18th century (or earlier) Indian Fashion

I'm doing research for a novel in which my MC is an exiled Parisian who spent 20 years in India and is returning to Paris in the 1770s. I can find mountains of information on 18th century French fashions but I'm hitting a wall with Indian fashion. (My Google searches aren't turning up anything useful and the handful of books I can find on the topic are out of print and going for $50+ used.)

I can settle for a historical overview of the sari but I'd prefer to find out about all types of clothing, textiles, jewelry, etc. Any costumers or Indian historians out there who can point me in the right direction online or in print?

Thanks!

quidscribis said:

Which area of India? That will make a huge difference to the answer.

Also, do you want to know about male or female clothing, etc, or both?

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Hi quidscribis! Location: Khajuraho in Northern Madhya Pradesh. And both male and female clothing.

quidscribis said:

Have you looked at this site? Granted, not exactly what you're looking for, except that there are links to universities in Madhya Pradesh, as does the Wikipedia entry. I'd suggest that you contact university history departments (clothing & textile or anthropology departments?) and ask them for information.

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Thank you. I hadn't even thought of going at the problem from a regional top down angle. I just had "clothes, clothes, clothes" on the brain.

dolores haze said:

If you've found books that will give you the information, but you just can't afford them, then why not try to get the books via inter-library loan through your local library?

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It is true that inter-library loan is a writer's best friend. Alas, at the time I posted I couldn't access my local library's ILL page. I believe it might have something to do with a small matter of a library fine and I won't be able to find out what the problem is until tomorrow when my husband can take over toddler-wrangling.

Thanks!