The oversized is trending on Instagram. It can be a simple tee, or a shirt, paired with jeans or skirt, or a ballooning dress — and you may add a large smile. The large shows expanse of spirit.

But the oversized has a long history.

Westernwear is changeful. Indian garments have retained their basic shape, the sari, the dhoti, kurta pajama, salwar kameez. But western fashion has waxed and waned even as it has influenced fashion in the rest of the world, not the least here.

Wars had a lot to do with it. After WW1, not only did women get the power to vote in many Western countries, they were also freed from the corset and heavy, overwhelming, long dresses.

During and after the war, as women joined the workforce, they needed lighter clothes. Along came Coco Chanel, who is not only the inventor of the Little Black Dress, but also of the two-piece dress. In between the two world wars, women continued with garments that were practical, looser, more “masculine”.

At the end of WW2, as things looked up, Dior created the “New Look”, sensuous upper body and a full, flowing skirt, and changed things.

The Seventies were about breaking rules and largely unstructured clothes. The Eighties did oversized with a bang again. Madonna sang ‘Papa Don’t Preach’ in a large tee and changed the world. In an unrelated event, Raveena Tandon would appear a little later in wide white shirts and those hoops in Bollywood.

Hope good things will happen once again.

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