INDIAN ETHNIC WEAR VOL 1.0 - LEHENGA

INDIAN ETHNIC WEAR VOL 1.0 - LEHENGA

by Daljit Dhanoa February 13, 2016

LEHENGA

Lehenga which is also known as Gagra choli or Ghagra choli, is the tradtional clothing of women in Rajasthan, Gujrat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Singh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Jammu & Hindi speaking Terai region of Nepal. It is also traditionally worn in Punjab (with the kurti and salwar). It is a combination of a Lehenga, tight Choli (top) and a dupatta. It is also most commonly worn by the Bride on her wedding day. It is most popular pick for Bridal wear. Here's is a perfect example:

CHOLI

A choli  (is a midriff - baring blouse shell garment in the Indian sari costume worn in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and other countries where the sari is worn. The choli is cut to fit tightly to the body and has short sleeves and a low neck. The choli is usually cropped, allowing exposure of the navel; the cropped design is particularly well-suited for wear in the hot South Asian summers.

LEHENGA

Lehenga or Ghagra is a form of skirt which is long, embroidered and pleated. It is worn as the bottom portion of a Gagra choli. It is secured at the waist and leaves the lower back and midriff bare. The ancient version of skirt or Ghagri evolved from Bhairnivasani, which in turn evolved from the Antariya when stitched on one side became tabular and was worn gathered together at the waist, and held by a girdle. This was one of the earliest forms of a clumsily stitched skirt. It was worn using drawstring or nada. The ghagri was a narrow skirt six feet long the same length as original antariya. This style can still be seen worn by Jain nuns in India.

Until the early 20th century, women irrespective of class largely wore gagras which reached down to ankles, especially in Hindi Belt. This was largely due to jeweled toes showed marital status of women as both married and unmarried women observed Ghoonghat. Gagras were made out of two to three layers of coarse khadi fabric which created large flared look and remained largely undecorated but were decorated with gota and badla embroidery on special occasions. Most commonly used dyes were Indigo, Lac and Haldi. This style can still be seen in rural areas of Haryana, uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh particularly during folk festivals.

Ancient unstitched form of gagra has survived in folk theater costumes across India, particularly in Kathakali of Kerala, where layers of pleated khadi fabric are laid over a nada and tied around the waist creating layers of flared skirt. This reflects simplistic early style of unstitched gagras worn in ancient times.

DUPATTA

The Dupatta is a shawl or large scarf that is worn together with the lehenga and the choli. Until the early 21st century dupatta was the most decorative part of gagra choli, while rest of the garment was more simplistic, especially the gagra as everyday wear. Dupatta is worn in many regional styles across India. Most common style since early medieval times was to pleate the dupatta on the one end and tucking it into the front of the gagra and wrapping it across the waist and over the shoulder or head, similar to the way sari is worn. While women who worked in the farms tucked both ends of dupatta into their choli.

Originally, it was worn as a symbol of modesty. While that symbolism still continues, many today wear it as just a decorative accessory. There is no single way of wearing the dupatta, and as time evolves and fashion modernizes, the style of the dupatta has also evolved.

 

 

REFERENCE:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gagra_choli 

 

 

 




Daljit Dhanoa
Daljit Dhanoa

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