ABSTRACT
If we believe that costumes mark a distinct stage in the development of the story of civilisation, then tracing the changing trends in costumes is as interesting to observe as any other aspect of social change. However, any historical study of Indian costumes is difficult due to the perishable nature of the fabrics, and that is why visual sources like paintings become immensely important as a repository of information on the costumes of any period. The establishment of Muslim rule in western India and its impact on the sartorial taste of the land are highlighted. Moreover, various names of the costumes as referred to in the lexicons and other related texts and the eyewitness accounts of the foreigners are also taken into account. An effort is made to collate the literary information with that of the pictorial evidence seen in the Jain miniatures. Footwear, which is an important part of the ensemble, is also dealt with in this chapter. Most of the time, the description of the costumes and footwear in the contemporary texts matches very well with the drawings in the miniatures, thereby proving the painter’s accurate observation of things around him.
