Saturday, 25 July 2015
Innocent Garb
"Those who are able, wear a sheet wrapped around that waist which at night serves them for a coverlet... The dress of the women is not dissimilar... Unless they are Widows, they wear what jewels they can on their breasts... The girls, more even than the boys, wear the garb of innocence up to the ninth or tenth year. Thenceforth the common women folk wear a piece of cloth white, red or striped, twelve cubits of the hand in length and two in breath, half of which they gird round the waist and the other half above the shoulders when they go to work".
Puritanical
Nira gives an explanation about the puritanical influences that came with Western colonial rule and the imposition of Judeo-Christian culture on the liberal tradition of Hindu-Buddhist culture that prevailed in ancient Lanka.
"In the mid-Seventeenth Century under the influence of the puritanical Dutch, lace collars, frills, cuffs and hemlines began to be freely used. Lace-making was introduced as a cottage industry. The influence of the later Tamil dynasty on the Kandyan throne led to a consequent modification in dress in the Kandyan provinces".
Portuguese
"The costume of the Sinhalese women before the arrival of the Portuguese was abandoned in the Low Country as a result of the widespread adoption of Christianity and the free social intercourse which existed between the Portuguese and Sinhalese of the upper classes. The great majority of women in the coastal belt took to the Portuguese long-sleeved jacket rounded at the back and in front with V neckline".
Other witnesses seem to imply, however, that the common folk did not so readily adapt the Portuguese style of dress. One of them is Dr. Fernando De Queyroz who wrote "The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon" in the 17th Century. Queyroz writes:
"Such is the dress of the Lord and Nobles, for the soldiers, farmers and other common folk, have no other clothing save a cloth which they wrap on their head and a small bit of cord round the loins from which hangs a piece of cloth, one palm broad and a cubit in length, the end of which is tied to the same cord covering their natural nakedness".
Hindu-Buddhist society
"In a Hindu-Buddhist society it is difficult to assess with precision at what point semi-nudity became taboo. The Dhammapadatha Katha relates an incident which took place in the Tenth Century when a lay devotee, Rohini, wore a blouse before Anuruddha Thera only to cover marks left by a skin disease. This indicates that it was still unusual for women to cover their body. Women's dress was then a cloth round the hip leaving the body bare from waist upwards."
According to other scholars like W. T. Keble in his book Ceylon Beaten Track the Jaffna kingdom in 13th Century Ceylon was no exception to this tradition of liberal and sensible attire for men and women. Keble quotes Marco Polo, the Italian merchant, who visited the island in the late 13th Century when King Chandrabhanu, (Sendez-nax) the Javanese warrior, was ruling Jaffna.
"It is governed by a King whose name is Sendeznax. The people worship idols, and are independent of every other state. Both men and women go nearly in a state of nudity (the writer has cause to envy this climatic adaptation) only wrapping a cloth round the middle part of their bodies."
Nira writes that by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries it was acceptable to remain uncovered at home but when going out to wear an upper garment. At this stage the cloth was worn with a separate garment covering the breasts thrown over the shoulders, which evolved into the shawl and breastband.
How was it that the Hindu-Buddhist culture in ancient Lanka underwent such changes by the 14th Century so that an upper garment for women became a feature when leaving the house? As noted earlier there was no place for prudery and Puritanism in the authentic tradition of Hinduism and Buddhism. One may speculate that it was the rise of Islam in India and the Muslim conquest of south India by the mid14th Century that was responsible for these changes in women's attire.
A. L. Bhasham, in his monumental work The Wonder That Was India, notes that for many centuries Indian women did not wear upper garments except during winter in certain parts of northern India. He quotes the example of the Nayar tribal women of south India, who until the mid-20th Century went about topless. Bhasham implies that the Muslim invasions were what altered the dress codes of Indian women.
In Sri Lanka one may note that there was a great deal of Muslim influence in the Kurunegala kingdom in the first half of the 14th Century, with even a Muslim monarch ascending the throne as Prince Vaththimi in about 1320 A.D. and ruling for nine years, according to the Kumnegala Vistharaya.
Nira writes of the impact of Western influences from the 16th Century onwards which had the effect of making Sri Lankan women more conservative in their attire.
Monday, 20 July 2015
Versace couture fashion show
Speaking before the show, Versace said she was going “out of her comfort zone” with the collection, presented in Paris on Sunday, leaving aside the tough, uncomplicated sexiness the house is famous for (see Liz Hurley in that safety-pinned dress) for a softer, more vulnerable vision of femininity. In practice, she still delivered jewel-encrusted fabulousness, albeit in a more muted palette than usual.
Versace couture fashion show
Dresses were dove grey, light turquoise and baby pink and made from layers of exquisite material like threaded georgette, cobwebby lace and frayed chiffon. There was a touch of Maid Marian to some of the looks – like pea-green trousers with corset tops studded with Swarovski crystals – and an overall medieval feeling, seen in bell sleeves made of sheer fabrics that looked like angels’ wings.
Short Choli with Gharara
This was an old fashion now again in trend and caught the attention of all the young girls. As these days traditional dresses are in fashion so many girls consider this style for their big day. The gharara always looks very beautiful and elegant with short choli. In this style combination of banarsi and embroidered material is used to make this very beautiful. In this style gharara of simple color looks more beautiful than multicolor. By this style girls normally use long dupatta with it to make it latest. Many Pakistani designers HSY, Maria B and Nomi Ansari are making these latest designs for their customers.
Long Choli with Sharara
This is the most famous and first choice of young girl for their wedding. This outfit is now in fashion from last two to three years. Long shirts with sharara look best for the brides having tall heights. Thin embroidery on the border of sharara looks elegant with dupatta of full length. Sharara with long shirts look very modern and bride look very smart and beautiful in this Sharara. This style was also shown in Bridal Couture Week 2014 by designer Zainab Chottani as shown in the picture. Now latest fashion shows also present this style of Sharara for the viewers.
Open Coat Shirt with Lehnenga
This style of dress is very famous and common these days. In this design shirt on the lehenga is stitched in kind of open coat. Open coat means looks like an open shirt but its look is similar to a coat with a border on it. This looks very elegant and beautiful on brides. This dress is more common in India and many designers there like Manish Malhotra, Ritu Kumar and Sabyasachi are making dresses in this style as they are latest in style.
Three Layer Lehenga with Short Shirt
In this three layer lehenga, lehenga has three layers which may be of same color or different colors to make it more attractive. On this dress short shirt is used which enhances the beauty of whole dress. As in picture green dress worn by Reema Khan belongs to the label of Zainab Chottani a famous designer of Pakistan. This was also show cased in bridal couture week Pakistan 2014. This is very latest and unique style of this dress to make it looks more beautiful and royal touch.
Lehenga with Open Shirt
This latest design usually has lehenga and shirt on it is open. We all know that open shirts are in fashion which is stitched like two shirts one is proper stitched shirt while other is on it that is open. Open shirt is made by two shirts. The shirt under open shirt is normally of plain material and open shirt is more attractive. These days open shirts are very common not only in bridal dresses but casual dresses as well. Mostly designers used open shirt style on lehenga to make something different. The outfit shown in the picture was shown in Bridal couture week in 2014 and its designer was Kuki Concepts.
Girls and Bridals
In this article we will talk about top 10 new sharara designs of 2015. This is basically a traditional dress wore in countries like Pakistan, India which have strong cultural values. This trend was inspired from Mughal Empire as it was their tradition. This dress is usually worn by women on weddings as this is a formal wear. The dress can be made from many types of material like chiffon, satin and silk etc. This is the most elegant dress design a girl can wear on her wedding. Many famous designers are working on this design in countries like Pakistan and India and are famous for their bridal wear like HSY, Nomi Ansari, Omar Saed from Pakistan while Ritu Kumar and Manish Malhotra from India. These days this type of dresses are very expensive and girls have to spent more money on their bridal dresses. This style is always in fashion only the style of shirt on these changes from time to time. Nowadays mostly girls prefer to wear designer dresses on their wedding which are very expensive. This type of dresses can be worn on mehndi, barat and walima according to your own will. By reading this article you will be able to know about top 10 sharara designs for girls which are in fashion these days.
Friday, 10 July 2015
West African Fashion
The “West Africa Fashion Awards” held on Saturday 22nd March 2015, at the Oriental Hotels, Lekki. The aim of the West African Fashion Awards is to showcase West African designers and present awards to those who have made outstanding contributions to the fashion industry during the year. The ceremony is organized by fashion instinct and has 18 award categories.
The main awards include that of Menswear Designer of the year , Women-swear Designer of the year, Fashion Event of the year, Style award and Outstanding Contribution as well as awards to the ‘most-fashionable’ celebrities in various fields.
When Michelle Obama and Beyonce Knowles attended high-profile events in clothes made by African designers, it was a sure sign that the continent's vibrant style has arrived on the world stage.
The main awards include that of Menswear Designer of the year , Women-swear Designer of the year, Fashion Event of the year, Style award and Outstanding Contribution as well as awards to the ‘most-fashionable’ celebrities in various fields.
The showcasing of clothes from home-grown African designers in stores in New York, London and Tokyo is a sign of a broader change of attitude towards a continent which is earning a brighter reputation beyond stories of war and disease.
It has proven difficult for Africa's home grown designers to break into the mainstream fashion market because the perception has often been that products from the world's poorest continent are of low quality or just not cool.
Global fashion designers like Yves Saint Laurent took inspiration from Africa decades ago and more recently brands like Burberry, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior have embraced the continent's style and broadened its appeal.
But consumers now want products made by Africans, not replicas produced by Western clothing chains, according to Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, who owns Ethiopian shoe company, soleRebels, which has a dozen stores from Singapore to Greece.
"The global consumer today is hyper-aware. They want authentic and innovative ideas delivered from the authors of those ideas," Bethlehem said.
"We have always had incredible design and production talent here, but it was invisible. That is changing."
In 2010, the first annual New York African Fashion Week gave home-grown designers the chance to showcase their work on the world stage.
Global celebrities have endorsed African designers including Nigerian label Maki-Oh, Ghana's Osei-Duro and South Africa-based retailer Kisua.com.
Nigerian lawyer-turned-designer Duro Olowu has become a well-known name in fashion circles and has a collection at U.S. department store J.C. Penney and his own boutique store in central London.
"It was a good thing to see international designers putting African fashion on the map," said Ghanaian entrepreneur Samuel Mensah, who quit his job as a fund manager to launch online clothes retailer Kisua.com.
"Now we're starting to see Africa taking ownership of its own cultural assets. African designers are being noticed. They are stocked in international stores."
CHALLENGES AT HOME
While attitudes abroad have changed the industry is also trying to meet latent demand for quality fashion among the growing middle-class at home.
Thursday, 9 July 2015
Tuesday, 7 July 2015
Fabulous Wedding Dresses
Like many women, you most likely fantasized about your dream wedding day for years, giving tremendous thought to what your dress will look like. It’s certainly a day where all eyes will be transfixed on you and 
therefore you want to look breathtakingly beautiful. And although you may have a general idea of the type of bridal gowns you’re searching for, sometimes all your preconceived plans go right out the window when it comes time to actually go shopping for that one special bridal look. There are just so many lovely shapes, silhouettes and wedding trends to consider!
therefore you want to look breathtakingly beautiful. And although you may have a general idea of the type of bridal gowns you’re searching for, sometimes all your preconceived plans go right out the window when it comes time to actually go shopping for that one special bridal look. There are just so many lovely shapes, silhouettes and wedding trends to consider!
And with wedding trends changing on a constant basis, it’s always important to keep up-to-date with the latest styles, which will definitely help in broadening your wedding dress horizons and give you a clear idea of what to look for prior to shopping. Here are some top 2015 trends in wedding dresses and bridal style.
Showcase a one-shoulder dress. One of the hottest bridal dress trends in 2015 is the one-shoulder wedding dress. Imagine an elegant and classic Grecian goddess look. These dresses are quite elegant 
and regal, not to mention they are gracing the red carpet on today’s hottest celebrities.
and regal, not to mention they are gracing the red carpet on today’s hottest celebrities.
Enhance your dress with flower embellishment. Rosettes and flower treatments have emerged as the most popular detailings on wedding dresses this year. And being that they exude timeless femininity and romance, they are perfect for a wedding dress.
Choose a soft ivory hue. Soft ivory is currently the most popular color for designer wedding and bridal gowns. However, if you’re opting for something more traditional, many women still prefer the classic white dress.
Wear a statement-making trumpet dress. A trumpet dress is a narrow sheath dress, which tapers the body beautifully from bodice to thigh, with a fully flared bottom above the knee for ease with movement like walking down that memorable aisle and dancing the night away at your fabulous reception.
Prepare a separate wedding and reception dress. One of the most interesting wedding dress trends in 2015 is actually to go for two dresses in one day-one for the wedding and another for the reception. This is a very sensible and convenient idea as reception dresses offer greater ease for eating, dancing, as well as meeting and greeting all of your guests. You'll feel comfortable and glamorous at the same time.
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