Pakistani clothing

Pakistani clothing refers to the ethnic clothing that is typically worn by people in the country of Pakistan and by Pakistanis. Pakistani clothes express the culture of Pakistan, the demographics of Pakistan, and cultures from Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Kashmir regions of the country. The clothing in each region and culture of Pakistan reflect weather conditions, way of living, the textiles and embroidery used and its distinctive style which gives it a unique identity among all cultures.

Pakistani national dress

The Shalwar kameez, Achkan Sherwani and Kurta shalwar Kameez are the national dresses of Pakistan[1][2] and is worn by men and women in all five provinces of 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 variant of salwar kameez such as Sindhi shalwar kameez, Punjabi shalwar 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.[4][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 turbans, 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, mainly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwans usually wear the Pakol hat,

Every province has a different and unique cultural dress.

Balochistan

In Balochistan, traditionally a long jama (robe) like a smock-frock is worn 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

[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

Punjabi men wear the straight cut Punjabi shalwar kameez, kurta, or shalwar. Dhoti, lungi, or tehmat are often worn in rural areas.[10][11][12] 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 and Peshawari chappal, which is also widely worn.

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

Pashtun dress differ according to region but usually people wear traditional Peshawari chappal[15] as footwear and a Pakol or turban as headwear. The traditional male Pashtun dress includes the Khet partug,[16] Peshawari shalwar, and the Patke tunban. Males usually wear kufi, Peshawari cap, turban, or Pakol 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. It is called Pheran.

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, and 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; it's usually worn wrapped around the neck or hanging down the shoulder. [Dupatta] is also used by some women when entering a mosque, dargah, where they cover their head with a dupatta while entering such places. It is widely worn by women in weddings and other parties out of choice and fashion. On such occasions, mostly it is wrapped around the waist, neck, or just draped on a shoulder. It is used with different embroidery designs of Kamdani and Gota.

Burqa

In Pakistan, upper and middle-class women in towns wear burqas over their normal clothes in public.[17][18] The burqa is the most visible dress in Pakistan. It is typically a tent-like garment worn over the ordinary clothes and is made of white cotton. Many upper-class women wear a two-piece burqa which is usually black in colour but sometimes navy blue or dark red. It consists of a long cloak and a separate headpiece with a drop-down face veil. Some educated urban women no longer wear the burqa. The burqa is also not worn by rural peasant women who work in the fields.[19] In rural areas only elite women wear burqas.[17][18] Purdah is still common in the rural elite and urban middle class, but not among rural farmers.[20]

Bridal dresses

Some Pakistani brides may choose to wear dresses known as Nikah or walima dress. The outfit is called gharara and mimics the traditional dress of India - it includes a skirt known as a lehenga/gharara and dupatta. However, instead of cholis worn by Indian women, Pakistani brides wear a long shalwar top.