The last Nizam of Hyderabad wearing a sherwani; all the men accompanying him in the picture except the one in a cream coloured garment to his right wear sherwani of differing styles.
A sherwani is a long-sleeved outer coat worn by men in South Asia. Like the Western frock coat, it is fitted, with some waist suppression; it falls to below the knees and is buttoned down the front. It can be collarless, have a shirt-style collar, or a stand-up collar in the style of the Mandarin collar.[1] It evolved in the Indian subcontinent in the 19th-century as a result of the outer garment of the late Mughal period, the angarkha—itself evolved from the Persian cape, balaba—being given a western style with a button-down front.[2]
- ^ Tarlo, Emma (1996), Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India, University of Chicago Press, p. xii, ISBN 9780226789767,
Glossary: Sherwani Men's long coat, usually collarless
- ^ Tarlo, Emma (1996), Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India, University of Chicago Press, p. 47, ISBN 9780226789767,
The historian Abdul Halim Sharar ... shows how the Persian cape (balaba, chapkan) was gradually given a more Indian form (angarkha), and finally developed into the sherwani which had buttons down the front, following European fashion. In the early stages wealthy men's robes were made from the luxury fabrics of muslin and silk and often embroidered. But as they became more Europeanised, they became increasingly like the Englishman's frock coat, made from heavy dull material with less ornamentation and given tight sleeves. Some men added a white shirt collar to the sherwani to complete the look.