Current Fashion
The current fashion at the moment for young and older teens is mixing modern and traditional styles with the western look. We have edited our traditional top with western jeans culture to suit us. Rather than wearing the traditional outfit it has been mixed with a western-top and jeans.
The current fashion is a mix of old and new, for example the current fashion for the salvaar is fitted. A fitted salvaar was in fashion back in the day and has come back in fashion again. Personally I prefer western clothes with a mixture of Asian fashion. On a normal day I would wear jeans and a kameez and trainers and my bangles.
A couple of years ago, the fashion used to be a long dress with baggy trousers and a scarf for the neck and the head. As the years went by, the fashion nowadays is either a traditional, short dress, either jeans/trousers, and sometimes a plain scarf. There are also the same traditional suits but with brighter colours and the ankle of each trouser leg is tighter than it used to be. The dress is also higher - up to the knees.
However, from our research, the fashion is also repeating itself as people used to wear high shirts and it has only just come back in fashion. Also, the trouser worn for special occasions are the ‘Garrara’, which came back in fashion a couple of months ago. These are usually worn for party wear.
It is easier to buy Asian clothes now than ever before as people have started to sell them on the Internet and in Asian magazines, whereas, before there were no Internet or magazines to order from, they was usually bought from Pakistan and India. There are also some Asian fashions, such as ‘Kurti’, found in some shopping centres.
Women’s Fashion
Salma Hussain
Traditionally you will find Asian woman wearing frilly umbrella frocks with heavy golden embroidery and bright fluorescent colours, unfitted and really uncomfortable. But those days are over, in Asian fashion now you can find the women wearing kurta, jeans and stilettos. This is where western fashion mixes in with Asian fashion. The western fashion industry is really influenced by the Asian. You can find Asian fashion in stores such as Debenhams, Hot F and Topshop.
Asian fashion has also had an input on top designers such as Versace and Armani. In really famous shops you can find ‘Khusse’ (Asian sequined flat sandals) and many tops and skirts are covered in a rich colour, embroided on the finest Asian material. But the old Asian fashion has not completely disappeared from the Asian fashion world. You can still find much of it coming back in syle. There are Churidaar dresses with a kameez and tight salvaar and also the popular ‘Patyaala’ to be found in the fashion show photos. Asian fashion is always changing and is entering more and more into the Western world, but many aspects of the old Asian fashion still exist.
Seima Rafique
Women’s fashion is all about what was worn in the old times and what is worn now in this century. The types of clothes that women wear now are described as patella suits, the trouser is called patella salwar which is quite open and flairs down, then it becomes tight and with the kames it is normal like the other types of suits which don’t have a patella salwar but it is only described as a salwar.
Another type of clothing which is worn by women on special occasions, such as when a women is getting married, has a lot of embroidery which can become quite heavy for a women to wear.
Men’s Fashion.
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Men’s fashion has changed dramatically over the years; A typical Asian’s men outfit would have been a simple salwar kameez. However recently there has been more interest in men’s fashion which has led to more experimentation in the field of menswear. Today men have adapted to many different styles of ethnic wear such as shirwani, jodhpuri and kurta pyjama.
Shirwani suit are long coat like garment, which are below knee length and are worn by men close to the body, and opening in front with button-fastenings. It is especially popular at weddings for the Groom as it uses rich material and generally speaking fits well.
Jodhpuri Suit is a smart elegant suit which is worn by men at weddings and special occasions It is a western suit with a Coat and a trouser, at times accompanied by a vest. The traditional menswear are designed with lot of embroidery work like phulkari, zardoji etc which are different styles of Indian embroidery that have been handed down from generation to generation. Jodhpuri suit is a unique example of embroidery being used in men clothing. Embroidery is usually used exclusively in women clothing.
Kurta Pyjama is generally speaking an informal wear; it can be formal depending on the design. kurta pajamas are ong comfortable garment, worn with a set of Pajamas.
Angrakhas: These are types of kurta tie in the front and are worn with a churidar kurta.