Mourning

Clothing the Silence: Widows' Attires Around the World

The death of a husband never left women untouched in terms of dress. From Victorian black crepe to Hindu white saris, a widow’s clothing is a signal. It embodies absence. It draws a line between before and after. It imposes on the female body a way of existing in the world, between pain, modesty and sometimes submission. And while mourning is ...