What does it even mean to be normal? The very diverse subject of normality can mean any different things, factors that contribute to this include culture, society, race and even gender. The dictionary definition of ‘normal’ is ‘to conform to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.’ These different factors all have very particular definitions of what it means to be different. Culture, to me, is the biggest contributor to the varied definitions of normality, every culture has its’ own unique way of dressing, language and foods. Sadly, cultures are often Westernised and quite often become something that’s very opposite of said culture’s ‘normal.’ Let’s see for example, the ‘Desi’ culture. For someone to be ‘Desi,’ they must be from the countries of India and Pakistan, but include countries like Bangladesh, Punjab, Sri Lanka and Gujrat. Being ‘Desi’ is more like a lifestyle, our clothing, food, habits and way of living is what makes us different from other cultures, just like Greeks are different from the Chinese and Brazilians are different from Egyptians. The ‘normal’ style of clothing would include outfits like ‘salwar kameez,’ ‘kurta,’ ‘saree’ and ‘lengha’ which have actually started to appear in high street stores this Spring. 

A ‘kurta’ or a ‘kameez’ is a long top with slits in the sides, creating a free flowing silhouette and comes in a variety of colours, prints and lengths. These have recently made a debut in mainstream stores like New Look, River Island and TopShop. 

As a ‘Desi’ person myself, I do find it quite strange seeing this style of kameez in Western stores. I’m so used to going to specialist Desi stores to find a kameez like this but I can literally visit my local high street and find different variations of it. But it isn’t what I’m used to; it’s an altered, Westernised version of what I usually wear. It’s not my normal.