Acknowledgement

Thanks for visitng my blog and I look forward to seeing your comments. If you don't find this blog interesting enough, I can transfer you to my personal blog, which is http://andrenang.spaces.live.com/

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Regards,

Andrena

References

Dear all,

Instead of pasting a 5000 word essay on one page, I have separated it into different sections. This is more easier for you to read as they have been classified into different sections. To read the whole essay, you have to scroll down to the very bottom, which is the beginning of the essay. The following are the references that I have used in this essay:

• "sari." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 28 February 2007. 8 March 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sari.
• "cheongsam." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 28 February 2007. 8 March 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cheongsam.
• "kimono." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 28 February 2007. 8 March 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kimono.
• "hanbok." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 28 February 2007. 8 March 2007 .
  lhttp://www.japan-zone.com/culture/pix/kimono.gif
• Seoul Searching - Korean Traditional Clothing (Hanbok).htm. http://www.seoulsearching.com/
• The Hanbok--Korea's National Costume - Jehovah's Witnesses Official Web Site. http://www.jehovahcostume.com/
• "Indian sari”The Indian Sari - Fashioning the Female Form http://www.bookrags.com/notes/met
• Official Site of Korea Tourism Org_ Traditional Clothing
• http://www.koreatourism.org

Epilogue

Represtation of national costumes

• Identity and nationhood: every country has its national costume which represents its own particular culture and identity. The costumes usually relate to a geographic area and they carry a significant meaning. But first of all, once it is worn, it highly reflects the national identity of the person. It serves as a signifier which signifies the nationality of a person. Therefore, we can see that it is worn during special occasions. For instance, every year during the Miss World Competition, contestants will wear their own national costumes during the competition. This is a show of identity. During summits, delegates and representatives from different countries will also wear national costumes. The country which holds the summit will also invite the delegates to wear the holding country's national costumes to promote friendship. National costume does not only mean to differentiate a country from the other, it also helps to uphold the dignity of the country as well as preserve its own value and culture.
• A reflection of social, marital and religious status: national costumes serves a special purpose. They reflect the marital status of women, especially for hanbok and kimono. In the past, class hierarchy was also reflected in terms of clothing. The costumes were used as an indicator for the background of a person. This is a subtle but also direct way to show the distinction between classes. The more well-off wore more glamourous costumes, which were more sophisticated and made out of expensive material like silk. For the normal working class, they usually wore plain ones which were made of cotton. National costumes also reflect the religions of the people.
• Culture and value: national costume reflects the culture of a country in a subtle way. It also impresses others to learn about their culture. It embodies the culture and value which passes on from generation to generation. Traditional costumes occupy one of the most important places because of their role in everyday life, their significance for ethnic identity, and their value artistically and aesthetically. They are known mostly because of the costumes which have been saved from the past to present, characterised by a great diversity in form and decoration. This variety and richness is present in both men's and women's costumes. Each region has its own special form of dress. According to the way a person is dressed, one could distinguish not only where they are from, but also of which nationality they are in multi-ethnic milieus. Various national costumes with manifold significance among the people were exposed to a wide range of influences in the history of their development. Thus, they incorporated a variety of elements from preceding periods, together with the features of the period when they were made and worn. The national costumes of China, Japan, Korea and India have all survived till today, which shows that the value of these costumes are highly respected by the people. People usually wear them during rituals, festivals and even during marriage ceremony. This shows that national costumes play a very significant role in their daily lives.
• Symbolism: almost on the day when costumes appeared, people had integrated into costumes their social status, customs, aesthetic interests and all kinds of cultural notions. The appearances of costumes are the most direct and realistic reflection of styles and features of social history. From this sense, the history of costumes is also a vivid civilization development history. In China, a multiple-nationality country composed of 56 nationalities, with the integration between nationalities, the style of clothing and dressing customs keeps evolving. In the history, not only the costumes of different dynasties have obvious differences, but also in different periods of the same dynasty costumes had obvious changes; but people, especially foreigners, will regard cheongsam as the national costumes of China.
• Representation of gender: From what we have seen, we find that the women's costumes have demonstrated a kind of conformity or submission. In the past or even nowadays, Women cannot wear what they like or what they feel comfortable with. The costumes have many restrictions to their movements and some are not comfortable, like the hanbok or kimono. They require a lot of time to dress up and they hide the female bodies without exposing their figures. The hanbok even intends to make all women look as if they are pregnant! It serves as a kind of protection for them. Modesty is clearly shown in these costumes. Femininity is displayed when women put up these costumes. How women are supposed to act is somehow restricted once they have put them on. In China, there are many minorities, but most people only regard cheongsam as national costume, especially foreigners. Why? The issue of orientalism can be applied. This is how the west sees the east. Cheongsam is conventional but it is also very suggestive because it reveals the body shape and the legs of a woman. This is similar to the sari, which exposes the waist of a woman. This is also subject to the men's gaze or sexual desire. Gender representation is a big issue in terms of national costumes, and that's why I have focused on women's costumes instead of men's. In a patricarchal society, it's inevitable that women become the objectification of men. However, as time progresses, we find that modern fashion have replaced national costumes and women no longer have to wear that except for certain occasions. This shows that society has changed and people's value judement has also changed. But the spirit of national costumes will never fade.

Sari in popular culture

The sari has been internationalised by flight attendants' uniform like this one modelled by an Indian Airlines mannequin.

This is a Bollywood movie star in sari. In these movies, women often dance in saris. Some people criticise that female bodies have become the object of male's gaze because of the erotic dances.

This is a painting of a woman in sari.

This is another painting which portrays the myth of sari.

Beautiful saris

The functions and representations of sari

• As part of India's aesthetically rich and politically complex textile tradition, saris are abundantly endowed with "the social life of things" as well as participating in the language of clothes. The sari can serve simultaneously as a sign both of the nation and of Indian womanhood while its rich array of associations has made it a valuable focal point for a number of Indian writers, both when representing major political events and when portraying the complexities of personal relationships and family life. The saris most favoured by Indian women originate from three regions - Varanasi in northern Uttar Pradesh state, Chanderi in central Madhya Pradesh and Kancheevaram in southern Tamil Nadu.
• The sari was seen as a dress for all seasons - be it in the home or at the office, weddings or parties. The only differentiation was in the texture, fabric and the heavy embroidery. The sari is not under threat of extinction even though Indian women are wearing typical western clothing and Indian alternatives such as the salwar kameez (a long shirt worn with loose pants) and kurti (a short tunic).
• The sari certainly is a multi-purpose garment. It enhances the perfect figure and covers well the not so perfect ones. In fact the Indian woman’s figure seems to fit in so much better with the sari as compared to the straight spine of her western counterpart. The sari moulds itself in perfect understanding with the situational requirements, sometimes elegant, or practical, at other times sensual adapting itself and keeping attuned to the woman, at any point of time, in any mood or frame of mind. Draped over women across the centuries, the sari assumes a wide spectrum of meaning that is manifested in practically every single one of its turns and folds.
• This flowing fabric that can spin so many silent, yet vibrant, ways of being and communicating, is a wonder in itself. The sari has been known to wipe away many a tear, whether of a despairing child or of a heartbroken woman. For years it has kept secrets of the women who peeped from within its confines, whether in anticipation or in embarrassment. The sari has taken into its folds and stride centuries of lending support to women in time of grief, or while defending, for support and even protection. This goes on.
• A gently or a hastily pulled 'pallav’ (one end of the sari that goes across one shoulder to fall down the back, which differs in look as compared to the other end of sari.) could hide either a shameful blush or a face that is steeped in deceit. And the very expression of joy has not found a better representation than a vibrant, colorful sari pallav thrown to the winds. It is amazing how much the sari can speak or convey.

Some images of sari

These are the different ways of wearing a sari. In the past, it was usually woven in silk or cotton. Nowadays, it is woven on mechanical looms and made of artificial fibers.