Costumes of West Indian States

Costumes of West Indian States

The West Indian State has its own standard of living, custom and culture to celebrate and follow festivals and fairs with diverse traditions.

Traditional Indian clothing varies with community, religion and region, all across the nation. Festivals are one of the best ways to get into the depth of Indian culture. Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat are the states which lie in the western part of India. The Maharashtrian women wear famous Paithani saree during festivals and religious functions. Clothes are an important part of the Goa lifestyle making it essential to dress well at the innumerable social occasions and parties. In Goa, women prefer Western dresses like skirts and tops, trousers and shirts etc. The traditional dress of women in Gujarat is the colourful Ghagra-choli. Saree is also a cultural dress of Gujarat.

The traditional dresses of the West Indian states can be grouped as follows:

Traditional Dress of Gujarat
The colourful Ghagra-choli is the traditional dress of Indian women in Gujarat. Ghagras or lehengas are gathered ankle-length skirts secured around the waist. The choli is brightly embroidered, waist-length bare-backed blouses. The attire is completed by an Odhni or dupatta draped across the neck or over the head. Saree is also another traditional dress of Gujarat but here the pallu is draped in front rather than over the shoulders.

Traditional Dress of Maharashtra
Costumes of Maharashtra comprise a Saree as traditional attire for women and a Dhoti and a Shirt for men. Saree is the traditional garment but worn in a distinctive Maharashtrian style. In Maharashtra, the saree is 9 metre long and is worn tucked between the legs. This saree does not require a petticoat or a slip. The famous Paithani saree is worn by Maharashtrian women during festivals and religious functions.

Traditional Dress of Goa
Goans are very much fashion aware. Clothes form an important part of the Goan lifestyle making it essential to dress well at the innumerable social occasions that occur around the year. Western dresses like skirts and tops, trousers and shirts, wrap-arounds are preferred by women in Goa. Goan Christian women still wear sarees rather than dresses. There is a visible presence of western, particularly Portuguese influence is evident in the style of houses, churches, dress and cuisine in Goa.

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