A GLANCE OVER PAKISTAN'S TRADITIONAL TRENDS, STYLE AND FASHION

Pakistan’s clothing denotes ethnic clothing normally worn by people of Pakistan and people of Pakistani origin. Pakistani cloth reflects the culture of Pakistan, the demographics of Pakistan, and cultures from Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Kashmir regions of the country.

Dressing in each local culture expresses its circs, way of living, and distinguished styles, which gives a peerless identity among all cultures.

PAKISTANI NATIONAL DRESS:

Shalwar kameez is the national dress of Pakistan worn by men and women in all five provinces Sindh, Punjab, Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baluchistan, and Azad Kashmir.

Shalwar signifies loose trousers and kameez denotes shirts. Since 1982 it’s been mandatory to wear a national dress for all officials who work in the secretariat. Each province has its personalized style of wearing Shalwar kameez such as Punjabi Shalwar kameez, Sindhi Shalwar kameez, and Pashtun Shalwar kameez and Baluchi Shalwar kameez.

Pakistani wear clothes of varying elegant colors and designs to distinctive types of fabric, silk, cotton, and chiffon.

MEN'S CLOTHING:    

Men wear Shalwar kameez, kurta, Pakistani waistcoat, ach khan, Sherwani, churridar or pajama, and other items of clothing comprised of “Jama angarkha”.

Headgear comprises of Jinnah cap which is also called Karakur and fez. Rumi Topi and Taqiyah (cap). Peshawari chappal and khussa are sought-after footwear. Other things encompass traditional shawl’s made of parshmina and other cozy materials predominately of Northern regions of the country.

REGIONAL CLOTHING:

BALUCHISTAN:

Baluch wears long pajamas (robe) similar to a small frock down to heals, loose Shalwar, a chaddar or scarf, a pajari of cotton cloth, and mostly shoes that are tapper at the toe. The material of thick cloth and board Shalwar is a shield in opposition to the hot wind of dry Sulaiman Range and kharan desert.            

SINDH:    

Sindhi people wear a type of Shalwar called Sothan with kameez called Cholp. Other traditional clothing comprises of Sindhi cap and Ajrak with beautiful designs made regionally. Men traditionally wear dhoti and long Angerkho.                             

PUNJAB:

Punjab’s men wear straight-cut Punjabi Shalwar kameez, kurta, and Shalwar, dhoti, lungi or tehmat, and kurta. Other Punjabi Shalwar styles include Pothohari Shalwar, Multani Shalwar, Dhoti Shalwar, and Bahwarpuri Shalwar with outspread baggy and multitudinous folds. Turban, a thin cloth is also worn mainly in rural areas of Punjab where it is called Pagel. Footwear includes khussa there.

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA:

In Pashtun dress, people put on traditional chappal as footwear. The customary Pashtun dress incorporates Khet Partug, Peshawari Shalwar, and Perahan Wawa Turban. Males mostly wear kufi, Peshawari cap, turban, or paku as traditional headgear.                                

WOMEN CLOTHING:

SHALWAR KAMEEZ:

Pakistani women wear Shalwar kameez which is worn in a distinctive style, color, and designs and it does embellish in distinctive styles and designs of embroidery. Kameez ranging from sleeve length, shirt length to necklines and drawers from straight cut Shalwar, Patiala Shalwar, churidar, cigarette pajama, tulip trouser, samosa pajama to the simple trouser.        

DUPATTA:

Dupatta is regarded as just an accessory in contemporaneous urban fashion. Most women who carry it presently wear it just as an embellishing accessory, swaddling around the neck or dangling down the shoulder. Mainly, the young generation in urban areas doesn't carry it at all. Dupatta is also worn by some women on the head while setting foot on the mosque, dargah, church, Gurdwara, and Mandir. It is practical in the Indian Subcontinent for women to wear a dupatta on their head covering it while entering such places.

Extensively, the dupatta is worn by women at weddings and other parties as a choice of fashion. In such events, the dupatta is mostly swaddled around the waist, neck, or is just put on the shoulder. It has distinctive embroidery designs of kamdani and goat.

OTHER TRADITIONAL DRESSES:            

Pakistani women have a range of traditional dresses besides Shalwar kameez, however, they predominately wear them at special events like weddings, engagements, mehndi, and other traditional ceremonies. The dresses include ghagra choli and saris which are sought after and each design and color seems unique to the other example lehenga style sari.

Lehenga is another popular dress that bears a resemblance to skirt however, traditional dresses gharara and sharara are worn at events. Farshi is too worn periodically. Laacha is worn in Punjab however, its lower part is similar to a dhoti.             

REGIONAL CLOTHING:

BALUCHISTAN:

The classic dress of Baloch women comprises a long frock and Shalwar with a scarf. Balochi women wear embroidered Shalwar kameez and dupatta with embroidery employing sisha work. Baloch Duch from Makkran district is one of many categories of Balochi dresses and is prominent all over Baluchistan. Since entirely hand-embroidered Balochi Duch is extortionate and it takes months to complete a single Balochi suit.

SINDH:

Besides wearing Suthan and cholo, Sindhi women wear Lehenga and choli famous as gaji which is a pullover shirt worn in mountain areas of Sindh. Gaji consists of small, square panels embroidered in silk and sequins. The neckline of gaji is cot high and circular on one side with a silt opening outstretch to others. Unmarried girls wear opening to the back and married women to the front. Sindhi clothing exhibit embroidery with the help of mirrors.            

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA:

In built-up areas, women normally wear Shalwar kameez. Pashtun women frequently wear Shalwar kameez and in some regions especially tribal areas women wear firaq partug which is also worn in neighboring Afghanistan. In the Kalash region, women wear embroidered long shirts.

WEDDING DRESSES:

Pakistani traditional wedding ceremony is commemorated by wearing distinctive clothes in each wedding event. Usually, the style and designs of wedding attire range over different regions from north to south and among non-identical communities. However, in cardinal urban cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, and Rawalpindi, an event named Rasm-e-Heena (Mehndi), men wear embroidered Kurta or Kameez in glittering colors with a resemblance to Shalwar Kameez and colorful Shawl which is put on shoulders and occasionally around the neck. At some weddings, the dress code is decided before the event and all wear the same color. Till the wedding day, a bride can wear yellow or orange Kameez with simple Shalwar. More frequently in the Punjab region of Pakistan bride wears Patiala Shalwar and yellow Dupatta. However, in other regions, there is a range of customs for example in the northwest especially in the tribal area, it is traditional for the bride to wear Firaq Partug.
During Baraat and Walima ceremonies groom usually wear Kurta Shalwar and Kurta Churidar with unique Shalwar and Khussa. However, in some regions including Balochistan among Baloch and Pashtuns (in the north of the province and Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province, mostly among Pashtuns and Koistanis groom wears simple and mostly white color Shalwar kameez and customarily Baloch Bugti Chappal (in Baloch nominated region) or Peshwari Chappal in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and a custom headwear i.e. Pashtun style Patke or Baloch turban. In Punjab and Karachi during the occasion of Baraat, the groom wears Sehra on head and brides normally wear a Lehenga or Gharara mostly in red, maroon, and pink colors with jewelry.