Ancient Indian Costume c7.12

c7.12

Although, the clothes were simple, they were often adorned with stamped gold or metal plates, square, rectangular, circular, or triangular sewn in lines or at the central seams of the tunic. Their purpose was not only decorative but functional as well, as they helped to lift the tunic in the middle for riding, by gathering the cloth along the seams. This helped to give the distinctive draped effect with four sharp pointed ends at the hemline. The drape of trousers too was held in place by means of these gold or metal plates stitched down the centre front. It is interesting to note that elaborate embroidered panels later replaced these gold or metal plates. An earlier version was used by the Saka warriors, where the tunic was simply picked up and tucked into the belt on two sides at centre front, to free the spread of the knees when riding a horse.