Model of a Bengali couple

The man wears a two-piece ensemble comprising of an upper garment and lower garment. The style of the ensemble is typical of the urban Bengali-elite, commonly referred to as the Bhadraloks. We see similar styles worn by men in Wood-cut prints and lithographs as well as Kalighat Paintings from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries. The upper garment is a Knee-length tunic, with a front placate which seems to have detailing which could be embroidery. The style of such a tunic in Bengal, even today, is commonly referred to as the 'Punjabi' and it is entirely possible that this was originally associated with garments from the North-West regions of India, even though we have seen in visual references to this period that Delhi and the Central Provinces (Contemporary U P), perhaps even Rajasthan, men wear similar 'Kurtas'.The lower garment is a Dhoti. It is a style that is seen in Bengal even today.