Fashion History

Prehistory

1.Sultani Period (1206-1572)The period of the Sultanates in northern India is marked, once again, by much interest, both on the part of the Indian writers, and of the newly arrived Muslims in matters concerning fabrics and dyes and costumes. But the earlier difficulty of accurately interpreting this information persists, for even though long lists become available, these remain confined to names for which we have no pictorial equivalents in the matter of costumes, and no analytical descriptions in respect of fabrics and the like - in the paintings from the Sultanate period, an area in which our knowledge has increased remarkably in the last quarter of a century or so, there is much that one can observe, but to give precise names to costumes still remains difficult. One can at best try and find relationships between terms for costumes or verbal descriptions, and the dresses that we see men and women wearing in Sultanate period paintings, whether of the Indo-Persian style or those that we associate with western India, principally Jaina paintings produced in Gujarat and Rajasthan. When one makes the effort, however, interesting results sometimes emerge. Thus, in the paintings of the Laur Chanda in the Prince of Wales Museum of Bombay, or the Aranyaka Parva of the Asiatic Society of Bombay, or the recently discovered Devi Mabatntya in the Himachal Pradesh Museum at Simla, the long-sleeved kutia-like garments made of fine cottonmaterial, with fastenings at the right or the left, come remarkably close to the early description by Alberuni of the kurtakas worn by Indians which have lappets with 'slashes' both on the right and the left sides. But this kind of close correspondence is not always easy to establish in other articles.

 It is in this very strain that we have other descriptions from this period, Firuz Shah T'Ughlaq and his courtiers wearing different kinds of dresses. The Sultan himself is said to have worn a kulab costing a lac of tankas which once belonged to his predecessor. In public audience, he is said to have worn a baraniwith embroidered sleeves, but in private he wore a shirt. The officers are said to be wearing silken robes in public and shirts in private life. Again the Amirs and the Maliks and other officers at the Sultanate courts are described as wearing "gowns (tatailyat),jakalwat and Islamic qabas of Khawarizm tucked in the middle of the body" and short turbans which did not exceed five or six forearms. Of other Amirs we learn that they were as well dressed "as the soldiers except that they did not use belts and at times they let down a piece of cloth in front of them after the manner of the sups. The judges and the learned men wore ample gowns (farajiyat) that resembled jaradiyat (striped material from jand, Yemen) and an Arabic garment (durra) (a garment opening in front and buttoned)

Ladies dress Ladies undergarments Men’s dress Men’s dress

2.Mghal Period (1526-1858)Short Description of the Mughal period:

The Mughal Empire was anempire in Asia which existed from 1526 to 1858.The Mughal rule over India is called Empire because it stretched over large partsof the Subcontinent. When it was biggest it ruled most of the Indian subcontinent, then known asHindustan, and parts of what is nowAfghanistan andmodern Pakistan, between 1526 and 1707.

Babur founded the Mughal Empire (and Mughal dynasty) in 1526 and ruled until 1530. He was followed by Humayun (1530-1540) and (1555-1556),Akbar (1556-1605), Jahangir (1605-1627), Shah Jahan (1627-1658),Aurangzeb (1658-1707) andseveral other minor rulers until Bahadur Shah Zafar II(1837-1857). After the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire became weak. It continued until 1857-58. By that time, India came under theBritish Raj.

The Mughal dynasty was established by able Muslim rulers who came from the present day Uzbekistan. The Mughal rule in India saw the country being unitedas one single unit and being administered under one single powerful ruler. During the Mughal period, art and architecture flourished and many beautiful monuments were constructed. The rulers were skillful warriors and admirers ofart as well. The Mughals left a permanent mark on the society, culture, art and architecture of India. Their monuments, artifacts and literature show a

period of great wealth and culture. Paintings in miniature style teach us about the clothing and lifestyle of the people.

The concept of fashion and attire in Mughal women:

Self adornment became natural phenomena for women since from ancient time.They used various methods for beautifying themselves. This is evident fromvarious carving of khajuraho and paintings like those of Ajanta. The Mughal women`s were not behind in the use of cosmetics to beautifying themselves.(Mukharjee,2001) Jewellery being an important aspect of dressing was deeply patronised by the women of the Mughal harem.According to Abul Fazl there are sixteen constituents by which a woman is adorned. Bathing, anointing with oil, riding the hair, decking the crown of her head with jewels, anointing with sandalwood unguent ,wearing various kind of dresses ,sectarial marks of caste and often decked with pearls and golden ornaments ,tinting with lampblack like collyrium ,wearing ear rings,adorning with nose rings of pearls and gold, wearing ornaments round the neck, decking with garlands of flowers or pearls, staining the hands, eating pan and finally the artfulness. (Fazl ,1977)The jewels of the Mughal women also reflected their status of men .All the Mughal princes had six to eight sets of jewels. The goldsmiths were continuously busy with making of ornaments in the fort, the best and the most costly of their production were for the king`s person the queens and princes. The princes usually wore necklace of jewels like scarves on both shoulders, added to three strings of pearls on each side. They had three to five rowsof pearls hanging from their neck. Upon the middle of the head was a cluster of pearls which hung down as far as the centre of the forehead, with valuable ornaments of costly stone formed into the shape of the sun or moon or some star or at times imitating different flowers on the right side they had a little round ornament in which a small ruby was inserted between two pearls.(smith H.clifford,2002)

The Fashion outfits of the Mughal Women:

The clothes worn by Muslim women during the Mughal rule were not much different to the men‟s. They wore long, loose jama like ribs, which had full sleeves and opened at the front. Underneath, an ankle length vest wasworn and the ensemble was completed with a veil which covered the hair andmost of the face .During the cold season, qabas (coat) made of Kashmir shawl cloth was worn as overcoats .Outside the harem they were usually clothed in the burqa ,which covered the body from head to feet leaving only a slit around the eyes. The women staying inside the Mughal zenana

were usually clothed in the burqa, which covered the body from head to foot leaving only a slit around the eyes. The women staying inside the Mughal zenana were independently wealthy and had ample leisure time .Many of them conducted overseas trade. Nurjahan for example traded in indigo. She wrote poetry, blended perfumes and designed clothes and fabrics, dresses in a style all of her own that established the fashions for many years to come. She introduced the delicate art of white embroidery. The renound chikankari. (Fig 1) now associated with Lucknow, to the Mughal court, where it becomes the height of fashion. Mughal women were very muchfond of perfume. Detailed account of various kinds of scent and oil and their price is given by Abul fazl in Ain –i-Akberi. There were special perfume department by Akber known as khusbukhana. Jahangir writes in his memories about a new kind of perfume prepared from rose patels by Nurjahan‟s mother Asmat Banu Begam who called it as itr-i-jahangir. Meena Bazaar an event institute established by Akbar for enjoyment of the women of zenana and for himself. The intermingling within the harem culture and races from different parts of the world creates a diversity of sartorial style. Every queen has a separate apartment for herself . Each has a regular monthly allowance for her expenditure, jewels and clothes. Paintings of royal women are rare only two paintings depict the royal women in a more candid style. The first is a miniature painting of Birth of Jahangir,(Fig 2) comes from a page of Jahangirnama. This painting is anunique record of fashions within the zenena.It gives a description of women clothing during those time. It is not possible to match any given description to the specific garment but a great variety of Hindu and Persian origin is in evidence. And a second painting depicts the wife of Jahangir, Nurjahan on hunting.(Fig 3) As her hunting costume suggest, the women of the court were often identically dressed to the men. Her ensembleis made up of a fine cotton jama,a roughed pajama. A patka, a turban and embroidered shoes.

Mughal Men's Clothing:The Jama: The Yaktahi Jama (an unlined Jama) originated in Persia and Central Asia, whereit was worn both short and long, over a pai-jama to form an outfit known as the "BastAgag". In Persian, the word "Jama" means garment, robe, gown or coat. The definition ofthe Mughal Jama is a side-fastening frock-coat with tight-fitting bodice, nipped-in waistand flared skirt, reaching the knees. The Chogha: This is a very ancient garment which we have seen all throughout the Persian,Mongolian and other areas. The word Chogha in Mughal times referred to a long sleevedcoat, open down the front, usually down to hip length or knee length. By the medieval period, Choghas in India were made loose enough to be worn over Angharkas,Jamas and other garments. Some were very ornate and embroidered. The Patka: Around the waist of the Jama, a long piece of fine fabric was tied like a sash.This was the Patka, from which a jeweled sword could be suspended. Patkas were hand-wovenwith complex designs, or embroidered, or hand-painted or printed. Many made for royaltyshowed textile craftmanship at it's best.

  

Pagri or TurbanAlthough Abu Fas’l describes a number of soft caps worn at Akbar’s court, the universalheadwear for both Muslims and Hindus was the turban. The most important accessory for an Indian man was his turban, which proclaimed hisstatus, religion, caste and region of origin. To submit a turban to anybody was a sign oftotal subjugation and the removal of a turban was the most humiliating punishment thatcould be inflicted on any man.  

Dhoti and Paijama

In his diary, written no later than 1529, Emperor Babur remarked on the dress of thenative Hindus: “Peasants and people of low standing go about naked. They tie on a thingcalled languta, a decency-clout which hangs two spans below the navel. From the tie ofthis pendant decency clout, another clout is passed between (the legs) and made fastbehind.” What Babur is describing is more commonly called a dhoti, which is nothing moresophisticated than a length of fabric (usually cotton) tied around the nether portionslike a loincloth. People in India have worn these since antiquity, as seen in the Ajuntacave-paintings dating from the 1st to the 6th centuries C.E. 

Another term for these trousers is paijama, from which comes our familiar word denotingsleep attire. The word is a compound of two Persian words, pai meaning “feet” or “legs”,and jama meaning “covering”. Both men and women wore paijamas, possibly in imitation ofthe warlike Rajput princes who preferred them to the dhoti for the mobility they afforded.During the Akbari period, men wore trousers invariably with their jamas (in this context,coats), and there is no artistic evidence to suggest that dhotis were ever worn incombination with the coats. Therefore, while Rajpal may have worn a dhoti in the privacyof his home, in public he wore trousers. 

Paintings of the period indicate that the paijamas were loose and flowing from the waistto the knee, where they became snug down to the ankle. Often the fabric on the lower legsis wrinkled, suggesting that the paijamas were longer than the leg itself and pushed up,just like the sleeves of the jama, in a display of conspicuous consumption. At no time dothe paijamas match the jama in colour, and solid colours appear to have been the fashionduring Akbar’s reign.4) Early British period (1815-1825)

In 1815 with the Napoleonic wars over, Britain began to follow French fashion trends for wearing a high waistline.

The waistline reached its peak height in 1816-17 when the line fell directly under the breasts.

Almost as soon as the waist had risen, 1818 fashion plates began to show the waistline

dropping and tightening. It continued to drop annually by an inch, until by 1825 it was at last in its normal position.

Skirt Styles, 1818, 1819, 1822 

Left - Regency Gown - Iris blue dress 1818.

Centre - Regency Gown - Blue semi opaque sleeved dress 1819.

Right - Regency Dress - Sea green gown 1822.

All these wider skirt silhouettes show decorative interest, an ornamentation in keeping with Gothic over embellishment.  You arereading and original Regency Dress Era 1800-1825 Fashion History article by Pauline Weston Thomas at www.fashion-era.com Copyright2001-9 ©.

Anglomania

Leroy the Frenchdesigner had to followthe whims of hisclients and drop thedress waists and widenthe skirts. It seemsthat French ladiessoon preferred theEnglish style.Anglomania began tosweep France. 

After 1820 as the neatslim waist emerged, corsets were worn again by all women. The narrower buckle belted day waist or sash wrapped evening waist was balanced by widening skirts which were often horsehair paddedand frilled to make them stand away from the legs.

By 1824-5 the wider skirts were balanced by a wider shoulder linewith a leg of lamb sleeve often known as a gigot sleeve as seen in the central pink dress.

This had begun as a short sleeve which had been covered over by atransparent or semi opaque sleeve as the pastel pink evening dress shows, and eventually such sheer sleeves became a solid fabric.

The semi opaque sleeve was the forerunner of all manner of fancy sleeve styles setting the scene for more romantic dress styles ofthe 1830s. 

Above Right - Green dress 1825 showing how the waist is at last at its natural position.

Earl Spencer and the Short Spencer Jacket1795

The Spencer was a short top coat without tailsworn by men during the 1790s as an extra covering over the tailed coat. It had long sleeves and was frequentlydecorated with militaryfrogging. Its originator isthought to be Earl Spencer whosinged the tails of his coat whenstanding beside a fire. He thenhad the tails trimmed off andstarted a fashion.

A female version was soon adopted by gentlewomen who at the time were wearing the thin light muslin dresses of the1790s.

The Spencer was worn as a cardigan or shrug is worn today. It wasa short form of jacket to just above waist level cut on identicallines to the dress.

Right - A Lady Wearing a Spencer to read. A Spencer was perfect to keep chills away.Left - A very cropped short high waisted Regency Spencer of 1817.

Regency Spencers

The Spencer was worn both indoors andoutdoors and for eveningwear and was madeof silk or a wool material known

as kerseymere. Whenit was worn as anindoor eveningSpencer it was calleda canezou. Spencersstayed in fashion forabout 20 years whilstthe waistlineremained high.  

This lemon Regency Spencer is from a fashionplate of 1818.This Spencer also has Gothic

and military overtones with its decorative work.  Areas of Spencers back and front were decorated with braids and cording. Italian quilting was popular as it created a raised surface pattern.

When the waist slowly began its drop on dresses so did the waist of the Spencer as in this illustration of the cerise Spencer circa 1820.

Military Touches

As the fashion for military touches persisted, many Pelisses and Spencers were covered in decorative braids, tassels, frogging andcords, as a result their wearers looked like members of the Hussars.

In time, a short jacket similar to a decorated Spencer was calleda Hussar jacket.

Near Left - Military influence on green Spencers of the Regency fashion era - 1812.

You are reading and original Regency Dress Era 1800-1825 Fashion History article by Pauline Weston Thomas at www.fashion-era.com Copyright 2001-9 ©

The Redingote 1818

The Redingote was worn from 1818 onwardsinitially indoors in cold weather, worn open whilst revealing the dress beneath. Its namederives from the 18th century version of ariding coat. It was used in place of a loosecloak and as it developed a series of shouldercapes it became very suitable for travel. Asdresses widened so the Redingote widened.

Redingotes were usually trimmed with fur andmostly made of heavy dark cloth. See a timelineof the redingote here.

Foot note:-

1800-1825 is it Late Georgian, Regency or Both?The period 1800-1837 is part of the Georgian era. George III, insane after 1811, lived on until 1820.  His son the Prince Regent, George, already a cause celebre acted as Regent for nine years of the King's madness and then reigned himself from 1820-1830.  Because of the influence of the Georgian Prince Regent, this is known as The Regency Period, or the Regency fashion era. Because of some overlap due to the acknowledged prominence of thePrince in court consider the Regenc

Rise and Fall of the Waistline 1815-1825

In 1815 with the Napoleonic wars over, Britain began to follow French fashion trends for wearing a high waistline.

The waistline reached its peak height in 1816-17 when the line fell directly under the breasts.

Almost as soon as the waist had risen, 1818 fashion plates began to show the waistline

dropping and tightening. It continued to drop annually by an inch, until by 1825 it was at last in its normal position.

Skirt Styles, 1818, 1819, 1822 

Left - Regency Gown - Iris blue dress 1818.

Centre - Regency Gown - Blue semi opaque sleeved dress 1819.

Right - Regency Dress - Sea green gown 1822.

All these wider skirt silhouettes show decorativeinterest, an ornamentation in keeping withGothic over embellishment.  You arereading and original Regency Dress Era1800-1825 Fashion History article byPauline Weston Thomas at www.fashion-era.com Copyright 2001-9 ©.

Anglomania

Leroy the French designer had to follow the whims of his clients and drop the dress waists and widen the skirts. It seems that French ladies soon preferred theEnglish style. Anglomania began to sweep France. 

After 1820 as the neat slim waist emerged,corsets were worn again by all women. The narrower buckle belted day waist or sash wrapped evening waist was balanced by widening skirts which were often horsehair padded and frilled to make themstand away from the legs.

By 1824-5 the wider skirts were balanced by a wider shoulder linewith a leg of lamb sleeve often known as a gigot sleeve as seen in the central pink dress.

This had begun as a short sleeve which had been covered over by atransparent or semi opaque sleeve as the pastel pink evening dress shows, and eventually such sheer sleeves became a solid fabric.

The semi opaque sleeve was the forerunner of all manner of fancy sleeve styles setting the scene for more romantic dress styles of

the 1830s. 

Above Right - Green dress 1825 showing how thewaist is at last at its natural position.

Earl Spencer and the Short Spencer Jacket1795

The Spencer was a short top coat without tailsworn by men during the 1790s as an extra covering over the tailed coat. It had long sleeves and was frequently decorated with

military frogging. Its originator is thoughtto be Earl Spencer who singed the tails ofhis coat when standing beside a fire. He thenhad the tails trimmed off and started afashion.

A female version was soon adopted bygentlewomen who at the time were wearing thethin light muslin dresses of the 1790s.

The Spencer was worn as a cardigan or shrug is worn today. It wasa short form of jacket to just above waist level cut on identicallines to the dress.

Right - A Lady Wearing a Spencer to read. A Spencer was perfect to keep chills away.Left - A very cropped short high waisted Regency Spencer of 1817.

Regency Spencers

The Spencer was worn both indoors andoutdoors and for eveningwear and was madeof silk or a wool material knownas kerseymere. When it was worn as anindoor evening Spencer it was calleda canezou. Spencers stayed in fashion forabout 20 years whilst the waistlineremained high.  

This lemon RegencySpencer is from afashion plate of1818.This Spenceralso has Gothic and military overtones with its decorative work.  Areas of Spencers backand front were decorated with braids and cording. Italian quilting was popular as it created a raised surface pattern.

When the waist slowly began its drop on dresses so did the waist of the Spencer as in this illustration of the cerise Spencer circa 1820.

Military Touches

As the fashion for military touches persisted, many Pelisses and Spencers were covered in decorative braids, tassels, frogging andcords, as a result their wearers looked like members of the Hussars.

In time, a short jacket similar to a decorated Spencer was calleda Hussar jacket.

Near Left - Military influence on green Spencers of the Regency fashion era - 1812.

You are reading and original Regency Dress Era 1800-1825 Fashion History article by Pauline Weston Thomas at www.fashion-era.com Copyright 2001-9 ©

The Redingote 1818

The Redingote was worn from 1818 onwardsinitially indoors in cold weather, worn open whilst revealing the dress beneath. Its namederives from the 18th century version of ariding coat. It was used in place of a loosecloak and as it developed a series of shouldercapes it became very suitable for travel. Asdresses widened so the Redingote widened.

Redingotes were usually trimmed with fur andmostly made of heavy dark cloth. See a timelineof the redingote here.

Foot note:-

1800-1825 is it Late Georgian, Regency or Both?The period 1800-1837 is part of the Georgian era. George III, insane after 1811, lived on until 1820.  His son the Prince Regent, George, already a cause celebre acted as Regent for nine years of the King's madness and then reigned himself from 1820-1830.  Because of the influence of the Georgian Prince Regent, this is known as The Regency Period, or the Regency fashion era. Because of some overlap due to the acknowledged prominence of thePrince in court consider the Regenc

4) British Period (19th century) :

 

Lady's Day Dress 1906This summer dress, though worn over a 'hygienic' straight-fronted corset, is far from plain. It is made in soft pale material, trimmed with much embroidery, lace and ribbon. Since 1904 there had been new emphasis on the shoulders, and until 1908 sleeves were to be puffed out almost square. The smoothly flowing skirt is supported on petticoats almost as pretty as the dress itself. Hats were always worn, perched on the puffed-out coiffure. The parasol was a popular accessory. She carries a leather handbag, a fashion introduced at thebeginning of the 19th century and revived at the end.

Lady's Day Dress 1909The line has changed in this summer dress. It is straighter and short-waisted with a new severity of outline. The most important accessory was the hat, very large and much trimmed. The band of trimming at the ankle of the narrow skirt suggests a 'hobble' and makes it look difficult to walk, which wasrather an odd fashion for women who were fighting for freedom and equal rights.

Photograph Above - Family group from around 1909. The gentleman (seated centre, below) wears a long frock coat, the other gentleman wear either formal dress or lounge suits. The ladies all sport the large trimmed hats of the period.

Day Clothes 19201920 saw the introduction of the shorter, low-waisted dress, loosely cut and concealing, notdefining, the figure. Flat-chested women were about to become fashionable. Hats were small, worn over neatly coiled hair. Evening dresses were often low cut, supported only by shoulderstraps and made in exotic materials and colours. The man's lounge suit fits tightly and still retains its long jacket. The trousers are straight but shorter, generally with the turn-up, introduced about 1904. He wears the new, soft felt hat and spats protecting his shoes, introduced in the middleof the 19th century.

Day Clothes about 1927This lady shows how plain the straight, loosely-fitting, low-waisted dresses had become. They became shorter from 1920, and by 1925 legs clad in beige flesh-coloured stockings were visible to the knee. Flat figures and short 'bobbed' hair-styles reflectthe boyish styles of the time.The man's suit is still high waisted with a rounded jacket. Men's trousers were full, sometimes widening at the turn-up to form 'Oxford bags'. Contrasting sports jackets werebeginning to be worn at this time.

Day Clothes 1938In 1938 outfits had become square at the shoulder, with a fairly tight, natural waist and full, flaring skirt. Styles were varied and inspired by French designers like Elisa Schiaparelli and Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel, and by what the film stars wore. Evening dresses were 'classical' in satins and sequins or 'romantic' with full skirts. Hats were still small and worn tilted over the eye. Men's suits had become much broader and more padded at the shoulder, with a long jacket and wide straight trousers. Narrow 'pin'-striped materials were popular. The soft felt hat generally replaced the bowler.

Clothes Rationing

The Second World War made the importation of cloth for clothing virtually impossible and so clothes rationing was introduced on 1st June1941. Rationing books were distributed to every man, woman and child in Britain.Clothing was rationed on a points system. Initially the allowance was for approximately one new outfit per year; as the war progressed, the points were

reduced to the point where the purchase of a coat constituted almost an entire year's clothing allowance.Inevitably styles and fashion were affected by the clothing shortages. Fewer colours were used by clothing companies, allowing chemicals usually used for dyeing to be used for explosives and other much needed resources for the war effort. Materials became scarce. Silk, nylon, elastic, and even metal used for buttons and clasps were difficult to find.The turban and the siren suit became very popular during the war. The turban began life as a simple safety device to prevent the women who worked in factoriesfrom getting their hair caught in machinery. Siren suits, an all-enveloping boiler suit type garment, was the original jumpsuit. With a zip up the front, people could wear the suit over pyjamas making it ideal for a quick dash to the air raid shelter.The end of clothes rationing finally came on 15th March 1949. Photograph Above: The turban

Photograph Above:Kentwell Hall, WW2 Re-Creation.

Day Clothes 1941 (left)The lady's suit was designed in 1941when materials were restricted because of war. Modelled on the soldier's battledress, the jacket iswaist-length with flapped pockets. The line is still pre-war with its square shoulders, natural waist and flaring skirt. Hair was worn curled,sometimes in a long, eye-covering style. For comfort and warmth many wore 'slacks' and headscarves.The man's suit has a new longer waist and fits more loosely. Sports jackets with contrasting trousers gave variety and economised on the 'coupons' that were issued to everybody when clothes were rationed. 

"The New Look" 1947In 1947 Christian Dior presented a fashion look with a fitted jacket with a nipped-in waist and full calflength skirt. It was a dramatic change from the wartime austerity styles. After the rationing of fabric during the Second World War, Dior's lavish use of material was a bold and shocking stroke. This stylebecame known as the 'New Look'.

Day Clothes 1967 (left)By 1966 Mary Quant was producing short mini dresses and skirts that were set 6 or 7 inches above the knee, making popular a style that had not taken off when it made its earlier debut in 1964. The Quant style became known as the Chelsea Look.The girl (left) has a simple naturalhairdo with exotic makeup. She is very slim and wears a short, mini-skirted semi-fitted tunic made of linked colourful plastic disks, one of many new materials. The cut is simple and variety of texture, pattern and colour are all important.Short hair, dark coats and trousers and plain white shirts had been wornby men for a hundred and fifty years. Now however men's hair is worn longer, and there is a return to flamboyant materials, bright stripes, velvet trimmings and flowerpatterns on shirts. He blends a Georgian style cravat, mid-Victoriantail coat and military trimmings.

Heritage Textile

Muslin saree /Fabric:

Dhakai Muslin - unforgettable heritage

During the Mughal period a fine fabric called Muslin produced in ourcountry was well known all over the world specially in Europe for its unique features. This Muslin was worn by the queens and rich women of that time. This fabric was so fine that 6 yards of a Muslinsaree could passthrough a ring.Unfortunately this artwas destroyed by theBritish during theBritish rule. TheBritish rulers killed the weavers so that the secret would be gone forever.

Jamdani is basically the transited form of the world famous Dhakai Muslin. According to their variety, fineness, knittings etc. The traditional Dhakai Muslins were divided into some specific groups. Among them AAB-E-ROUHAN, SHABNAM, SARBAND and JAMDANI MUSLIN were themost famous. Over the years the first three have vanished from history. The production, marketing and export of Jamdani’ve somehow maintained its continuity.

The history of Dhakai Muslin or Dhaka Jamdani is more ancient than the history of Dhaka town itself. Dhaka has a history of only four hundred years from 1610 A.D. When Subadar Islam Khan Chrishti of thethen Subah Bangla transferred his capital city from Rajmahal to Dhaka. But the history of the cotton clothes of the region holds a more ancient tradition. Although jamdani history’s lost in the mistsof antiquity. It’s known that trade in the fabric was established at

least 2,000 years ago. In Chanakya’s Arthasastra one finds referenceto the fine cottons of ‘Vanga’, historically the central southern region of East Bengal and Chanakya’s tome on economics was written in the 3rd century B.C.

Jamdani saree:Jamdani (Bengali: জজজজজজজ) is one of the finest muslin textiles of Bengal, produced in Dhaka District, Bangladesh for centuries.

The historic production of jamdani was patronized by imperial warrants of the Mughal emperors. Under British colonialism, the Bengali jamdani and muslin industries rapidly declined due to colonial import policies favoring industrially manufactured textiles. In more recent years, the production of jamdani has witnessed a revival in Bangladesh.

The traditional art of weaving jamdani has been declared by UNESCO as a Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[1][2][3]

Etymology

The word Jamdani is of Persian origin, deriving from 'Jam', meaning flower, and 'Dani', a vase or a container. The earliest mention of jamdani and its development as an industry is found in Dacca.

History

The Jamdani weaving tradition is of Bengali origin. It is one of themost time and labor-intensive forms of weaving hand loom weaving. Inthe first half of the nineteenth century, James Taylor described thefigured or flowered jamdani; in the late nineteenth century, T. N. Mukharji referred to this fabric as jamdani muslin.

Bangladeshi bride in Jamdani sari

Weave

Whether figured or flowered, jamdani is a woven fabric in cotton, and it is undoubtedly one of the varieties of the finest muslin. It has been spoken of as the most artistic textile of the Bangladeshi weaver. Traditionally woven around Dhaka, Bangladesh, and created onthe loom brocade, jamdani is fabulously rich in motifs. Jamdani is afine muslin cloth on which decorative motifs are woven on the loom, typically in grey and white. Often a mixture of cotton and gold thread were/was used.

8' x 8' pit looms were generally used for producing figured Jamdani.Like other sarees, hank sizing is largely followed for Jamdani from hank form yarn available in market.

The motion of layout of Jamdani fabrics are directly woven on loom by traditional master weavers from their hereditary skill, experience and talent. Traditional Jamdani motive are of geometric in concept, adopted from local flowers, birds, leaves, zig-zag lines, and so on by the weavers who improved and evolved a directoryof design of "Dacca Gharana" These designs have its nomenclature Hazar-buti, Chand, Tara-buti, Dora-kata' Dabutar- khop, Rose-leaf etc.

Varieties of jamdani work

Jamdani Sari for sale in Sonargaon, Bangladesh

Though mostly used for saris, Jamdani is also used for scarves and handkerchiefs. Jamdani is believed to be a fusion of the ancient cloth-making techniques of Bengal (perhaps 2,000 years old) with themuslins produced by Bengali Muslims since the 14th century. Jamdani is the most expensive product of Dhaka looms since it requires the most lengthy and dedicated work.

Jamdani patterns are mostly of geometric, plant, and floral designs and are said to originate in Persian and Mughal fusion thousands of

years ago. Due to the exquisite painstaking methodology required, only aristocrats and royal families were able to afford such luxuries.

Changes with time

We do not know exactly when jamdani came to be adorned with floral patterns of the loom. It is, however, certain that in the Mughal period, most likely during the reign of either Emperor Akbar (1556–1605) or Emperor Jahangir (1605–1627), the figured or flowered muslin came to be known as the jamdani. Forbes Watson in his most valuable work titled Textile Manufactures and Costumes of the people of India holds that the figured muslins, because of their complicated designs, were always considered the most expensive productions of the Dhaka looms.[4]

Decline and fall

From the middle of the 19th century, there was a gradual decline in the jamdani industry. A number of factors contributed to this decline. The subsequent import of lower quality, but cheaper yarn from Europe, started the decline. Most importantly, the decline of Mughal power in India, deprived the producers of jamdani of their most influential patrons. Villages like Madhurapur and Jangalbari, (both in the Kishoreganj district), once famous for the jamdani industry went into gradual oblivion.

Tangail Saree:It was originated from Tangail, a district of present Bangladesh. Previously it was named as "Begum Bahar" where silk warp and cotton weft were used. Later on, both cotton warp and weft were in vogue. The weaver mainly of 'BASAK' community who migrated from Tangail district before partition of our country & settled in 'Katwa' Dhatrigram, Tamaghata, Samudragarh, area in Burdwan district. At present, silk Tangail sarees have been revived. The technique of drawing and weaving of extra weft for figured Tangail sarees is moreor less identical to Jamdani sarees. Unlike Jamdani, two plain picksinstead of a single pick are inserted after each extra weft meant for figured design.

Now in Samudragarh, Dhatrigram area design on Tangail sarees are woven in boarder by using Jacquard. The recent development is its decorative design. The main characteristics of these sarees in the loom finishing. While weaving Tangail saree , a sort of finishing byputting starch is done in addition to sizing on cotton yarn. Other feature of this saree i.e. paper finish appearance depends on its surface texture.

In recent time handloom weavers have diversified the Tangail saree in to the following varieties: * Tangail Naksapar with jacquard design. * Tangail (silk x silk ) sarees.

Yarn Uses: Tangail saris are usually made from cotton yarns of 80s to 120s count and in the olden days even up to 200s. The borders are about 3’ to 4’ in width, for which artificial silk and gold and silver laces are used. Saris with coloured wrap and coloured weft are not uncommon.

Butider Tangail:

Baluchar Sari (Bengali:ববববববব ববববব) is a type of sari,a garment worn by women across India and Bangladesh. This particulartype of sari originated in Bengal and is known for depictions of mythological scenes on the pallu of the sari. It is mainly produced in Murshidabad and producing one sari takes approximately one week

or more.[1] [2] The Baluchari Sari has been granted the status of Geographical indication in India.[3]

History

In the history of textile in Bengal, Baluchari came much after Maslin. Two hundred years ago Baluchari was used to be practised in a small village called Baluchar in Murshidabad district, from where it got the name Baluchari. In the eighteenth century, Murshidkuli Khan, Nawab of Bengal patronized its rich weaving tradition and brought the craft of making this sari from Dhaka to the Baluchar village in Murshidabad and encouraged the industry to flourish. After a flood in the Ganga river and the subsequent submerging of the village, the industry moved to Bishnupur village in Bankura district. The sari industry prospered in Bishnupur, Bankura during the reign of the Malla dynasty.[4] But this flourishing trend later declined, specially during British rule, due to political and financial reasons and it became a dying craft as most of the weaverswere compelled to give up the profession.

Later in the first half of twentieth century, Subho Thakur, a famousartist, felt the need of recultivating the rich tradition of Baluchari craft. Though Bishnupur was always famous for its silk, heinvited Akshay Kumar Das, a master weaver of Bishnupur to his centerto learn the technique of jacquard weaving. Sri Das then went back to Bishnupur and worked hard to weave Baluchari on their looms.

Once Bishnupur was the capital of Malla dynasty and different kinds of crafts flourished during their period under the patronage of Malla kings. Temples made of terracotta bricks were one achievement of these rulers. A major influence of these temples can be seen in Baluchari sarees. Mythological stories taken from the walls of temples and woven on Baluchari sarees, is a common feature in Bishnupur.[5]

Process of making the Baluchari

The production process of Baluchari can be divided into several parts:-

Cultivation of cocoons:- Since the discovery so many years ago that the fibre or filament composing the cocoon of the silkworm can be constructed into a beautiful and durable fabric, silkworms have beenbred for the sole purpose of producing raw silk.

Processing of yarns:- To make the yarn soft, it is boiled in a solution of soda and soap and then dyed in acid colour, according tothe requirement of the saree. The yarn is stretched from both the sides in opposite directions putting some force with both palms. This process is needed to make the yarn crisper.

Motif making:- Making of the motifs for 'pallavs' and other part of Baluchari is in itself an intricate process. The design is drawn on a graph paper, it is coloured and punching is done using cards. After punching, these cards are sewed in order and fixed in the jacquard machine.

Weaving:- After jacquard loom has been introduced, weaving of a Baluchari saree takes five to six days to get completed. Two weaverswork on it on shifting basis.

Baluchari thus prepared becomes the sign of aristocracy, the attire of status. Maintenance of quality of Baluchari saree is taken care of precisely. The quality is checked from the stage of dying of the yarn to the packaging of the saree.[5]

Motifs

Baluchar saris often had depictions from scenes of Mahabharat and Ramayana. During the Mughal and British eras, they had a square design in the pallu with a feather motif in them. It would take two craftsmen to work for almost a week to produce one sari. The main material used is silk and the sari is polished after weaving.[6]

Use

These saris were mostly worn by women from upper class and Zamindar households in Bengal during festive occasions and weddings.

Organic Baluchari

With the changing time, the baluchari saree gets a make over & a touch of eco-friendliness in terms of the used yarns & colours. Cotton Kapas is spun with fibres of banana plants and bamboo shoots

and the dyes are extracts of fruits, flowers, leaves, and vegetablessuch as pomegranate, jamun, neem fruits and leaves, basil leaves, turmeric, marigold flowers, mangoes and others. The organic baluchari cotton sarees were displayed in the sari fair organised byRang Mahal, a forum of weavers from Nadia district in West Bengal.[7]

[8]

Comilla Khadi:Khadi, also known as "khaddar" has a long history in Bangladesh. In 6th century a local variation of Khadi cloth was described by Huen Tsang of China and Marco Polo in 12th century AD describes a fabrics, most probably khadi Muslin in the Bengal region to be as fine as the spider’s web.[3]

Romans were great aficionados of Bengal khadi Muslin and imported vast amounts of fabrics. The khadi weaves of Comilla during the Mughal period were renowned as valuable textiles with distinctive characteristics.[4]

During the years of the Indian self-rule movement and later with theindependence of Bangladesh the spirit of khadi was driven with the winds of change. In 1921 Gandhi came to Chandina Upazila in comilla to inspire the local weavers and consequently a branch of ‘Nikhil Bharat Tantubai Samity’ was established to self-seed and proliferatethe sale of goods to other major cities in India. [5]

In greater Comilla region the weaving centers were particularly developed in Mainamati, Muradnagar, Gauripur and Chandina.

Rajshahi Silk is the name given to the silk products produced in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. It is a famous name in the domain of clothing,especially in saris.

Rajshahi silk is a delicate and soft fibre produced from the cocoonsof silkworms and is covered with a protein called Sericin. There aremainly three varieties of silks.

Mulberry Silk Eri (or Endi) Silk and Tassar Silk.

Among these varieties, Mulberry silk is the finest and is therefore the most valuable.

Saris and other products made out of Rajshahi silk are coveted by users in the country and in foreign countries. Rajshahi silk is available as fabric in colors and patterns for designers. Silk fabric is available in ranges for apparel and for other purposes.

Monipur Banarosi:

Monipur Banarasi saris are saris made in Varanasi, a city which is also called Benares or Banaras. The saris are among the finest sarisin India and are known for their gold and silver brocade or zari, fine silk and opulent embroidery. The saris are made of finely wovensilk and are decorated with intricate design, and, because of these engravings, are relatively heavy.

Their special characteristics are Mughal inspired designs such as intricate intertwining floral and foliate motifs, kalga and bel, a string of upright leaves called jhallar at the outer, edge of borderis a characteristic of these saris. Other features are gold work,

compact weaving, figures with small details, metallic visual effects, pallus, jal (a net like pattern), and mina work.

The saris are often part of an Indian bride's trousseau.

Depending upon the intricacy of designs and patterns, a sari can take from 15 days to a one month and sometimes up to six months to complete. Banarasi saris are mostly worn by Indian women on important occasions such as when attending a wedding and are

expected to be complemented by the woman's best jewelry.