"a short, stout man, dressed in a loose flannel suit, with a pith hat, the brim of which was so broad, the crown so high, and the shape so suggestive of Bedlam" - C.P.A Oman

As research is still a big part of the design process for m, I thought I'd make some notes as I go on my blog, instead of shoving them in my sketchbook or losing them in the cosmos of files on my computer.
I feel like I need to do some more in depth research before I continue with my initial costume designs for the Princes and the Indian women, because these costumes are a little more complicated- in that (the women's especially) have wider implications. For example, there are so many different ways to wear a Sari, let alone including all the different Salwar Kameezes and other garments, and each colour, each fabric, each way of draping the fabric can have different implications about the character relating to their culture. As I am trying to be careful about my 'cultural appropriation' vs 'cultural appreciation' issue, I want to try and represent issues like this is the most realistic way. I think the harm is done when for example, an English designer might come along and decided to design 'Indian-style' costumes without doing any research, and then is potentially representing another culture in potentially offensive ways that the designer themselves is oblivious to- right down to how to wear a Sari.


NOTES FROM 'Dress Sense: Emotional and Sensory Experiences of the Body and Clothes'

- "a short, stout man, dressed in a loose flannel suit, with a pith hat, the brim of which was so broad, the crown so high, and the shape so suggestive of Bedlam" - C.P.A Oman

-The 1847 guide to Brits moving to India recommended packing the following wardrobe:
*72 pairs of socks (48 cotton, 12 silk, 12 woolen)
*72 shirts
*32 waistcoats (24 fine flannel, 6 holland, 2 dress)
*72 hankerchiefs (48 pocket, 24 fine cambric)
*36 pairs of gloves (24 kid, 12 cotton)
*34 pairs of 'trowsers' (12 white dress, 12 duck for riding, 6 holland, 1 cachmere, 2 coloured, 1 dress)
*15 coats (6 holland, 6 white linen, 1 frock, 1 shooting, 1 dress)

-"In the traditional army manner, the kits you were issued with at home were never suitable for the regiment you were joining. The Khaki was a different shade, your hose wasn't the right colour, the puttees weren't the right shape or size and everything had to be bought afresh, out of your own money"

-During the monsoon season, gloves are shut-up in little glass bottles to prevent the humidity from damaging them- (WHAT A LOVELY IMAGE).

-one of the notable characteristics of the British was dressing for dinner, which they felt defined taste, morals, and, indeed, being British.

-"To protect the liver, natives have the girdle and they bind their clothes in thick folds about the loins;"- 1883

- Julius Jeffreys- a pioneer of the Pith Helmet, was a doctor who recommended covering one's spine with cork to absorb perspiration.

-"...If the British were to adopt Indian dress [in order to deal with the climate], what, specifically should they wear? Given the large size of the Indian subcintinent and its numerous cultural groups, there was no standard dress used across this vast area. Dress varied greatky, often within particular areas"

NOTES FROM 'Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India'


-Brits arriving in India for the first time were shocked at some of the natives' 'nakedness'. They saw Indian dress in terms of 'graceful' and 'disgraceful. 'Graceful' was applied to the stitched robes worn by the Indian elite, whereas 'disgraceful' described the draped clothing favoured by most of the Indian population in the late 19th century. This denotes respect and awe, but also the effeminate.



-The early British Raj created a paradox, they found the Indian native clothing 'barbaric' but equally disliked Indians taking on European dress and tried to limit it where possible.

MISC:
-Sari= 47 by 216 inches

The Sari, like so many other textiles, gives the lie to the hierarchical distinction made between fine arts and crafts. The approximate size of a sari is 47 by 216 inches. Although it is an untailored length of cloth, the fabric is highly structured and its design vocabulary very sophisticated. The main field of the sari is framed on three sides by a decorative frieze of flowering plants, figurative images or abstract symbols. 

Two of the borders define the edges of the length of the sari and the third comprises the end piece, which is a visible, broader, more complex version of the other two borders. This end piece is the part of the sari that is draped over the shoulder and left to hang over the back or front, known popularly as the Pallav. 

The pallav usually elaborates the theme found in the two borders and the actual field of the sari, a sort of repetition and amplification in the manner of the Indian musical mode, the raga. The raga has a set number of notes and these are intoned in a form of verbal mnemonics, before the song is actually sung. No new notes other than those in the introduction are used, but improvisation is allowed and results in endless permutations and combinations. This beautiful metaphor thus compares the two narrow borders to the introductory recital of the pure notes and the pallav to the song.  (http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/theindiansari/)


http://factsfashion.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/the-sari-meanings-behind-the-cloth/