The culture of India is one of the oldest and unique. In India, there is amazing cultural diversity throughout the country. The South, North, and Northeast have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has carved out its own cultural niche. There is hardly any culture in the world that is as varied and unique as India. India is a vast country, having variety of geographical features and climatic conditions. India is home to some of the most ancient civilizations, including four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
The Web Cultural India

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Salwar Kameez

Salwar kameez is the traditional Indian clothing for women. Due to its high popularity in the region of Punjab, shalwar kameez is commonly referred to as Punjabi suit. The fashion of Shalwar Kameez in India is not new. 
Indian Salwar Kameez
Since the past many few centuries, women have been wearing this wonderful attire that is absolutely decent to wear and also lends a graceful look to its wearer. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, men and women both attire Salwar kameez. Infact, it were the pathans of Kabul, who can be attributed the credit for introducing this dress in South Asia.

Salwar, also pronounced shalwar, refers to the loose fit pajama that is quite wide at the top and in comparison pretty narrow at the bottom. The term Kameez on the other hand is used to refer to the long tunic. Side seams known as the chaak are left open underneath the waist line. This enhances the scope for movement. Salwar has pleats at the waist and is holded seeking the help of an elastic belt or a drawstring. Salwar can be wide and flowing or narrow according to one's personal choice. The narrow salwar is known as churidar. To know more about Indian salwar kameez, read on…

In the contemporary times, fashion designers are coming up with more and more innovative styles, designs and patterns. Today, there are varied necklines and even there is a lot of scope for experimenting with different decorative items for ornamentation such as sequins, mirrors, embroideries and so on. Suits are stitched in different styles having different shapes. Ideally, the length of kameez should be knee length according to the traditional style. However, the modern customized suits have different kinds of cuts and shapes. Apart from the usual salwar kameez and churidar suit, trouser suit also known as parallel suit is also quite popular in India. Patiala style salwar suits are well liked by young girls. It has a short length kameez much above the traditional knee length that is teamed with a loose salwar stitched in the Patiala style. According to your choice, you can go in for either full Patiala or semi Patiala suit.

For the complete look, salwar kameez is teamed with a dupatta. Well, Dupatta is a long scarf that is wrapped around the neck. There can be lot of ways of draping a dupatta depending on the occasion for which you've donned it. Dupatta not just makes your ethnic ensemble salwar kameez complete but also aids in accentuating your dress. There are salwar suits that are quite simple in design and do not have much of embellishments, but the dupatta is intricately designed. Such suits become party wear, owing to the heavy work on dupatta and bring compliments. Thus, salwar kameez is one dress, which is preferred not just for its extreme comfort, but also due to the elegance it lends to the wearer.