By Monisha Shivaraj
The reoccurrence of history is an entity that I relish and embrace with my nostalgic soul. Without history, we all amount to nothing. It always looks like someone from the past travelled forward in time to steal an idea or an event from the future and this is why it always looks like the future was inspired by the past. Okay well, I should stop beating around the bush and get right to the point. Honestly, all I’m trying to say here is that anything that is endured by fashion never really goes extinct, it always stays with us like the history that repeats itself. The dramatic Bollywood industry undergoes constant redesigning. The recurring change has also led to the basis of a perpetual style that never seems to die in the Bollywood industry.
The age of Bollywood started in the year 1913 with the first-ever Hindi movie to be produced. The industry started with very basic colours such as black and white on screen but by the later 1930s the colour palettes widened with brighter and beaming colours on screen and there were about 200 Bollywood Movies. When Bollywood first took a turn, the costumes were basic Indian clothes, typically only sarees and ghagra-cholis were worn by women and men wore dhotis. Many movies were also inspired by European fashion at the time and that’s when men started wearing suits. Eventually, numerous contrasting trends started flourishing. Most of these trends were set by several actresses who have been an inspiration over the century. Honestly, there’s so much about fashion that I’ve learned from Bollywood movies. So here are a few clothes ideas that are captured from the past.
THE INDIAN FORMAL
When someone says, “wear something formal tomorrow”, what’s the first piece of clothing that comes into your mind? Okay, I’m just going to assume most of you first thought of a sophisticated pencil skirt with a chic blouse, or probably a suit. Hmm well, I wonder why a saree never crossed your mind. A saree is the classiest 9 yard of clothing and can be worn for any event based on the material as well as the design of the saree. But today sarees have mostly become that outfit that’s only worn on a festival or similar events, why is it that majority of today's youth doesn’t consider saree formal wear. I think this undermines the quality of a saree to look painlessly stylish and the expression it portrays in the professional world. So here’s a look meant for the professional image Indian youth has to uphold. An outfit inspired by the 1950s/60s actresses Madhubala and Sadhana Shivdasani.
THE TOMBOY DRESS
I think one of the most comfortable clothing I own is a dungaree. Oh but the thing is dungarees are meant to be comfortable since they were originally working clothes. Dungarees are originally from India, they’re from a village in Bombay where they were worn by the working class while working. Although dungarees existed from the 17th century I think they only became popular and fashionable in India after the country witnessed a charming tomboy in her red dungaree (if you don’t get this you cannot talk to me). So here’s a look that resembles a dungaree but is a dress for a tomboy. An outfit inspired by Kajol’s character from the movie Kuch Kuch Hota hai.
THE LITTLE BLACK SAREE
When someone mentions black, gloves, pearls, and vintage the first thing that rushes through anyone's brain has to be an image of Audrey Hepburn in the little black dress. Honestly, this might be because Indians were never the ones who wore gloves with any outfit. But now things have changed, gloves are occasionally worn with western clothes. Oh no, wait right there, why aren’t gloves worn with sarees!???? What the little black dress is to western culture, the same way black saree is to Indian culture. So moving onto this look with a lot more than just a pinch of vintage and a ripoff name. An outfit inspired by Madhuri Dixit.
THE KURTA VEST
The vest is a waistcoat version of American English. It is a piece of clothing mostly worn with men's formal wear. Wearing a vest over Indian kurtas became a trend set by our prime minister Narendra Modi and even by Jawaharlal Nehru way before Modi. Well now even women wear vests on kurtas but they aren’t that popular. But the idea of women wearing waistcoats was not one that someone came up with today. Wearing a waistcoat over your kurtas make the entire outfit look different. It adds a little seasoning to your plain kurtas. So here’s an Indian vest look derived from a waistcoat. An outfit inspired by Rati Agnihotri.
THE SHADES OF COTTON CANDY
By the age of 5, I realized only GIRLS were allowed to like pink. I speak for all girls when I say this but you either liked the colour pink or you liked the colour pink just because we were brought up saying pink is for girls. I'm sure there was an age when your clothes matched your tiffin box and the colour was obviously pink. I think eventually most of us grew out of liking pink (I didn’t grow out of it, I personally still love the colour pink) moving onto other colours but maybe many of us grew out of it because it was a girly colour whilst we liked the colour. It might be one person's opinion but I think pink sweet go-to colour and would excel on every single one of us. So here’s a look for the 5-year-old in each and every one of us. An outfit inspired by Sridevi's character from the movie Chaalbaaz.
THE ACCESSORISE IT
A single accessory can change how your entire outfit looks. It's like the garnish to the perfect outfit. The small details exist with much more significance and any accessory highlights this detail. A belt, a hat, an earring, or even bangles might highlight your outfit. So here’s a look that is extremely simple but underlines itself with an accessory. An outfit inspired by Neetu Singh and Zeenat Aman.
This entire article was all about looking back at the styles started by those that inspire. To some extent they never get credit for being the ones who brought various trends to life in Bollywood. We're watching a movie but sometimes it feels like it's playing on the radio because you're listening and not watching. It's a movie for a reason, it is meant to be watched. The knowledge of fashion wealth provided by Bollywood is lost when a movie is picked up by ears and not eyes. Let the ones that thrived inspire what you wear, because you are what you wear.
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