Women librarians in traditional and modern attires in India: Nationwide scenario

Women librarians in traditional and modern attires in India: Nationwide scenario

India is a country located in southern Asia. With a population of over 1.3 billion people, in 29 states and 7 union territories, India is the most populous democracy in the world. Every state has unique traditional clothes that women wear. However there are three prominent types of clothes worn by women in India i.e. Sari, Salwar Kameez and Kurti. Over time, the sense of dressing has evolved and changed. Due to factors like globalisation and westernisation, today’s women take a modern approach when it comes to dress. The paper focused on female librarians’ clothing in India. The survey was conducted by inviting women librarians in every state to give their opinions about today’s clothing styles and their preferences of clothes for daily use and for special occasions such as conferences/ workshops/meetings, etc. The study also explored piercing and tattooing styles and their preferences, and use of jewellery by women library professionals. It was found that Salwar Kameez, Chudidar/Kurta and Saree were most preferred on weekdays, similar outfits were preferred on weekends or Saturdays including Kurti with jeans. Almost all feel comfortable and confident in the outfits they commonly wear. Respondents select outfits considering their profession and status. The majority felt that clothing/outfits have the influence on approachability of students/library users. Jewellery and other accessories were preferred by a moderate number of respondents whereas tattooing practice was totally absent. In case of stereotyping of librarians, respondents felt that librarians have had not been stereotyped in media as far as Indian media is concerned.