Embracing Your Heritage: Combining Western and Traditional Indian Fashion

Growing up, I pushed back from my Indian heritage because I wanted to fit in. I wanted to be as American as I could be. Sure, at home, I enjoyed culturally related things, but when I was out in the world, I hid it as much as I could — from not wanting to take lunches my parents made to having an American name for reservations. Of course, you can hide only so much when you have brown skin and an Indian name. 

As I grew older, I started to have an identity crisis. “How could I be Indian when I knew nothing about being Indian?” I pushed it down so much publicly, that it was slowly disappearing internally. 

However, there was one thing I never stopped loving: the cultural clothes and jewelry. So, I thought why not start combining my Western — meaning styles from the West, like America — and cultural clothes together? 

It started with the jimmikis, otherwise known as jhumkas — earrings originating from the Indian subcontinent with a bell-like shape. I wear them with my Western clothes pretty often even now. It then went to necklaces, to a pottu — more widely known as a bindi — to even wearing traditional ghagra choli tops with jeans or Western skirts. 

While this may seem insignificant to some, this act helped me embrace being Indian American and not just American through fashion. It inspired me to try to dive more into my heritage because I don’t want to wake up one day and lose my culture. 

Whether you mesh patterns, layer certain pieces or adorn specific jewelry, it’s crazy how such a small thing — like an earring or pottu — can help embrace a big part of your identity. 

And this is not a new idea. Many South Asian creators on social media tend to combine Western and traditional ware such as @hamelpatel_ or @sruthijayadevan. I have seen this idea particularly popular with Indian clothes with the Indo-Western fashion trend. This often fuses Western silhouettes with Indian patterns and textures, Indian skirts with Western tops and more.

Though, this is an idea that can be embraced by many cultures. Multi-culturalism is at its peak in the world, especially with the amount of connectivity we have with social media. However, a dominant culture can take over and wipe out cultures and identities over time, which has been seen throughout history over and over again. Embracing and harnessing culture can be important to many who are struggling with their individual and cultural identities in contrast to whatever is dominant in their society. And, fashion can help. 

While fusing fashion may seem like a small and insignificant step, it has no bounds, and many use it to express their identities. For me, this helps with expressing my Indian American identity. For others, it can do the same for their identities. 

Combining ethnic or cultural clothes with Western clothes will only continue to evolve as the world continues to become more connected. Plus, in the end, it also makes the world of fashion more beautiful and diverse. So, why not try it out for yourself and your culture?