Pakistani clothing

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pakistani clothing refers to the ethnic clothing that is typically worn by people in the country of Pakistan and by the people of Pakistani origin. Pakistani clothes express the culture of Pakistan, the demographics of Pakistan and cultures from the Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pashtun), Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir regions of the country. Dress in each regional culture reflect weather conditions, way of living and distinctive style which gives it a unique identity among all cultures.

Pakistani national dress[]

Main article: Shalwar kameez

The shalwar kameez is national dress of Pakistan[1][2] and is worn by men and women in all Five provinces Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa And Gilgit-Baltistan in the country and in Azad Kashmir. Shalwar refers to loose trousers and kameez refers to shirts. Since 1982, all officials working in the secretariat are required to wear the national dress.[3]

Each province has its own style of wearing the salwar kameez such as Sindhi shalwar kameez, Punjabi shalwar[4] kameez, Pashtun shalwar kameez and Balochi shalwar kameez. Pakistanis wear clothes ranging from exquisite colours and designs to various types of fabric such as silk, chiffon, cotton, etc.[5]

  • Traditional Khet partug. (Traditional loose shalwar worn in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (1842)

  • Girl from Karachi, Sind, in narrow Sindhi suthan and cholo. c. 1870.

  • Balochi traditional dress

  • Balochi male shalwar kameez.Quetta.1867

  • Pakistani dress

Men's clothing[]

Men wear shalwar kameez, kurta, Pakistani Waistcoat, achkan and sherwani, churidar or pajama. Other items of clothing include the jama and the angarkha. Headgear includes the Jinnah Cap also called Karakul, Fez also called Rumi Topi and Taqiyah (cap). Peshawari chappal and Khussa are popular foot wear. Other items include traditional shawls made of Pashmina or other warm materials especially in the Northern regions of the country. Every province have a different and unique cultural dress which is mostly followed by rural people.

Regional clothing[]

Balochistan[]

Main article: Clothing of Balochistan, Pakistan

A Baloch wears a long jama (robe) like a smock-frock down to the heels, loose shalwar, a long chadar or scarf, a pagri of cotton cloth, and mostly shoes that narrow at the toe.[6] The material is thick cloth with a very wide shalwar to protect against the hot winds of the dry Sulaiman Range and Kharan Desert.

  • Elders of Kirani Quetta in turbans and hats

  • Pakistani Baloch

  • Traditional Balochi suits

Sindh[]

Main article: Sindhi dress

Sindhi people wear a version of the shalwar called a suthan[7][8] with a kameez called cholo.[9] Other traditional clothing includes the Sindhi cap and Ajrak of beautiful designs which are made locally. Men also traditionally wear the dhoti and the long angerkho.

  • Sindhi Ajrak

  • Sindhi cap

  • Man in Sindhi long angerkho(1845)

Punjab[]

Main articles: Punjabi clothing and Saraiki shalwar suits

Punjabi men wear the straight cut Punjabi shalwar kameez, kurta and shalwar, dhoti, lungi[10] or tehmat[11][12] and kurta. Other Punjabi shalwar styles include the Pothohari shalwar,[13] Multani shalwar, Dhoti shalwar and the Bahawalpuri shalwar which is very wide and baggy[14] with many folds. Turban of a thin cloth is also worn especially in rural areas of Punjab where it is called pagri. Footwear include the khussa.

  • Punjabi kurta and tehmat

  • Punjabi clothing of Lahore, 1890s

  • Saraiki Turban

  • Bhangra Dance performers in Punjab wearing Kurta and Tehmat.

  • Saraiki Kurta

  • Prince Suba Sadiq Abbasi, Bahawalpur in Bahawalpuri shalwar

  • Men in Attock in shalwar kameez

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa[]

Main article: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa clothing

In Pashtun dress, people wear traditional Peshawari chappal[15] as footwear. The traditional male Pashtun dress includes the Khet partug,[16] Peshawari shalwar and the Perahan wa tunban. Males usually wear kufi, Peshawari cap, turban, or pakul as traditional headgear.

  • Clothing worn by most Pashtun males in Afghanistan and Pakistan

  • Amir Chand Bombwal, Peshwar editor wearing a Peshawari Turban

  • Man wearing pakol

Gilgit-Baltistan[]

  • A Gilgiti man wearing the cultural "Khoi" cap of Gilgit-Baltistan

Azad Kashmir[]

The clothing of Azad Kashmir includes various styles of the shalwar kameez.


Pakistan Fashion Distributors[]

Global International Import, Export, Manufacturers and Wholesale Distributors of Fashion. http://www.FashionBuyingGroup.co.uk

Women's clothing[]

Shalwar kameez[]

Pakistani women wear the shalwar kameez which is worn in different styles, colours and designs which can be decorated with different styles and designs of embroidery. The kameez can be of varying sleeve length, shirt length, necklines. The drawers can be the straight-cut shalwar, patiala salwar, churidar, cigarette pajama, tulip trouser, samosa pajama or simple trouser

Dupatta[]

The Dupatta is treated just as an accessory in current urban fashion. Most women who carry it nowadays, wear it just as a decorative accessory; wrapping around the neck or hanging down the shoulder.[Dupatta] is also used by some women when entering a mosque, dargah,they cover their head with a dupatta while entering such places. It is widely worn by women in wedding and other parties out of choice and fashion. On such occasions mostly it is wrapped around the waist, neck or just put on a shoulder. It is used with different embroidery designs of Kamdani and Gota.

Bridal dresses[]

Pakistani bridal dresses are known as Nikah, walima or shadi dress, the out fit is called gharara, shadi dress is divided by 3 pieces a lehenga/ gharara, kurti and dupatta. They are particularly of very specific colors such as red, golden or pink and purple.

Other traditional dresses[]

Pakistani women have a variety of traditional dresses in addition to the shalwar kameez but they mostly wear them on special occasions such as on weddings, engagements, mehndi and other traditional ceremonies.

The dresses include the ghagra choli and saris which are very popular and every design and colour seems unique from the other e.g. lehenga style sari. The lehenga is another popular dress that resembles a skirt but is a traditional dress. The gharara and sharara are two similar dresses that are often worn on ceremonial occasions. Farshi Pajama is an old traditional dress which is worn occasionally. Laacha is worn in Punjab,[17] the lower part of which resembles the dhoti.

Regional clothing[]

Balochistan[]

Main article: Clothing of Balochistan, Pakistan

A typical dress of a Baloch woman consists of a long frock and shalwar with a headscarf.[18] Balochi women wear heavy embroidered shalwar kameez and dupatta with the embroidery utilising Shisha work.[19] The Balochi Duch from Makran District is one of the many forms of Balochi dresses and is famous all across Balochistan. Since it is purely hand embroidered, Balochi Duch is expensive and takes months to complete a single Balochi suit.

  • Pakistani Baloch Lady

  • Traditional Balochi dresses

  • Children in Quetta wearing local embroidery designs

  • Malookan, Pakistani Baloch embroidery artist

Sindh[]

Main article: Sindhi dress

In addition to wearing the suthan and cholo, Sindhi women wear the lehenga and choli known as the gaji which is a pullover shirt worn in the mountain areas of Sindh. The gaji is composed of small, square panels, embroidered on silk and sequins. The neck line of the gaji is cut high, and round on one side, with a slit opening extending the other. Unmarried girls wear the opening to the back and married women, to the front.[20] Sindhi clothing displays embroidery using mirrors.[19]

  • Portrait of a girl from Sindh, (1870s)

  • Sindhi lehenga, choli and Sindhi traditional pantaloon shalwar

  • Sindhi girl

  • Ralli material of Sindh

  • Ralli

Punjab[]

Main articles: Punjabi clothing and Saraiki shalwar suits

Punjabi women wear the straight cut Punjabi shalwar kameez,[21] which is most frequently worn. Punjabi women, in villages, also wear the Pothohari shalwar, the Patiala shalwar, the laacha (tehmat),[22] kurti,[23] ghagra,[24] lehenga and phulkari.

  • Phulkari

  • Saraiki Tradition women wearing ghagra

  • Cultural dress

  • Bahawalpur kameez

  • Pakistani Punjabis at a wedding

  • Saraiki fashion

  • Rohi woman's dress

  • Lehenga with Gota Embroidery

  • Josephine Powell Collection, voor 1965. Phulkari kurta

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa[]

Main article: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa clothing

In urban areas women typically wear the shalwar kameez.[25] Pashtun women commonly wear shalwar kameez, and in some regions, particularly in Tribal areas women wear firaq partug which is also worn in neighbouring Afghanistan. In Kalash region, women wear embroidered long shirts.

  • Kalash women traditional clothing

  • Kalash valley

  • Kalash girl

  • Afghan girls in Khost

  • Wedding dress (jumlo), Indus Kohistan, Northwest Frontier Province, Pakistan, view 1, mid 20th century, cotton, metal and glass beads, plastic buttons - Textile Museum of Canada - DSC00930

  • Child of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 1920 approx.

Wedding dresses[]

In Pakistan the traditional wedding ceremony is celebrated by wearing different clothes in each wedding event. Usually, the style and designs of wedding attire vary across different regions from north to the south among different ethnic communities, however, in major urban cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, and Rawalpindi, on the occasion of the Rasm-e-Heena (Mendhi), men wear an embroidered kurta or Kameez in glittering colours with simple shalwar, and a colorful shawl which they put on their shoulders and sometimes round the neck. At some weddings, the dress code is decided before the ceremony and all the men wear the same color. Up to the wedding day, the bride may wear a yellow[26] or orange kameez, with a simple shalwar, Patiala shalwar,[27] yellow dupatta and yellow paranda — more commonly in the Punjab region of Pakistan. However, in other regions customs vary for example in the north-west, particularly in the tribal areas, it is customary for a bride to wear Firaq Partug.

During baraat and walima functions, the groom usually wears kurta shalwar or kurta churidar with special sherwani and khussa, however, in some regions including Balochistan among Baloch and Pashtuns (in the north of the province), and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, mostly among Pashtuns and Kohistanis, groom customarily wears simple, more often white colour shalwar Kameez and a traditional Baloch Bugti Chappal (in Baloch dominated regions) or Peshawari Chappal in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a traditional head-wear such as the Pashtun style Patke or a Baloch style turban. In Punjab and Karachi, during the event of baraat, grooms may wear traditional sehra on their head, and brides may normally wear a lehenga or gharara[28] preferably in red, maroon and pink colors with heavy jewelry.

  • Wedding in Punjab

  • Embroidered dress, view 2, Kohistan, Northwest Frontier Province, Pakistan, early 20th century, cotton, silk, glass, plastic, silver, brass - Fernbank Museum of Natural History - DSC00131

  • Little Pakistani girl in traditional formal ghagra dress

  • Pakistani Bazaar

  • A bride in Punjab

Pakistani clothing companies and brands[]

The following is a list of notable Pakistani clothing companies and brands.

Pakistani fashion[]

Pakistani fashion has flourished well in the changing environment of the fashion world. Since Pakistan came into being its fashion has been historically evolved from different phases and made its unique identity. At this time, Pakistani fashion is a combination of traditional and modern dresses and it has become the cultural identification of Pakistan. Despite all modern trends, the regional and traditional dresses have developed their own significance as a symbol of native tradition. This regional fashion is not static but evolving into more modern and pure forms.

Pakistan Fashion Design Council based in Lahore organizes Fashion Week and Fashion Pakistan based in Karachi organizes fashion shows in that city. Credit goes to Ayesha Tammy Haq, a British-trained lawyer and chief executive of Fashion Pakistan, who came up with the idea for Pakistan’s first fashion week, held in November 2009.[29]

Pakistani fashion industry[]

Actress Mahira Khan

Pakistani fashion industry is introducing Pakistani traditional dresses all over the world as cultural representatives and becoming a reason to introduce international trends in Pakistan. Pakistani media, Film Industry and Internet has the biggest role in promoting fashion in Pakistan. There are a lot of TV Channels, Magazines, Portals[30] and websites which are working only for fashion industry.

Pakistani fashion designers[]

Pakistani fashion Brands[]

Pakistani fashion models[]

The following is a list of Pakistani models.

Male models[]
  • Ahmed Butt
  • Ameer Zeb Khan
  • Aijaz Aslam
  • Fawad Afzal Khan
  • Fahad Mustafa
  • Azfar Rehman
  • Mikaal Zulfiqar
  • Feroze Khan
  • Usama Khan
Female models[]

Pakistani fashion stylists[]

Pakistani stylists have also a major contribution in giving the celebrities a new look. Their work is also appreciated within and outside of Pakistan. Here is a list of Pakistani Fashion stylists[31]

Pakistani fashion events[]

Extensive fashion activities are shown in Pakistani Fashion Events held in different parts of the country as well as abroad in which versatile approaches towards new trends always amuse the spectators.

Pakistani fashion awards[]

Pakistani fashion schools[]

Here is a list of Pakistani fashion institutes.

Pakistani fashion media[]

Here is a list of Pakistani fashion media.

  • Fashion Central
  • Style 360
  • Fashion TV Pakistan

See also[]

  • 1950s in Pakistani fashion
  • 1970s in Pakistani fashion
  • 2000s in Pakistani fashion
  • 2010s in Pakistani fashion

References[]

  1. ^ Nobleman, Marc Tyler (2003) Pakistan
  2. ^ West, Barbara. A (2009) Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania [1]
  3. ^ Ali Banuazizi, Myron Weiner (1986) The State, Religion, and Ethnic Politics: Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan; [this Vol. Had Its Origin in a Conference on "Islam, Ethnicity and the State in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan" ... Held in November 1982, in Tuxedo, New York] [2]
  4. ^ Qadeer. Mohammad (2006) Pakistan - Social and Cultural Transformations in a Muslim Nation [3]
  5. ^ Koerner, Stephanie; Russell, Ian (16 August 2010). Unquiet Pasts: Risk Society, Lived Cultural Heritage, Re-Designing Reflexivity - Stephanie Koerner, Ian Russell - Google Books. ISBN 9780754675488. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  6. ^ Mir Khuda Bakhsh Marri (1974) Searchlights on Baloches and Balochistan
  7. ^ Hasan, Shaikh Khurshid (1996) Chaukhandi tombs in Pakistan
  8. ^ Gera, Nalini (2003) Ram Jethmalani: the authorized biography
  9. ^ Illustrated Weekly of Pakistan, Volume 20, Issues 27-39 (1968)
  10. ^ Area Handbook for Pakistan (1975)
  11. ^ West Pakistan Year Book (1961)
  12. ^ Pakistan culture (1997)
  13. ^ Mohinder Singh Randhawa. (1960) Punjab: Itihas, Kala, Sahit, te Sabiachar aad.Bhasha Vibhag, Punjab, Patiala
  14. ^ Current Opinion, Volume 25 (1899)
  15. ^ Shah, Danial. "Peshawari Chappal | Flickr - Photo Sharing!". Flickr. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  16. ^ Pathans: Compiled Under the Order of the Government of India at the Recruiting Office, Peshawar (1938) [4]
  17. ^ Focus on Pakistan, Volume 2 (1972)
  18. ^ Dashti, Naseer (2012) The Baloch and Balochistan: A Historical Account from the Beginning to the Fall of the Baloch State [5]
  19. ^ a b Illustrated Weekly of Pakistan, Volume 21, Issues 1-16
  20. ^ Peter J. Claus, Sarah Diamond, Margaret Ann Mills (2003) South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka [6]
  21. ^ Tracey Skelton, Gill Valentine (2005) Cool Places: Geographies of Youth Cultures [7]
  22. ^ Nasreen Askari, Rosemary Crill (1997) Colours of the Indus: Costume and Textiles of Pakistan In the cities, straight-cut shalwars and pants are worn by majority. The females youngsters in the Punjab frequently wear jeans and short shirts or tee-shirts. id=jWRQAAAAMAAJ&q=lacha+punjabi+dress&dq=lacha+punjabi+dress&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CFIQ6AEwB2oVChMI0LODq7KkxwIV7wrbCh16ogS8
  23. ^ Punjab District Gazetteers: Rawalpindi District (v. 28A) (1909)
  24. ^ Chaudhry, Nazir Ahmad (2002) Multan Glimpses: With an Account of Siege and Surrender [8]
  25. ^ Peter J. Claus, Sarah Diamond, Margaret Ann Mills (2003) South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka [9]
  26. ^ Illustrated Weekly of Pakistan, Volume 20, Issues 27-39 (1968)
  27. ^ http://www.paklinks.com/gsmedia/files/61479/vijaydhoti.jpg[dead link]
  28. ^ Malik, Iftikhar Haider (2006) Culture and Customs of Pakistan
  29. ^ In Pakistan, fashion weeks thrive beyond the style capitals of the world
  30. ^ "What is a Portal?". Itservices.hku.hk. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  31. ^ "List of top Pakistani Fashion Stylists at Fashion Central". Fashioncentral.pk. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
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