Traditional Dresses Of Tamil Nadu - Dressing Style and Culture!

Traditional Dresses for Women

Sari finds immense significance in the traditional clothing for women in Tamil Nadu. The popular Tamil poetry Cilappatikaram portrays females in a sari. Sari is a dress which women wear in offices, temples, parties and marriages. South Indian saris are famous across India for their intricate zari work. Kancheepuram sari is especially well known for its exquisite style. The colour, texture and style of a Kancheepuram sari are quite different from North Indian saris. The length of sari usually ranges from five to six yards.

Pavada is the dress adorned by Brahmin girls before getting married. This half sari dress is the combination of a full-length skirt with a short blouse and a shawl known as Davani. It is the symbol of young age and beauty of the Tamil girls.

These days, Salwar Kameez has also become popular among women of Tamil Nadu. Salwar is a kind of loose trouser combined with a long top, known as a kurti or kameez.

Traditional Dresses for Men

The traditional dress of Tamil men is as elegant as the dress of women. Lungi is the most common bottom-wear for men in Tamil Nadu. It is wrapped around the waist and thighs. Lungi comes in different colours. It is the traditional dress worn by men in marriages too. This rectangular shape cloth is generally made with cotton. It is mostly worn with a shirt or Angavastra. Angavastram is another significant part of Tamil dressing. It is a piece of cloth wrapped around the shoulders. In early days Angavastram was used as upper clothing but now it is used above the shirt.

Traditional Accessories

The traditional dressing of men and women in Tamil Nadu is incomplete without gold jewellery like necklaces, chains, payals, bangles, maang-tika and earrings. Tamilians love gold and are known to possess great amounts of gold jewellery. Apart from jewellery, women in Tamil Nadu love to decorate their hair with flower garlands, known as Gajras.

To complete the look, men apply Vibhuti along with sandal paste on their forehead while Kum-Kum is applied by women on their hands, feet and forehead.

The traditional dresses of Tamil Nadu are famous in the world, for their grace and beauty. In the modern era, Jeans, T-shirts, shirts, skirts and tops have also made their way into the dressing culture of Tamil Nadu. However, in the time of festivals or celebrations, Tamilians still prefer their traditional dresses.