1. Mention any three grounds on which traditional feminine clothes were criticized?
(i) Tight dresses and corsets caused deformities and illness among young girl.
(ii) It restricted body growth and hampered blood circulation.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(iii) Muscles remained under developed and spines got bent.
2. State any three reactions of women to Victorian norm of clothing.
Women varied in three reactions:
(i) From childhood they grew up to believe that having a small waist was a womanly duty
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(ii) Suffering pain was essential to being a woman.
(iii) To be seen as attractive, to be womanly, they had to wear the corset.
(iv) The torture and pain this inflicted on the body was to be accepted as normal.
3. Why did Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of clothing the nation in Khadi appeal only to some Sections of Indian? Explain.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(i) Even though the nationalist leaders like Motilal Nehru adopted Indian dhoti and kurta but there was made of khadi.
(ii) Many nationalist leaders like Br. Ambedkar never gave up the western style.
(iii) For the poor khadi was very expensive.
4. How did Indians react when western style clothing came to India in the 19th century?
Many Indians reacted differently to the introduction of western style clothing:
The wealthy Parsis of western India were among the first to adopt western style clothing. Baggy trousers and the Phenta (or hat) were added to long colourless coats with boots and a walking stick to look like a gentleman. To some western clothes were a sign of modernity and progress.
There were others who were convinced that western culture would lead to a loss of traditional cultural identity.
The use of western style clothes was taken as a sign of the world turning upside down.
Some men resolved this dilemma by wearing western clothes without giving up their Indian ones.
5. “Changes in women clothing came about as a result of two world wars.” Explain the statement with examples.
Changes they came in women’s clothing due to two world wars were:
(i) Many European women stopped wearing jewellery and luxurious clothes. As upper class women mixed with other classes, social barriers vanished and women began to dress in similar ways.
(ii) Clothes got shorter during the First World War out of practical necessity.
(iii) Bright colours faded from sight and only sober colours were worn as the war dragged on.
6. What was the main objective of the Sumptuary Laws? Mention any two restrictions imposed under these laws.
The sumptuary laws tried to control the behaviour of those considered social inferiors. Objective:
The restrictions imposed under these laws were:
(i) Preventing them from wearing certain clothes.
(ii) Restriction from consuming certain food and beverages.
(iii) Hunting game in certain areas.
7. ‘The introduction of western style clothing in the 19th century met with severe reactions in different ways.” Give suitable arguments in favour of the statement.
Many Indians reacted differently by the introduction of western style clothing.
(i) The wealthy Parsis of western India were among the first to adopt western style clothing such as baggy pants, Phenta (hat), long colourless coats, boots and walking sticks.-To some western clothes were a sign of modernity and progress.
(ii) There were others who were convinced that western culture would lead to loss of traditional cultural identity.
(iii) Some men resolved this dilemma by wearing western clothes without giving up their Indian ones.
8. “Responses to Mahatma Gandhi’s call to wear khadi were mixed.” Justify the statement.
Responses to Gandhi’s call of Khadi:
(i) Nationalists like Motilal Nehru gave up expensive western style suits and adopted the Indian dhoti and kurta.
(ii) B.R. Ambedkar and the dalits did not give up the western style of dressing. Many dalits wore three piece suits and socks on special occasions.
(iii) Women such as Sarojini Naidu and Kamla Nehru wore colored sarees with designs instead of coarse and homespun sarees.
9. How Mahatma Gandhi did used swadeshi clothes as a powerful weapon against British rule?
Mahatma Gandhi used swadeshi clothes:
(i) Most familiar image of Mahatma Gandhi-seated bare-chested in a short dhoti at the spinning wheel. Made charka and Khadi powerful symbols.
(ii) They were symbol of self-reliance and rejection of British Mill cloth.
(iii) Khadi was seen as sign of purity, implicitly and poverty and symbol of nationalism.
10. Explain the sumptuary laws in France.
Sumptuary laws in France:
(i) The laws tried to control the behaviour of those considered socially inferiors.
(ii) Preventing them from wearing certain clothes, consuming certain beverage and hunting game in certain areas.
(iii) Material to be used for clothing was also legally prescribed.
11. Define Sumptuary Laws. Mention any two changes came about in clothing after the French Revolution?
Laws tried to control the behaviour of those considered social inferiors, preventing them from wearing certain clothes, eating certain foods and beverages and hunting game in certain areas. Changes:
(i) Both men and women began wearing clothes that were loose and comfortable.
(ii) The colour of France-blue, white and red became popular as they were a sign of the patriotic citizen.
(iii) Red cap of liberty, long trousers and the revolutionary cockade pinned on to a hat became part of dressing,
12. During the colonial period how did Indians react to western style of clothing?
(i) (a) Men began incorporating western clothing, especially pants.
(b) Western clothing seen as sign of modernity, progress and liberty.
(c) Dalit converts adopted it.
(ii) Some believed it’s leading to loss of culture/tradition.
(iii) Some wear western clothing outside-Indian wear at home (Bureaucrats)
13. What are corsets? What type of problems was associated with it by the French woman?
Corset is a tight fitting and stiff inner body, worn by woman to give shape and support to their figure.
Problems:
(i) Caused deformities
(ii) Restricted body growth
(iii) Muscles remained underdeveloped
(iv) Acute weakness
(v) Spines got bent
(vi) Hampered Blood Circulation
14. Give one example of the way in which European dress code was different from the Indian dress code
Indians wore turbans to protect themselves from the heat which could not be removed at will while Europeans wore hats which had to be removed before social superiors as a sign of respect
15. How did changes in clothing after the French Revolution express the idea of equality?
French Revolution:
(i) Put an end of the sumptuary laws’. To distinguish themselves from the aristocracy who wore ‘knee breeches members of the Jacobin clubs called themselves the ‘sans culottes’.
(ii) Other political symbols-the red cap of liberty, long trousers and the revolutionary cockade pinned on to a hat became part of the dress code of the French. Thus, simplicity of clothing expressed the idea of equality.
16. During 19th century in England and America what changes in women clothing’s took place?
(i) Heavy restrictive under clothes was discarded.
(ii) Clothes became simpler and shorter.
(iii) Trousers began to be worn giving greater freedom of movement to the western women.
17. How did French Revolution end all distinctions imposed by the sumptuary laws? Give three reasons.
(i) The French revolution end the distinctions as the members of the Jacobin clubs called themselves sans culottes to distinguish themselves from the aristocracy, who wore the fashionable ‘knee breeches’. San culottes literally meant those ‘without knee breeches.’
(ii) Men and women began wearing clothing that was loose and comfortable.
(iii) The colours of France-blue, white and red-became popular as they were a sign of the patriotic citizen.
(iv) Other political symbols too became a part of dress: the red cap of liberty, long trousers and the revolutionary cockade pinned on to a hat. The simplicity of clothing was meant to express the idea of equality, (any three)
18. How clothes were used by Mahatma Gandhi as a powerful weapon to protest against the British rule? Mention any three points.
Clothes were used by Mahatma Gandhi as a powerful weapon to protest against the British rule:
(i) He made spinning on the charkha and daily use of Khadi as very powerful symbols of self- reliance and also of resistance to the use of British mill-made cloth.
(ii) How adopted the short dhoti in 1921 and wore it until his death because according to him it was the dress of a poor Indian.
(iii) Khadi, white and coarse was to him a sign of purity, of simplicity and of poverty. Wearing it became also a symbol of nationalism, a rejection of western mill-made cloth.
(iv) In 1913 at Durban, he wore lungi and kurta with his head shaved as a sign of mourning to protest against the shooting of Indians coal miners.
19. Which dress was worn by Mahatma Gandhi when he went to England to attend the Round Table Conference in 1931? What was the importance of Khadi for Mahatma Gandhi?
Mahatma Gandhi wore the short Dhoti without a shirt. Importance of Khadi for him:
(a) Khadi, white and coarse was to him a sign of purity, simplicity and of poverty.
(b) Wearing it became also a symbol of nationalism, a rejection of western mill-made clothes.
20. Mention the movement started by women for the dress reform in America. Why were the traditional feminine clothes criticized? Give reasons.
The movement started by women for the dress reform in America:
(a) National Women Suffrage Association
(b) The American Women Suffrage Association
Reasons for the criticism of traditional feminine clothes:
It was said that long skirts swept the grounds and collected filth and dirt which caused illness.
The skirts were voluminous and difficult to handle. They hampered movement and prevented women from working and earning.
If clothes were comfortable and convenient, then women could, work, on their living and become independent
21. Suggest why women in the nineteenth century in India were obliged to continue wearing Indian dresses even when men switched over to western outfits?
(i) Men had to go out to work and interact with their western bosses and native subordinates. These men would wear western clothes.
(ii) The women had not to go out for work so there was no need for them to change to new dress.
(iii) Social interactions of women were limited to close family gatherings. They were more comfortable in their traditional dresses.
(v) Western dresses were not easily available and they were costly.
(vi) Women had to stay at home. They had no say in family affairs were conservative and less responsive to changes.
22. Explain the three reasons for the changes in clothing patterns and materials in the eighteenth century in Europe.
Reasons for change in clothing pattern and material:
(i) Trade with India brought India cloth within the reach of many Europe
(ii) Mass production of cotton textiles began in Britain.
(iii) Social attitudes about clothing were dramatically changing.
(iv) Notion of beauty and appearances were undergoing changes
23. How did the clothing pattern change for the western women in the twentieth century? Give three points.
The clothing pattern changed for the western women in the twentieth century:
(i) Women clothing changed as a result of First World War
(ii) Upper class women mixed with other classes and social barriers were eroded.
(iii) Sober colours replaced bright colours.
24. Distinguish between man and women on the basis of style of clothing in Victorian England.
Styles of clothing emphasized differences between men and women. The ideal woman was one who could bear pain and suffering. While men were expected to be serious, strong independent and aggressive, women were seen frivolous, delicate, passive and docile norms of clothing reflected these ideals. From childhood girls were tightly laced up and dressed in stays.
The effort was to restrict the growth of their bodies and contain them in small moulds. When slightly older girls had to wear tight fitting corsets tightly laced small waited women were admired as elegant attractive, elegant and graceful.
25. Describe Mahatma Gandhi’s experiment with clothing during his life time.
As a boy, he wore a shirt with dhoti or pyjama:
(i) In London and later in South Africa, as a lawyer, he cut off the tuft on his head and wore western suit.
(ii) In Durban making a political statement, he shaved his head and appeared in a lungi and kurti as a sign of mourning to protest against the shooting of Indian coal miners. On his return to India he adopted short dhoti and continued to wear it till his death.
26. What were the sumptuary laws in France? Describe any two feature of it.
In medieval Europe, dress codes were sometimes imposed upon members of different layers of society through actual laws which were spelt out in some detail.
From about 1294 to the time of the French Revolution in 1789, the people of France were expected to strictly follow what were known as ‘sumptuary laws.’
Features:
(i) The laws tried to control the behaviour of those considered social inferiors.
(ii) Preventing them from wearing certain clothes, consuming certain foods and beverages (usually this referred to alcohol) and hunting game in certain areas.
27. Write about the relevance of Khadi in contemporary India.
Mahatma Gandhi’s dream was to clothe the whole nation in Khadi. He felt khadi would be a means of erasing difference between religions, classes, and other social strata’s.
But it was not easy for others to follow in his footsteps. Even in contemporary India not many are inclined to use it. People are tempted by the forces of globalization and western influences and even amongst the political leaders khadi is gradually losing its appeal.
Image Source: upload.wikimedia.org