Amazon cover image
Image from Amazon.com

Clothing matters: dress and identity in India

By: Publication details: University of Chicago Press 1996 Chicago.Description: xxi, 360 pISBN:
  • 9780226789767
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 391.00954 T2C5
Summary: This detailed study examines sartorial style in India from the 19th century to the present, showing how trends in clothing are related to caste, level of education, urbanization and a larger cultural debate about the nature of Indian identity. Clothes have been used to assert power, challenge authority, conceal identity and instigate social change throughout Indian society. During the struggle for independence, members of the Indian elite incorporated elements of Western style into their clothes, while Gandhi's adoption of the loincloth symbolized the contrast between Indian poverty and British wealth. Similar tensions are played out in India today, with urban Indians adopting "ethnic" dress as villagers seek modern fashions. Illustrated with photographs, satirical drawings, magazine advertisements and political cartoons, this book shows how individuals and groups play with history and culture as they decide what to wear. http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo3629913.html
Tags from this library: No tags from this library for this title. Log in to add tags.
Star ratings
    Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)
Holdings
Item type Current library Item location Collection Shelving location Call number Status Date due Barcode
Books Vikram Sarabhai Library Rack 27-B / Slot 1312 (0 Floor, East Wing) Non-fiction General Stacks 391.00954 T2C5 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 194601

This detailed study examines sartorial style in India from the 19th century to the present, showing how trends in clothing are related to caste, level of education, urbanization and a larger cultural debate about the nature of Indian identity. Clothes have been used to assert power, challenge authority, conceal identity and instigate social change throughout Indian society. During the struggle for independence, members of the Indian elite incorporated elements of Western style into their clothes, while Gandhi's adoption of the loincloth symbolized the contrast between Indian poverty and British wealth. Similar tensions are played out in India today, with urban Indians adopting "ethnic" dress as villagers seek modern fashions. Illustrated with photographs, satirical drawings, magazine advertisements and political cartoons, this book shows how individuals and groups play with history and culture as they decide what to wear.


http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo3629913.html


There are no comments on this title.

to post a comment.