When we talk about the dressing trend of Gujarat, the first thing comes to mind is tradition and culture. Actually, the Guajarati dressing style is quite cultural but at the same time, it reflects the changes which the state has gone through since decades. Amidst the revolution in fashion world, the clothing style of Gujarat has adapted itself according to the need without diminishing its identity. The outfits brighten ups the atmosphere and surroundings with its burnished glossy shades. Besides the enriched dresses, the women beautify themselves by wearing esthetic and fancy jewellery and fashionable accessories.

Main Male Attire

The main outfit which Guajarati males wear is Chorno & Kediyu.

Main Female Attire

The Women wear Chaniyo & Choli.

Ornaments Worn

Both men and women wear lavish jewellery and Ornaments.

The way geographical area of Gujarat presents so much variety, so do its clothing trends. The fine thread work, use of beats, astragals, small patches, clothe pieces are commonly found as add ups of Guajarati outfits. This is the fineness and creativity of Gujarati embroiders.

Chorno is the common Guajarati costume that the Guajarati men wear. This cotton dress is mostly worn by men in rural areas of the state. The short kediyu or angrakhu is pout over the Chorno to cover the upper part of the body. Mostly we see that the men in the state wear a typical head gear or a turban. This is so especially in rural areas. This head-clothe is known as phento and is a thickly folded/layered piece of cloth.

If we talk about women, they in general wear chaniyo, especially in rural areas. This dress consists of a petticoat and blouse known as choli. The Petticoat is colored and adorned with glass pieces on it. The choli consists of quite the same type of design or pattern which matches the glass pieces on petticoat. To give a decent and graceful finishing, women take a chunri. This chunri drapes around the upper part of the body. A chunri is generally a coarse piece of cloth without any heavy work on it and it is very light in weight.

Costumes for Gujarati Festivals

India is a land of colorful festivals. When we talk about Gujarat, the main festival which comes to mind is Navratris. On this festival, Gujarati’s are seen in full swings. Their enthusiasm sees no bounds. On these occasions, they purchase and wear new attires. Gujarat, however, is the only state that erupts into a nine-night dance to celebrate this festival, perhaps the longest in the world. The importance of Navratri worship is to tender devotion to Divine Mother Amba who is understood to exist in several forms. The dance form performed to celebrate this festival is known as raas garba also joined by dandiya sometimes.

While performing this folk dance, men wear typical costume a small coat named Keviya. It is a tight long sleeved coat with frilled pleats at its wait. Its borders and shoulders are embroidered tastefully. A tight Churidar pajama and a colorful turban are put on along with the Keviya. Colored waist band making with white keviya and Churidar adds to the beauty of this outfit.

Women wear lehenga choli and ghagra choli on this festival. These include bare-backed blouses extending to the waist with Ghagras and lehengas are up to ankle-length skirts. These are fixed at the waist. . A veil cloth called odhni or dupatta gives a final touch to the complete outfit by being dropped across the neck or over the head. Though in general too women wear this outfit but on these festivals, the outfit is same but heavily designed.

Traditional Costume of Kutch

The costumes of Gujarat are very attractive, catchy and adorable. There is n outfit named Abhas which is the traditional costume of Kutch region. It is quite popular these days. This amazingly styled garment is adorned with glass pieces which gives it a glossy core. This is generally seen in villages of Kutch region. The village women tastefully decorate the Abhas with golden and silver thread work. The thread works and decorative patches/ cloth pieces give a lovely look to the outfit.

Ornaments and other Stuff

With time, as everything changes, so do the ornaments. The ornaments which women wear are now getting more stylish, esthetic and are available in great variety.

They have become simpler and sober. The general ornaments like rings, earrings, bangles and chains are now getting better in every aspect. These are the ornaments which makes a bride even more beautiful on the occasion of her wedding. Though the influence of western culture has brought some changes in India but these traditional ornaments are something that keeps the string of culture tightly tied to our present day youth.

Women commonly hang keys around their waist in Gujarat. They wear different types of jewelry such as necklace, earrings, bangles, rings and “mangalsutra”. Though the other jewelry has the purpose of fashion alone, but mangalsutra carries a deep meaning in a woman’s life. Women also put red powder in centre of upper edge of their forehead. The powder is known as ‘Sindoor’. It symbolizes that a woman is married.

Gujarati men usually wear dhoti, long or short coat and turban cap. But now days, pants are becoming more fashionable instead of conventional dhotis. Usually Gujarati women wear sari and blouse. And similarly Parsi males wear pants, long coat and a head-clothe.