him a question yesterday and he answered very well. That is why I wanted to write about it.
My question was as below:
ok, question for
- Indian fashion sense is so different and more based on culture and sometimes enforced by certain political parties and religions, etc Do you think this mindset can be changed?
Gaurav replied about the Indian fashion sense that people did not even know what fashion meant. Fashion does not mean wearing long western gowns or whatever the foreigners wear. Fashion means wearing comfortable clothes and styling yourself in such a way that it looks really cool and fashionable and he is right.
He also said that people should not consider Bollywood as the final word in fashion because it is not.
People have to wear the usual clothes perhaps prescribed by the society they live in and perhaps religion and wear it in such a way that they feel comfortable and cool.
source- free pixabay
Why not mix and match and create your own fashion?
Suppose you are a lady living in the south of India. Normally, you would be asked to wear a 'Dhavani' or half saree as you enter your late teenage.
I remember entering college to study B.A.Sociology and after wearing school uniforms for the past 14 years, young girls were so enthralled with the freedom to wear what they wanted that some even wore mini skirts to college. It was a women's college and so no one minded.
I was brought up in quite a conservative family and so I could not bear to wear such clothes but I wanted to look and feel cool. So, I took my mother and went to a cloth shop and asked the sales guy to measure out pink color georgette fabric. One was with white polka dots and meant for the blouse and the dupatta aka half-saree. The plain pink was for the long skirt. Then we gave it to a tailor. I wore this dress to college and instead of looking down on me, most of my college mates really appreciated me for this and they even went on to stitch for themselves too. In those days, we did not have internet or online shops and it had to be the tailor to create fashion.
Of course, there were readymade shops as they are called but I do not remember them selling such clothes. It was mostly frocks for children and sarees and stuff for the ladies.
I wrote the above not to praise myself, lol but to show how it was in the late eighties and early nineties.
The Indian fashion industry has not made its mark yet on the lives of the common people. I mean, you cannot expect a common girl from Kerala to order a Sabyasachi. Some may not even have heard of Gucci or Louis Vuitton.
What we now wear is influenced by the present influence. Many ladies do try to make difference in the style of blouses for sarees. It is now the era of the puff style. During my wedding, it was the long sleeve and now I cannot even wear it unless I alter the whole thing.
What is your take on the fashion sense of your country?