The
Kurta or Kurti is a type of long shirt worn by both males and females in
India, with its length falling either somewhere above or below the knees
of the wearer. The Kurta can be categorized as a traditional clothing
item and people generally pair it up with loose salwar, churidar pants
or trousers. Such Kurti tops can be worn both on a casual everyday basis
as well as a formal wear. Indians usually get them stitched by tailors
or buy readymade ones from the market.
The make of a Kurta is such that it provides maximum comfort to the
wearer. Keeping this aspect in mind, usually very light fabric like
cotton and silk are used to make the Kurtis. A typical kurta is simple
and made up of rectangular fabric pieces with perhaps a few gusset
inserts. The sleeves of a traditional kurta fall straight to the wrist
and do not narrow down. One can, however, also choose to get the Kurta
embroidered for wearing it during party and other special occasions.
The neck of the traditional Indian kurta is normally round and does not
have a collar. However, certain newer variations of the Kurtis flaunt a
stand up collar. The Kurta dress is worn by people during the summer
season. Those worn during winters are made up of thicker materials like
wool as in the state of Kashmir or thick coarse handspun silk that may
be mixed with other fabrics. At the sides of the Kurta, the side seams
are often left open for 6-12 inches above the hem to give the wearer
some ease of movement.
The Kurtas donned on important occasions may feature decorative metal
buttons. These may not be stitched to the fabric, but like cufflinks,
fastened into the cloth at the time of wearing it. Sometimes, these
buttons are decorated with artificial jewels and other similar
embellishments. This form of clothing is equally popular with people of
both the younger and older generations in India. They wear it with a lot
of pride and dignity.
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