Newar traditional clothing

Men's common costume consists of a long shirt called tapālan (Nepal Bhasa: तपालं) and tight fitting trousers known as suruwā (सुरुवा:). A waistcoat and coat may be worn over the shirt. Today, the garment is worn during special occasions, official functions and festivals while it is still everyday wear for many among the older generation. Men dress in tapālan and suruwā and women wear the hāku patāsi when taking part in the New Year's Day parade of Nepal Sambat. This traditional dress is also worn during wedding processions.[5][6]

Women wear black cotton saris with a red border known as hāku patāsi (हाकु पतासि) or hāku parsi (हाकु पर्सि). It is still widely used especially among farmer women as everyday wear and is the most popular dress during festive occasions. A blouse fastened with cloth ties called misālan (मिसालं) is worn with the sari. A shawl, gā (गा), is wrapped around the upper part of the body.[7][8]

In 1973, Nepal's Postal Services Department issued a commemorative stamp of a woman and a man dressed in haku patāsi and tapālan to show the traditional clothing of the Kathmandu Valley. The stamp was part of a series on the costumes of various parts of Nepal.[9]

Sayn kaytā (सँय कयता) are traditional men's trousers. They were worn mostly by the merchant and courtier classes till the 1930s. The baggy trousers are gathered at the knee and fastened with a piece of string. The trousers feature a drawstring tie waist. The material used to make the sayn kayta is raw silk. A pair requires 6 yards of material. The sayn kayta is worn with a long shirt which is held in place by cloth ties. A cotton cummerbund completes the set.

Some classes of Newar women wore plain or printed saris known as parsi (पर्सि). It has many pleats which are gathered at the front and tied in a bunch with a piece of string. These saris were up to 20 yards long.

Girls wear an ankle-length tight-fitting gown known as bhāntānlan (भान्तांलं) which extends from the neck to the ankles. It is smitten at the sides to reveal the legs; the upper part is fastened with cloth ties. Drop crotch pants were another popular item of clothing for girls. They are worn with a knee-length dress.

Special costumes are worn during lifecycle ceremonies like Janku, a baby's first rice feeding, initiation rites, weddings, old-age rituals and investitures. A child undergoing his or her first rice feeding is dressed in a vest and cap made of brocade. Boys celebrating their coming-of-age ceremony wear a loincloth. For Buddhist boys, the corresponding right is Bare Chhuyegu which is an initiation into the monkhood, and they wear a monk's robe. Girls dress up in the fancy attire of silk and brocade in grown-up designs for their Ihi and Baray, two ceremonies they undergo before reaching their teens.

Priests wear ankle-length pleated gowns during special religious services. Caps, turbans and crowns are the headwear worn with ceremonial garments.[10][11]

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  Men in local dress and Western coats, c. 1930
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  Men in tapālan and suruwā, c. 1940
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  Bride flanked by two women in parsi, 1941
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  Group of women, c. 1930-1935
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  Manandhar women in Kathmandu, c. 1890
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  Manandhar men in Kathmandu, c. 1925
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  Mathema (subdivision: Chhathariya) men in sayn kaytā, 1890
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  Shakyas in jāmā gowns, c. 1868-1875
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  Newar women weavers in Kathmandu, 1894
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  Stamp showing traditional clothing of Kathmandu

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  A girl is preparing to go to school in a Newari dress Tapaln
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  Newar girl in cultural dress
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  Newar children in Nepal performing Ihi, also known as Bel Marriage
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  Newar lady on her cultural dress
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  Newar woman of Saldanda Village, Syangja Nepal
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  Newar girls playing stones
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  Newar man playing Pakhawaaja (Newar drum)
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  Music performed by the Newar community in Lalitpur district