India imports have a long history in Britain (after all, India was a
British colony), and even the US. (When I was working on _Fashions of
the Gilded Age_, for 1877-1882, I came across a recommendation to buy a
popular style of striped summer silk at the "India stores" in a
_Harper's Bazar_ column called "New York Fashions." The assumption was
that everyone already knew where to find the India stores.) Sheer
fabrics, both cottons and silks, have also been summer and evening
perennials since the late 18th century at least.
As long you have enough fabric--and for some periods and styles it can
be combined with another fabric--you're probably OK. Even a rather
foreign-looking pattern is OK; I've seen some definitely Indian-looking
textile patterns on European, UK, and US dresses in museum catalogs.
The influence goes both ways, too. The Indians have long manufactured,
on their own or by commission, textiles designed to sell well in foreign
markets. And sari textile patterns, even those for Indian use, are by
no means static. I once saw an exhibition of saris at the Asian museum
in San Francisco. They were arranged in chronological order, and you
could see the style changes and European influences very clearly. For
example, here were a number of very Art Nouveau saris from the late 19th
and early 20th centuries. My favorite in the whole exhibit was an
exquisite Art Nouveau sari with a border of Victrolas, the type with the
horn. The bases of the Victrolas were lined up with the horns exploding
from them like flowers.
Fran
Lavolta Press Books on Historic Costuming
http://www.lavoltapress.com
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
In a message dated 8/29/2005 10:49:46 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Someone wants me to make her a Victorian dress for her wedding.
She would like me to use Sari fabric.
Now I am wondering if they used sari fabric in the Victorian era for
dresses.
I am not sure she really cares but I'd like to know what I am talking about.
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