Overview Indian clothing:

India has been known to have wonderful dresses and costumes. Western culture is developing a grand love affair with the distinctive fashion style that is India. Along with Indian music and spirituality, Indian Clothing is having a huge impact on the mainstream identities of western style and culture. Though the majority of Indian women wear traditional costumes, the men in India can be found in more conventional western clothing. Tailored clothing is very common in India as women's blouses have to be made-to-fit. Clothing for both men and women has evolved and is keeping designers busy. 

Indian fashion varies from one village to another village, from one city to another city.  India's fashion heritage is rich in tradition, vibrant in colors and prepossessing. Bold colors created by the inventive drapes of these textiles catches the imagination like no other contemporary clothing.

The traditional Indian dress is the Sari which can be worn in many ways. Underneath the sari one wears a Petticoat: a waist-to-floor length skirt, tied tightly at the waist by a drawstring and a Choli a blouse that ends just below the bust. The Salwar Kameez is the second most popular dress and is gaining in popularity fast with the younger generation. The Salwar Kameez too has had many design changes. The new designers have come up with great variations of the Salwar Kameez. Women also wear Lehangas.

Ancient Indian fashion garments generally used no stitching although Indians knew about sewing. Most clothes were ready to wear as soon as they left the loom. The traditional Indian Dhoti, the Scarf or Uttariya, and the popular Turban are still visible India and continue to be part of Indian fashion. Likewise, for women, the Dhoti or the Sari as the lower garments, combined with a Stanapatta forms the basic ensemble, and once again consists of garments that do not have to be stitched, the stanapatta being simply fastened in a knot at the back. And the Dhoti or the Sari worn covering both legs at the same time or, in the alternative, with one end of it passed between the legs and tucked at the back in the fashion that is still prevalent in large area of India.