A skirt is a clothing that is worn below the waist and which covers all or part of the wearer's legs. A shirt is a garment worn to cover the upper part of one's body. Although traditionally a shirt is more specifically a garment with a collar, sleeves with cuffs, and a full vertical opening with buttons. This is known as a "button-down" shirt or dress shirt. However, with the passage of time many types of shirts as well as skirts have been invented. Some of these skirts and shirts or tops are inventions from India. Indians have adopted these western dresses to suit to their culture and traditions.
Skirts are an age old clothing tradition not only for India but for other countries of Asia too apart from western countries. Men and women both had been wearing one or the other form of leg dress such as the lungi, kanga and sarong in countries like China, Thailand, Malaysia and other parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia. In India too, women have been using lehengas which hang down from waistline till ankles. Beginning in1915, western skirts were long enough to touch the ground. The fashionable skirts became short in 1920s and then long again in 1930s. The cycle of skirts becoming longer and shorter kept on going till it became shortest of all during the 1960s. However, the Indian skirts have always favored the trends of being lengthy with a few exceptions in mid 1900s when the Bollywood actors brought the trend of short skirts. However, the common women of India never liked to wear skirts that were shorter than the knee length.
Ethnic long skirts
Women of India love to wear long skirts that remind of the ethnic lehengas. These skirts are either place specific like Jaipuri skirts from the ethnic city of Jaipur, Rajasthan or culture specific like Gypsy/Banjara Skirts related to the nomadic tribes of Gypsies and Banjaras. More decorated types of these skirts are also used as party wear.
Wrap-around skirts
Skirts that are not stitched from one side and are wrapped and secured around the waistline- the wrap around skirts- are enormously famous among the Indian women. These skirts are mostly used as casual wear.
Crinkled skirts
Crinkled skirts are very famous for the rough looks. Women who want to be casual and trendy both at same time use these skirts that have a crumpled look and need no ironing before wearing.
Embroiderd skirts
Embroidery and long skirts seem to have been made for each other in India. From simple running stitch kantha embroidery to more specific Lucknow' chikan embroidery and lavish zari embroidery- all can be found on the skirts meant for daily as well as special wear.
Denim skirts
Although denim is more familiar in the family of jeans, Indian skirts have borrowed the comfort and style of denim by adapting the denim skirts according to Indian orientation. The long denim skirts are liked most as office wear but some embroidered denim skirts can also be seen in informal gatherings.
History of Skirts
Skirts are an age old clothing tradition not only for India but for other countries of Asia too apart from western countries. Men and women both had been wearing one or the other form of leg dress such as the lungi, kanga and sarong in countries like China, Thailand, Malaysia and other parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia. In India too, women have been using lehengas which hang down from waistline till ankles. Beginning in1915, western skirts were long enough to touch the ground. The fashionable skirts became short in 1920s and then long again in 1930s. The cycle of skirts becoming longer and shorter kept on going till it became shortest of all during the 1960s. However, the Indian skirts have always favored the trends of being lengthy with a few exceptions in mid 1900s when the Bollywood actors brought the trend of short skirts. However, the common women of India never liked to wear skirts that were shorter than the knee length.Basic Types of Skirts
The shapes and cuts of Indian skirts are not very different from western skirts. These basic types of skirts include- Straight skirt- also called a pencil skirt, it hangs straight from the hips, is fitted from the waist to the hips through darts or a yoke. It may have some pleats for ease of walking.
- Full skirt- It has fullness gathered into the waistband
- Short skirt- It is a skirt having hemline above the knee.
- Bell-shaped skirt- When worn, it looks like a bell- narrower at the upper portion and wider below.
- A-line skirt- It has a slight flare at the ankles and looks like the shape of a capital letter A
- Pleated skirt-It has fullness which is reduced to fit the waist with the help of regular pleats. These pleats or folds can be stitched flat to hip-level or free-hanging.
- Circular skirt- It is like a kali ghagra, cut in sections to make one or more circles with a hole for the waist. This makes the skirt very full but it also hangs smoothly from the waist without darts, pleats, or gathers.
Types of Indian Skirts
Although, the Indian skirts are also cut and sewn in the shapes as mentioned as basic types, there are certain skirts that can be called typical Indian skirts.Ethnic long skirts
Women of India love to wear long skirts that remind of the ethnic lehengas. These skirts are either place specific like Jaipuri skirts from the ethnic city of Jaipur, Rajasthan or culture specific like Gypsy/Banjara Skirts related to the nomadic tribes of Gypsies and Banjaras. More decorated types of these skirts are also used as party wear.Wrap-around skirts
Skirts that are not stitched from one side and are wrapped and secured around the waistline- the wrap around skirts- are enormously famous among the Indian women. These skirts are mostly used as casual wear.
Crinkled skirts
Crinkled skirts are very famous for the rough looks. Women who want to be casual and trendy both at same time use these skirts that have a crumpled look and need no ironing before wearing.
Embroiderd skirts
Embroidery and long skirts seem to have been made for each other in India. From simple running stitch kantha embroidery to more specific Lucknow' chikan embroidery and lavish zari embroidery- all can be found on the skirts meant for daily as well as special wear.
Denim skirts
Although denim is more familiar in the family of jeans, Indian skirts have borrowed the comfort and style of denim by adapting the denim skirts according to Indian orientation. The long denim skirts are liked most as office wear but some embroidered denim skirts can also be seen in informal gatherings.
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