Popular Indian Casual Wear for Summer 2015

The Indian casual wear has gone through huge transformation. The picture of Indian wear today will be very different from what people used to wear a hundred years ago. Today’s Indian casual wear has borrowed from western fashion heavily and what we see are attires which have Indian embroidery, techniques and cuts, but they give you the flexibility of western wear. When you walk down any street in a city in India, and observe people, you will see them in ethnic casual wear or western casual wear.

Let’s first have a look at the ladies’ Indian casual wear. The ethnic casual wear for ladies includes casual cotton and synthetic sarees or salwaar kameez. You can never go wrong with a saree because a saree is the most versatile piece of attire in India. You can wear it casually, formally or to a red carpet event as well. It is a very common casual wear for women in India especially the elderly prefer it. Saree is also more popular in the southern states and the East. Traditionally people in the north used to wear salwaar kameez.

However, nowadays it has found acceptance across different regions, cultures and age groups due to the ease of movement that it offers. Western casuals are more popular with the younger crowd. In colleges of the major metropolises in India, we can see the latest western trends. The western casual wear will include skirts, summery dresses, jeans, tops and tunics. These days we can see women donning very Indian tunics with western stretchable leggings and skin tight jeans.

Purple hand-woven saree

Sea green Tunic 

Red Checks top 

Orange pleated skirt and top

From the days of dhoti/ lungi the Indian casual wear for men has evolved a lot. Today his casual ethnic attire will be mostly a kurta with churidar or cotton trousers/ jeans pants. The kurta itself has lot of modifications; it can be long or short. If the kurta is knee length, has pockets across chest and is worn with salwaar, it is called a ‘pathani’.

The Indian Islamic men are commonly seen in Pathanis but others in general are also open to adopting it as casual wear or as an outfit for semi-formal events. The modern Indian man is mostly seen in western wear, which includes a shirt with a pair of trousers or a T-shirt with denims. Lot of international brands are entering the Indian market due to the huge demand of casual as well as formal western wear. We can see Allen Solly, Van Heusen, Arrow, Polo, Marks and Spencer and many more in the men’s fashion segment.

Source: projectfashion

Source: Jabong

Casual Kurta

Pathani Source: Lakme fashion week facebook

When we move away from the metropolis, to the interior rural India, we still see more traditional outfits worn by men, women and kids. The rural Indian casual wear has still kept our roots alive by using lot of traditional weaves and crafts, which find its way into our modern wardrobe. The modern day Indian designers also take a lot of inspiration from the village casual attire like mirror work, etc.


Today’s Indian casual wear is a perfect blend of old ethnic charm and modern day versatility in carrying out our daily activities. The cottony Indian casual wear cools you off in the tropical summer heat of the country. Maybe this comfort factor makes our Bollywood shake a leg on a whim!

The Future of Fashion in India

The best thing about fashion in India is that it doesn’t remain constantm with new ideas constantly springing up. West meets ethnic is the fashion statement which has taken the country by a storm. Peasant crop tops, solid anarkalis, printed trousers and culottes are just some of the few wardrobe must haves. The glorious fusion of chic modern style with quintessentially Indian fashion has created an explosion of unique designs and a riot of never seen before colours. This is the future of Fashion in India.

Fashion blogger duo Shereen and Kayaan are fun, challenging, confident and bold. They push their boundaries and wear quirky outfits that leave us desiring some for ourselves.  

Their Rakshabandhan blog post was aptly titled Raksha Fusion. Kayaan, as seen in the top image, has captured the absolute essence of India with her Debashree Samanta dhoti pants, and flashy gold jewellery while the crop top balances the whole look lending it a western touch.

Shereen, as seen in the top image, wears a Karishma Jamwal drape dress and tops it with a Kiran Uttam Ghosh pleated cape. The loud and vibrant orange and red colours add that perfect smack of ethnicity.

They also modelled for the next gen Indianfashion designer Tanya Sharma’s eccentric label named ‘GaGa’. Shereen, in the far top image, wears a quilted Bandhini sweatshirt, a croptop and bright lehenga skirt. Kayaan on the other hand goes sporty ethnic (yes, that’s a thing now) with a quilted jersey and tie dye anarkali. These outfits take this wonderful fusion to a whole new level.

While the designer, Debashri Samanta, was inspired by the plight of the Vietnamese fisherwomen when creating these outfits, we can’t ignore the subtle Indian ness in them which is so chic and strangely elegant that we can’t take our eyes off them.

Our absolute favourite is Masaba Gupta, the originator of the avant-garde. With her zany, quirky and eccentric prints, she has won over the hearts of millions. Such was the demand for her clothes that she started a new line of unusual and unconventional outfits in affordable prices!

Khyati Pande is an upcoming designer whose creations are spreading like wildfire. She combines various elements to create one outfit and the best part is that it doesn’t look garish or over the top.

She loves her colours and knows how to play with them. Layering with flair is her forte and she loves bright waistcoats, minimal kurtas and bold trousers.

‘It’s a new era in fashion- there are no rules’ –Alexander McQueen

Never be scared to experiment with your style and fuse eastern and western elements!

Salwar Kameez - Popular Indian Fashion Apparel

If you are the type of woman who finds wearing jeans and tops too suffocating and modern apparel not flattering enough for your figure, then Salwar Kameez wear is the ideal option for you. It is commonly believed that Salwar Kameezes are normally simple with plain patterns. This is not true there are plenty of different and exciting patterned Salwar Kameezes.

Salwar Kameez came from the Mughal reign. Other clothing items from this region are churidars, sharara and lehengas. It is thought that Salwar Kameez is the conventional dress of Punjab.

Traditionally Salwar Kameez has been worn with knee length Kurtas. Today the tradition of wearing them has been modernized and girls have started wearing them with bandeau tops and long shirts.

Salwar Kameez has been made popular in the west due to the Bollywood celebrities wearing them to high profile events. These traditional dresses are often made with a variety of rich fabrics, silk, tissue, Crepe, Chiffon and Georgettes. There is often beaded work on the neckline and shoulders. Extensive sequins are also used combined with patterns and colours that capture the eye.

Often there are different Salwar worn in the outfits, for example a churidar salwar is a baggy drawstring trouser. Wearing this item with a Kameez Kurta creates a classy, cool and sophisticated look.

See also how Indian and Western styles can be combined together!

Indian Clothing over the decade!

There is no doubt that the fashion industry is one of the fastest moving industries in today’s time. Also, it cannot be denied that the Indian clothing has evolved tremendously over the past decade.

Traditional Indian Clothes

The traditional Indian clothes for a women included Saree, Salwar-Kameez , Ghagra Choli(Lehenga).Jewellery was an integral part of a traditional Indian woman’s attire. It depicted ones status.  The traditional Indian men’s attire included Dhoti, Kurta, Sherwani and Turban. Even back then colour played an important role in the Indian fashion. Rich Indian fabrics with intricate hand woven embroidery were a beauty to look at.

Cine Blitz magazine (1970)

Dimple Kapadia in the Film Bobby (1973)

Indian Movies played a major part back then to influence the Indian audience regarding the fashion trends. In the 1960’s, the Bollywood actresses pretended to play shy and modest roles so were their clothes.  1970 -80’s was one of the most influential years, a turning point of the Indian clothes industry. The 70’s started trending bold designs. Bollywood actresses were spotted in bikinis and skimpy outfits on screen. For instance : Bobby (Bollywood Movie)   The fashion trending in the 70’s era was transparent synthetic material like georgette and chiffon saree’s with small pallu ,different type of blouse designs like halter , low neck-line and noodle strip blouses etc . For instance : Sholay (Bollywood Movie) The Indian clothes for men were cotton printed shirts, cloth and leather jackets, trousers with flare, shirts with butterfly collar and big sunglasses, etc. Three piece suits also gained a lot of popularity during the retro era.

Amitabh Bachan in film Agneepath

StarDust Annual (1980)

 In the 80’s disco era, the attire got bolder as women started strutting in strappy sandals, fitted denim/pants and the traditional saree’s were plain and simple. The change in the Indian clothes industry was caused of the influence of western fashion. The men were seen in complete head –to-toe white attire. The evolution was huge not only for the Fashion industry but also for the Bollywood industry in India.

Isqh (1997) 

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) 

The 90’s was the old school style ,where the men’s wardrobe included baggy pants, oversize shirts  with t-shirt underneath them, waistcoats, printed ties , coloured denim pants and dungarees. On the other hand, the women were spotted in colourful bandani outfits, chunky jewellery, shoulder pads, hair bands, high waist skirts, long dresses, shorts etc. Their make-up included matt lipsticks.

Kaho na… pyaar hai (2000) 

In the 20^th century, the Indian audience was introduced to the concept of Indian designer wear with contemporary clothing. Indian men were spotted wearing tight fitted jeans/pants, shirt and t-shirt.  Women’s fashion in India had become classy and sophisticated by this time. Women started wearing short dresses, designer clothes and grooming themselves.

Dhoom 2  (2006) 

Aisha (2010) 

Ever since then the Indian designer wear in India has been booming. Today, people have become so brand conscious and fashion alert. The urban crowd is very well aware of the latest trends in fashion. The fashion industry in India has also created its own unique space in the international market: thus even Western people started to wear Indian dresses. The Indian fashion industry is an amalgamation of ancient Indian craftsmanship along with contemporary designs.

See also the history of Indian floral patterns!

Read more about Indian fabrics :

http://www.squidoo.com/indian-fabrics-ancient-history-of-quality-and-tradition

Indian Tunics Are Back

Indian Tunics are back on fashion industry ! In fact, many designers innovated, with new colours, new motifs and new styles. Indian Tunics or Kurta are easy to wear in any seasons and adapted to different people.

For instance, have a look at the beautiful indian tunics showcased at Asian Fashion Couture.
Multicoloured and beautiful, you should have that in your wardrobe.

See more on what top to use on you skirt!