Shalwar kameez

For the article just about the trousers, see Salwar. For the Homeland episode, see Shalwar Kameez (Homeland).
Schoolgirls in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, in shalwars with cuffed hems, and kameez with collars.
Boys in Badakshan, Afghanistan, wearing kameez tunics, showing side seams left open below the waist.[1]
Women in the kitchen at Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar, India, displaying the wide-ranging colours and designs of shalwar-kameez

Shalwar kameez[2][3] (also salwar kameez[4] and less commonly shalwar qameez)[5][6] is a traditional combination dress worn by men and women in South Asia,[4][7] and Central Asia.[8][9]

Shalwars are trousers which are atypically wide at the waist and narrow to a cuffed bottom. They are held up by a drawstring or elastic belt, which causes them to become pleated around the waist.[4] The trousers can be wide and baggy, or they can be cut quite narrow, on the bias. Shalwars have been traditionally worn in a wide region which includes Eastern Europe,[10][11] West Asia,[12][13] Central Asia, and South Asia. The kameez is a long shirt or tunic.[14]The side seams are left open below the waist-line (the opening known as the chaak[note 1]), which gives the wearer greater freedom of movement. The kameez is usually cut straight and flat; older kameez use traditional cuts; modern kameez are more likely to have European-inspired set-in sleeves. The kameez may have a European-style collar, a Mandarin collar, or it may be collarless; in the latter case, its design as a women's garment is similar to a kurta. The combination garment is sometimes called salwar kurta, salwar suit.[16][17]

The shalwar and kameez were introduced into South Asia by arriving Muslims in the north in the 13th century: at first worn by Muslim women, their use gradually spread, making them a regional style,[18][19][20] especially in the historical Punjab region.[17][21][22] The shalwar-kameez is widely-worn by men and women in Pakistan,[23][24] and is the country's national dress.[25] It is also widely worn by men and women in Afghanistan,[26] and some men in the Punjab region of India, from which it has been adopted by women throughout India,[27] and more generally in South Asia.[28]

When women wear the shalwar-kameez in some regions, they usually wear a long scarf or shawl called a dupatta around the head or neck.[29][30] In South Asia, the dupatta is also employed as a form of modesty—although it is made of delicate material, it obscures the upper body's contours by passing over the shoulders. For Muslim women, the dupatta is a less stringent alternative to the chador or burqa (see hijab and purdah); for Sikh and Hindu women, the dupatta is useful when the head must be covered, as in a temple or the presence of elders.[31] Everywhere in South Asia, modern versions of the attire have evolved; the shalwars are worn lower down on the waist, the kameez have shorter lengths, higher splits, lower necklines and backlines, and with cropped sleeves or without sleeves.[32]

  1. ^ Derailing Democracy in Afghanistan: Elections in an Unstable Political Landscape, Columbia University Press, 2013, p. 178, ISBN 978-0-231-53574-8, For example, many politicians will wear suits while in Kabul, but change into shalwar kemeez, a traditional costume of loose pants and a tunic, when returning to their home provinces to emphasize their local connections.
  2. ^ "shalwar", Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.), Oxford University Press, retrieved 15 April 2019 (subscription or participating institution membership required)
  3. ^ "kameez", Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.), Oxford University Press, retrieved 15 April 2019 (subscription or participating institution membership required)
  4. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus; Waite, Maurice (2011), Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Book & CD-ROM Set, Oxford University Press, p. 1272, ISBN 978-0-19-960110-3, Salwar/Shalwar: A pair of light, loose, pleated trousers, usually tapering to a tight fit around the ankles, worn by women from South Asia typically with a kameez (the two together being a salwar kameez). Origin From Persian.
  5. ^ Donnan, Hastings (1991), Economy and Culture in Pakistan: Migrants and Cities in a Muslim Society, Palgrave Macmillan UK, p. 149, ISBN 978-1-349-11401-6, ... wearing shalwar qameez, Pakistan's national dress of baggy trousers and loose knee-length shirt.
  6. ^ Lewis-Beck, Michael; Bryman, Alan E; Liao, Tim Futing (2003), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods, SAGE Publications, p. 188, ISBN 978-1-4522-6145-4, shalwar qameez (Pakistani clothes)
  7. ^ "shalwar kameez", Longman's Dictionary of Contemporary English, loose trousers which are narrow at the bottom and a long loose shirt, worn by some South Asian women and, in some countries, men.
  8. ^ Anesa, Patrizia (2018), Lexical Innovation in World Englishes: Cross-fertilization and Evolving Paradigms, Taylor & Francis, p. 178, ISBN 978-1-351-10933-8, Other compounds are, for instance, ... salwar-kameez. ... It may also be described as an internationalism given its origin (Urdu). This word-formation process is based on the combination of two elements which are two garments (baggy pants and a tunic or shirt) and constitute an outfit typical of South and Central Asia.
  9. ^ Farrar, Max; Valli, Yasmin (2012), Islam in the West: Key Issues in Multiculturalism, Palgrave Macmillan UK, p. 101, ISBN 978-1-137-02506-7, A 'Shalwar Kameez' is a form of dress worn by both men and women in South and Central Asia, combining a long shirt worn over loose fitting tapered trousers.
  10. ^ Gavrilova, Raĭna; Gavrilova, Rajna D. (1999), Bulgarian Urban Culture in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Susquehanna University Press, p. 145, ISBN 978-1-57591-015-4
  11. ^ Cole, Jeffrey E. (2011), Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia: An Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, p. 289, ISBN 978-1-59884-303-3
  12. ^ Scarce, Jennifer M. (2014), Women's Costume of the Near and Middle East, Routledge, p. 73, ISBN 978-1-136-78385-2
  13. ^ Gole, Nilufer; Göle, Nilüfer (1996), The Forbidden Modern: Civilization and Veiling, University of Michigan Press, p. 60, ISBN 0-472-06630-7
  14. ^ Stevenson, Angus; Waite, Maurice (2011), Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Book & CD-ROM Set, Oxford University Press, p. 774, ISBN 978-0-19-960110-3, Kameez: A long tunic worn by many people from South Asia, typically with a salwar or churidars. Origin: From Arabic qamīṣ, perhaps from late Latin camisia (see chemise).
  15. ^ Platts, John Thompson (February 2015) [1884], A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English (online ed.), London: W. H. Allen & Co., p. 418
  16. ^ Shukla, Pravina (2015). The Grace of Four Moons: Dress, Adornment, and the Art of the Body in Modern India. Indiana University Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-253-02121-2. You can buy an entire three-piece salwar suit, or a two-piece suit that consists of either a readymade kurta or a kurta cloth piece, each with a matching dupatta. For these, you must have the salwar pants stitched from cloth you buy separately. A third option would be to buy a two-piece ensemble, consisting of the top and pants, leaving you the task of buying an appropriate dupatta, or using one you already own, or buying a strip of cloth and having it dyed to your desire. The end result will always be a three-piece ensemble, but a customer may start with one piece (only the kurta) or two pieces (kurta and pants, or kurta and dupatta), and exercise her creativity and fashion sense to end up with the complete salwar kurta outfit.
  17. ^ a b Mooney, Nicola (2011), Rural Nostalgias and Transnational Dreams: Identity and Modernity Among Jat Sikhs, University of Toronto Press, p. 260, ISBN 978-0-8020-9257-1, The salwar-kameez is a form of dress that has been adopted widely in Punjab and is now known in English as the Punjabi suit; J. P. S. Uberoi suggests that the salwar-kameez is an Afghani import to Punjab (1998 personal communication). Punjabi forms of dress are therefore constructs or inventions of tradition rather than having historical veracity.
  18. ^ Tarlo, Emma (1996), Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, p. 28, ISBN 978-0-226-78976-7, The comparatively limited range of stitched clothes available in pre-medieval India was, however, greatly expanded during the Sultanate and Moghul periods when various types of trousers, robes and tunics gained in popularity (Chaudhuri 1976: 51). ... Muslim women generally wore a veil (dupata), a long tunic (kamiz) with trousers (shalwar) or the wide flared skirt-like trouser (gharara). Following the Muslim conquest of northern India, many Hindu women gradually adopted such dress, eventually making it the regional style for parts of Northern India.
  19. ^ Tarlo, Emma (1996), Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India, University of Chicago Press, p. 133, ISBN 978-0-226-78976-7, The shalwar kamiz, though introduced to India by Muslims, has been worn for centuries by both Hindus and Muslims in parts of northern India (see chapter 2). It has recently become the acceptable garb of female college students of all religions throughout the subcontinent. However, once married, Hindu women often revert to saris unless they either live in the far northern states or belong to a cosmopolitan urban elite. In most rural areas, the shalwar kamiz has retained its Islamic associations more strongly than in cities and is worn only by the educated few.
  20. ^ Sun, Ming-Ju (2001), Traditional Fashions from India Paper Dolls, Courier Corporation, p. 19, ISBN 978-0-486-41328-0, Much of traditional Indian women's clothing changed in the 12th century, when Muslims conquered north and central India. New dress styles were developed to cover the body as much as possible, befitting Islamic preferences. One option was a costume of wide-legged trousers (salwar) snugly fitted around the calves, worn with a long tunic (kameez) and short, fitted jacket.
  21. ^ Fraile, Sandra Santos (11 July 2013), "Sikhs in Barcelona", in Blanes, Ruy; Mapril, José (eds.), Sites and Politics of Religious Diversity in Southern Europe: The Best of All Gods, BRILL, p. 263, ISBN 978-90-04-25524-1, The shalwar kamiz was worn traditionally by Muslim women and gradually adopted by many Hindu women following the Muslim conquest of northern India. Eventually, it became the regional style for parts of northern India, as in Punjab where it has been worn for centuries.
  22. ^ Shome, Raka (2014), Diana and Beyond: White Femininity, National Identity, and Contemporary Media Culture, University of Illinois Press, pp. 102–03, ISBN 978-0-252-09668-6, The salwar kameez entered India (when Pakistan, Bangladesh, and current-day India together made up India or the British Raj) as early as 12th century through Mughal (Muslim) invasions from Central and West Asia. India and Pakistan have a strong Persian influence. Until before India's independence from the British, it is Muslim women (and men) in the then British Raj (the term used to refer to India before independence) who primarily wore the salwar kameez, although there were gender and regional variations in style. After Pakistan/Indian independence from the British, the salwar kameez became an everyday clothing item especially for North Indian women (including Sikh women, although Sikhs are not Muslims) and Pakistani women because the influence of Muslim culture was the strongest in Pakistan and North India around the time of independence.
  23. ^ Marsden, Magnus (2005). Living Islam: Muslim Religious Experience in Pakistan's North-West Frontier. Cambridge University Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-139-44837-6. The village's men and boys largely dress in sombre colours in the loose trousers and long shirt (shalwar kameez) worn across Pakistan. Older men often wear woollen Chitrali caps (pakol), waistcoats and long coats (chugha), made by Chitrali tailors (darzi) who skills are renowned across Pakistan.
  24. ^ Haines, Chad (2013), Nation, Territory, and Globalization in Pakistan: Traversing the Margins, Routledge, p. 162, ISBN 978-1-136-44997-0, the shalwar kameez happens to be worn by just about everyone in Pakistan, including in all of Gilgit-Baltistan.
  25. ^ Ozyegin, Gul (2016). Gender and Sexuality in Muslim Cultures. Routledge. p. 222. ISBN 978-1-317-13051-2. What is common in all the cases is the wearing of shalwar, kameez, and dupatta, the national dress of Pakistan.
  26. ^ Johnson, Thomas H. (2018), Taliban Narratives: The Use and Power of Stories in the Afghanistan Conflict, Oxford University Press, p. 249, ISBN 978-0-19-091167-6, The leaflet shows an Afghan maile dressed in usual attire—a shalwar kameez and woolen hat, or pakol.
  27. ^ Khandelwal, Madhulika Shankar (2002), Becoming American, Being Indian: An Immigrant Community in New York City, Cornell University Press, p. 43, ISBN 0-8014-8807-9, Even highly educated women pursuing careers continue to wear traditional dress in urban India, although men of similar status long ago adopted Western attire. The forms of dress most popular with urban Indian women are the sari, the long wrapped and draped dress-like garment, worn throughout India, and the salwar-kameez or kurta-pyjama, a two-piece suit garment, sometimes also called Punjabi because of its region of origin. Whereas the sari can be considered the national dress of Indian women, the salwar-kameez, though originally from the north, has been adopted all over India as more comfortable attire than the sari.
  28. ^ Condra, Jill (2013), Encyclopedia of National Dress: Traditional Clothing around the World, ABC-CLIO, p. 570, ISBN 9780313376375, Today, throughout India and especially in the northern regions and in larger cities such as Delhi, the shalwar kameez is worn frequently by Muslims and non-Muslims alike; the style for women has been widely adopted as an alternative to the sari and to Western clothing, particularly by college-age and unmarried young women. ... The kurta for men is similar in form and style to the shalwar kameez. The kurta, or tunic-length shirt, is collarless or has a mandarin- or Nehru style collar.
  29. ^ Farrar, Max; Valli, Yasmin (2012). Islam in the West: Key Issues in Multiculturalism. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-137-02506-7. The women's form of Shalwar Kameez is usually accompanied by a scarf or 'dupatta' which can be worn around the neck, covering the chest area for 'modesty' or over the hair as a head covering.
  30. ^ Ozyegin, Gul (2016), Gender and Sexuality in Muslim Cultures, Routledge, p. 222, ISBN 978-1-317-13051-2, a dupatta is a long, wide piece of cloth measuring approximately 2-2.5 meters long and 1 meter wide.
  31. ^ Shukla, Pravina (2015), The Grace of Four Moons: Dress, Adornment, and the Art of the Body in Modern India, Indiana University Press, p. 72, ISBN 978-0-253-02121-2, Muslim and Punjabi women—whether Muslim, Sikh, or Hindu—often wear the dupatta over the head to create a modest look while framing the face with colour. When entering a temple, Hindu women might comparably use their dupattas to cover their heads. Though the dupatta is often made of flimsy cloth and does not actually cover the body, its presence implies modesty, like many of the outer garments worn by Muslim women that do not cover much but do provide a symbolic extra layer, ...
  32. ^ Koerner, Stephanie (2016), Unquiet Pasts: Risk Society, Lived Cultural Heritage, Re-designing Reflexivity, Taylor & Francis, p. 405, ISBN 978-1-351-87667-4, The Pakistani National dress worn by women is Shalwar Kameez. This consists of a long tunic (Kameez) teamed with a wide legged trouser (Shalwar) that skims in at the bottom accompanied by a duppata, which is a less stringent alternative to the burqa. Modern versions of this National dress have evolved into less modest versions. Shalwar have become more low cut so that the hips are visible and are worn with a shorter length of Kameez which has high splits and may have a lowcut neckline and backline as well as being sleeveless or having cropped sleeves.


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