History of Clothing
The clothes we wear have a tale to tell. Clothing is governed by various regulations in all societies. Some of them are fairly severe regarding how men, women, and children, as well as members of various socioeconomic strata and organizations, should dress. People's identities were defined by these norms. They influence our perceptions of elegance and beauty, as well as humility and shame. As civilizations developed over time, these regulations altered as well. Here we will get to know the perspective of clothing a social history.
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Sumptuary Laws in France
The Sumptuary laws' were expected to be carefully followed in medieval Europe. To distinguish themselves from the aristocracy after the French Revolution, Jacobin clubs adopted the moniker "sans culottes." To protect domestic producers from imports, some sumptuary laws were enacted.
According to the “sumptuary laws”, only royalty could wear rich materials such as ermine and fur, as well as silk, velvet, and brocade. Other classes were advised to avoid anything related to the aristocracy. These differences were abolished during the French Revolution. Both men and women began to dress in loose, comfortable attire from then on.
Clothing Used as a Notion of Beauty
Many women believed in the ideals of womanhood. Society, literature, and educational institutions provided them with ideals. They were raised to believe that having a small waist was a sign of femininity. It was necessary for a woman to be in pain. They had to wear the corset in order to be considered lovely and womanly. However, these concepts were not universally accepted.
Introduction of New Materials in the Indian Dress History
Most ordinary women in Britain had very few garments made of flax, linen, or wool that were difficult to clean before the 17th century. After 1600, commerce with India placed low-cost, attractive, and easy-to-maintain Indian chintzes within European reach. The clothing history in India was largely influenced by western culture at a certain point in time.
Cotton clothing became more accessible to a wider range of individuals throughout the Industrial Revolution. Artificial fibers first appeared in the early twentieth century. They were clothing constructed of less expensive materials that were also easy to wash and maintain. Heavy, constrictive underwear was no longer worn in the late 1870s. Clothes became lighter, shorter, and more straightforward.
Women’s Reaction to these Norms
By the 1830s, English women had begun to campaign for democratic rights. Many women began fighting for dress change as the suffrage movement grew stronger. At the end of the nineteenth century, people began to accept the reformers' ideals, which they had before dismissed. As time passed, new values were introduced.
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Effect of Wars on Clothing
Due to the two world wars, major modifications in women's dress occurred. Clothing, a social history associated with it can be well observed in this section. Many European ladies stopped wearing expensive jewelry and clothing. As upper-class women mingled with women from various classes, social barriers were broken down. Women of all social classes began to dress in a similar manner.
Women's clothing became shorter during the First World War (1914-1918) due to practical necessity. Over 7 lakh women worked in armament manufacturers in the United Kingdom by 1917. They were dressed in a work outfit. The clothes of new professional women were khaki overalls, hats, short skirts, and trousers. The use of bright colours in clothing was phased out in favour of more subdued hues. Clothes got plainer and simpler as a result.
British Rule and Dress Codes in India
Clothing has a lot of diverse meanings in different cultures. This frequently results in miscommunication and conflict. As a result of these conflicts, dress styles in British India evolved. When European traders first arrived in India, they were known as the 'hat wearers,' as opposed to the Indian 'turban wearers.' In India, the turban served as both a heat shield and a symbol of dignity. As a result, Indians were adamant about keeping their turbans.
In Western culture, it was customary to remove one's hat in front of social superiors as a display of respect. Misunderstandings arose as a result of cultural differences. Another point of contention was the wearing of shoes. When Indians arrived before Governor-General Amherst in 1824-1828, he insisted that they remove their shoes as a symbol of respect. This was not followed by the Indians.
Designing the National Dress
As nationalist sentiments spread across India in the late nineteenth century, Indians sought to create cultural emblems to reflect the country's oneness. Artists searched for a National Style of art, poets composed National Songs, a discussion erupted over the design of the National Flag, and an experiment to find a National Dress began. This step was made to symbolically identify the nation's cultural identity.
Bengal's Tagore family experimented with designs for a National Dress for both men and women in India in the 1870s. Instead of blending Indian and European clothing, Rabindranath Tagore proposed that India's National Dress incorporate features of Hindu and Muslim dresses.
Types of Clothes in India
While discussing the history of clothing, let’s take a look at the types of clothes in India in general. The clothing worn in India has changed over time. Indian clothing has reflected influences from the Gupta period, the rise of Islam, and British colonization throughout history. Based on geography, climate, ethnicity, and culture, traditional Indian clothing differ from one part of the country to another. Here is a short list to describe the types of Indian clothing — 1) Headgear/ turban/ pagdi, 2) Dhoti, 3) Saree, 4) Angrakha, 5) Salwar Kameez, etc.
The Swadeshi Movement
The British Industrial Revolution mechanized spinning and weaving, resulting in a significant increase in demand for raw materials such as cotton and indigo. As a result, India's position in the global economy has shifted. Large numbers of individuals began rejecting British or mill-made cloth in the mid-twentieth century, opting instead for khadi, despite the fact that it was coarser, more expensive, and more difficult to obtain.
As a result of this step, the Swadeshi movement arose. People were exhorted to boycott all British goods and to develop their own manufacturing industries for items like matchboxes and cigarettes. Despite the fact that many people were rallying to the cause of nationalism at the time, competing with the inexpensive British goods that had flooded the market was nearly impossible. Mahatma Gandhi gained crucial ideas about using cloth as a symbolic weapon against British tyranny as a result of his Swadeshi experiment.
The Gandhi Cap
Mahatma Gandhi changed the Kashmiri cap he occasionally wore into a simple white cotton khadi cap after returning to India from South Africa in 1915. He wore the cap for two years, from 1919 to 1920, before giving it up, but by that time, it had become part of the nationalist uniform and even a symbol of defiance.
A vast number of Hindus and Muslims wore the cap during the Khilafat campaign. Three Santhals were killed when a mob of Santhals attacked the police in Bengal in 1922, seeking the release of Santhal inmates, believing that the Gandhi cap would protect them from gunshots.
Many nationalists stubbornly wore the Gandhi cap and were attacked or incarcerated as a result of it. The fez, a tasselled Turkish cap, became a symbol of anticolonialism in India with the advent of the Khilafat movement in the post-First World War years. Though many Hindus wore the fez, such as in Hyderabad, it soon became associated entirely with Muslims.
In order to sum up the history of clothing in India, changes in clothing styles are thus tied to movements in cultural tastes and ideals of beauty, as well as changes in the economy and society, as well as social and political turmoil.
FAQs on Clothing: A Social Reform
1. What is the social significance of clothing, as discussed in the chapter 'Clothing: A Social History'?
Clothing is not merely for protection; it holds immense social significance by defining identity, social class, and cultural norms. Historically, different types of clothing were used to:
- Establish social hierarchy and status through Sumptuary Laws.
- Differentiate between genders, castes, and communities.
- Signal cultural values, notions of modesty, and aesthetic preferences.
- Act as a powerful tool for political statements and social reform, as seen with Khadi in India.
2. What were the Sumptuary Laws and what was their social impact in Europe?
Sumptuary Laws were regulations in Europe from the medieval period up to the 17th century that controlled what people of different social ranks could wear. Their primary purpose was to maintain social hierarchies by legally preventing lower classes from wearing clothes or materials reserved for the elite. These laws specified the type of fabric, colours, and accessories allowed for each social stratum. Their social impact was to make class distinctions legally visible and reinforce the existing social order. These laws were eventually abolished, most notably after the French Revolution, as they symbolised the inequality that the revolution sought to end.
3. Why did styles of clothing for women change significantly in nineteenth-century Europe?
Women's clothing styles in nineteenth-century Europe changed due to several interconnected social and political factors. Initially, Victorian ideals promoted restrictive clothing like tight corsets and voluminous skirts, which hampered movement. However, a push for reform emerged from:
- The Rational Dress Movement: Activists and doctors argued for clothing that was comfortable, hygienic, and allowed freedom of movement.
- Women's Suffrage: As women campaigned for the right to vote and entered the workforce, they demanded more practical attire suitable for public life.
- Impact of World Wars: During the wars, women took on new roles in factories and offices, making simpler, more functional clothing like shorter skirts and trousers a necessity.
4. How did British rule in India introduce new rules and conflicts related to dress codes?
British rule in India created significant friction over dress codes as the British expected Indians to conform to Western norms of etiquette. Key areas of contention included:
- The Turban vs. the Hat: The Indian turban, a symbol of respectability, clashed with the Western tradition of removing a hat to show respect, leading to misunderstandings in colonial offices.
- The 'Shoe Respect' Issue: The British insistence that Indians remove their shoes in their presence was seen as an assertion of racial superiority and became a major point of conflict.
- Adoption of Western Attire: While some Indians adopted Western clothes to modernise, others resisted it as a form of cultural submission, sparking a debate on national identity.
5. What was the 'shoe respect' controversy, and what does it reveal about colonial power dynamics?
The 'shoe respect' controversy refers to incidents in British India where Indians were required to remove their shoes when entering British spaces like courtrooms. This seemingly minor rule became a major point of conflict because it symbolised the imposition of colonial authority over native cultural practices. It reveals how the British used everyday etiquette and dress codes as tools to establish and maintain a clear racial and political hierarchy, turning a traditional gesture of respect into a forced act of submission.
6. Why couldn't everyone in India adopt Khadi as a symbol of nationalist protest?
While Mahatma Gandhi powerfully promoted Khadi as a symbol of self-reliance, its universal adoption faced several practical and social challenges:
- Cost: Hand-spun and hand-woven Khadi was significantly more expensive and less durable than mass-produced British mill cloth, making it unaffordable for the poor.
- Maintenance: Khadi is a thicker, coarser fabric that is more difficult to wash and maintain.
- Social Aspirations: Some marginalised groups, like Dalits, had adopted Western tailored clothes to escape caste-based discrimination and assert self-respect. For them, reverting to traditional Indian wear felt like a step backwards.
7. How can clothes function as a powerful symbol of social and political protest?
Clothes can transform from mere garments into powerful symbols of protest by embodying an idea or a movement. This happens when a specific way of dressing is used to make a deliberate statement. For instance:
- As a symbol of Nationalism: Mahatma Gandhi's adoption of the dhoti and the promotion of Khadi was a direct protest against British economic dominance.
- As a challenge to Social Norms: The Rational Dress Movement in Europe used simpler clothing to protest against patriarchal norms that physically confined women.
- As an assertion of Equality: For some lower-caste groups in India, wearing styles associated with dominant castes was a form of protest against the traditional social hierarchy.
