Shalwar kameez: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:TilkeSalwar.jpg|thumb|360px|right|Salwar kameez, from Max Tilke's ''Oriental Costume'', 1922]] |
[[Image:TilkeSalwar.jpg|thumb|360px|right|Salwar kameez, from Max Tilke's ''Oriental Costume'', 1922]] |
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'''Salwar |
'''Salwar kamees''' (''also (mis)spelt'' '''shalwar kameez''' or '''shalwar qameez''') is the national dress of Pakistan. It is also the traditional dress worn by both women and men in South and Central part of Asia. It is widely believe that Shalwar Kamees was originated from Afghanistan and was spread out in in neighboring countries especially in India. ''Salwar'' or ''shalwar'' are loose [[pajamas|pajama]]-like [[trousers]]. The legs are wide at the top, and narrow at the ankle. The ''kamees'' is a long shirt or tunic. The side seams (known as the ''chaak''), left open below the waist-line, give the wearer greater freedom of movement. |
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==Description== |
==Description== |
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[[Image:Salwar pajama pants worn.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Salwar (with [[Kabul]]i sandals) as worn in South and Central Asia.]] |
[[Image:Salwar pajama pants worn.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Salwar (with [[Kabul]]i sandals) as worn in South and Central Asia.]] |
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Salwar are gathered at the waist and held up by a drawstring or an elastic band. The [[trousers|pants]] can be wide and baggy or more narrow, and even made of fabric cut on the bias. |
Salwar are gathered at the waist and held up by a drawstring or an elastic band. The [[trousers|pants]] can be wide and baggy or more narrow, and even made of fabric cut on the bias. |
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The |
The kamees is usually cut straight and flat; older kamees use traditional cuts, as shown in the illustration above. Modern kamees are more likely to have European-inspired set-in sleeves. The tailor's taste and skill are usually displayed, not in the overall cut, but in the shape of the neckline and the decoration of the kamees. Modern versions of the feminine kameez can be much less modest than traditional versions. The kamees may be cut with a deep neckline, sewn in diaphanous fabrics, or styled in cap-sleeve or sleeveless designs. The kamees side seams may be split up to the thigh or even the waistline, and it may be worn with the salwar slung low on the hips. When a woman wears a semi-transparent kamees (mostly as a party dress), she usually wears a [[choli]] or a cropped [[camisole]] underneath it to cover her breasts. Likewise, some women also wear a semi-transparent salwar. Opinions differ on what kind of panty to use underneath a semi-trasparent salwar. While some women prefer to cover their buttocks, others dislike it because it makes the panty line visible. Some women also avoid wearing panty altogether, relying solely on the kameez to cover their buttocks and genitals. |
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When women wear the salwar |
When women wear the salwar kamees, they usually wear a long scarf or shawl called a [[dupatta]] around the head or neck. For Muslim women, the dupatta is a less stringent alternative to the [[chador]] or [[burqa]] (see also [[hijab]] and [[purdah]]). For [[Sikh]] and Hindu women (especially those from northern India, where the salwar kameez is most popular), the dupatta is useful when the head must be covered, as in a [[Gurdwara]] or a [[Temple]], or the presence of elders. For other women, the dupatta is simply a stylish accessory that can be worn over one shoulder or draped around the chest and over both shoulders. Salwar Kameez's are also worn by women in [[Bangladesh]]. |
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The Salwar kameez is sometimes known as "''Punjabi'' suit by Indian Punjabis," in [[United Kingdom|Britain]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Breidenbach|Pál|Zcaronupanov|2004}}. Quote: "And in Bubby Mahil’s fashion store in London, white socialites and |
The Salwar kameez is sometimes known as "''Punjabi'' suit by Indian Punjabis," in [[United Kingdom|Britain]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Breidenbach|Pál|Zcaronupanov|2004}}. Quote: "And in Bubby Mahil’s fashion store in London, white socialites and |
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Revision as of 22:14, 10 April 2010
Salwar kamees (also (mis)spelt shalwar kameez or shalwar qameez) is the national dress of Pakistan. It is also the traditional dress worn by both women and men in South and Central part of Asia. It is widely believe that Shalwar Kamees was originated from Afghanistan and was spread out in in neighboring countries especially in India. Salwar or shalwar are loose pajama-like trousers. The legs are wide at the top, and narrow at the ankle. The kamees is a long shirt or tunic. The side seams (known as the chaak), left open below the waist-line, give the wearer greater freedom of movement.
Description
Salwar are gathered at the waist and held up by a drawstring or an elastic band. The pants can be wide and baggy or more narrow, and even made of fabric cut on the bias.
The kamees is usually cut straight and flat; older kamees use traditional cuts, as shown in the illustration above. Modern kamees are more likely to have European-inspired set-in sleeves. The tailor's taste and skill are usually displayed, not in the overall cut, but in the shape of the neckline and the decoration of the kamees. Modern versions of the feminine kameez can be much less modest than traditional versions. The kamees may be cut with a deep neckline, sewn in diaphanous fabrics, or styled in cap-sleeve or sleeveless designs. The kamees side seams may be split up to the thigh or even the waistline, and it may be worn with the salwar slung low on the hips. When a woman wears a semi-transparent kamees (mostly as a party dress), she usually wears a choli or a cropped camisole underneath it to cover her breasts. Likewise, some women also wear a semi-transparent salwar. Opinions differ on what kind of panty to use underneath a semi-trasparent salwar. While some women prefer to cover their buttocks, others dislike it because it makes the panty line visible. Some women also avoid wearing panty altogether, relying solely on the kameez to cover their buttocks and genitals.
When women wear the salwar kamees, they usually wear a long scarf or shawl called a dupatta around the head or neck. For Muslim women, the dupatta is a less stringent alternative to the chador or burqa (see also hijab and purdah). For Sikh and Hindu women (especially those from northern India, where the salwar kameez is most popular), the dupatta is useful when the head must be covered, as in a Gurdwara or a Temple, or the presence of elders. For other women, the dupatta is simply a stylish accessory that can be worn over one shoulder or draped around the chest and over both shoulders. Salwar Kameez's are also worn by women in Bangladesh.
The Salwar kameez is sometimes known as "Punjabi suit by Indian Punjabis," in Britain[1] and Canada.[2] In Britain, especially during the last two decades, the garment has been transformed from an everyday garment worn by immigrant South Asian women from the North-West Frontier Province, Balochistan, Sindh, Kashmir and Punjab regions to one with mainstream, and even high-fashion, appeal.[3]
In India, the garment was originally confined to the North, but as a convenient and modest alternative to a sari - and also as one that flatters practically any body-type - it has become popular across the nation. By varying the fabric, color and the level of embroidery and decoration, the salwar-kameez can be formal, casual, dressy, or plain; and it can also be made to suit practically all climates.
Etymology and history
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The pants, or salvar, are known as salvar in Template:Lang-pa, salvaar or shalvaar શલવાર કમીઝ in Gujarati, salvaar or shalvar शलवार क़मीज़ in Hindi, and shalvar in Template:Lang-ur. The word comes from the Persian: شلوار, meaning pants.
The shirt, kameez or qamiz, takes its name from the Arabic qamis. There are two main hypotheses regarding the origin of the Arabic word, namely:
- that Arabic qamis is derived from the Latin camisia (shirt), which in its turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European kem (‘cloak’).[4]
- that Mediaeval Latin camisia is a borrowing through Hellenistic Greek kamision from the Central Semitic root “qmṣ”, represented by Ugaritic qmṣ (‘garment’) and Arabic qamīṣ (‘shirt’).
Garments cut like the traditional kameez are known in many cultures; according to Dorothy Burnham, of the Royal Ontario Museum, the "seamless shirt," woven in one piece on warp-weighted looms, was superseded in early Roman times by cloth woven on vertical looms and carefully pieced so as not to waste any cloth. 10th century cotton shirts recovered from the Egyptian desert are cut much like the traditional kameez or the contemporary Egyptian jellabah or galabia.[5]
English spelling
Transliterations starting from Punjabi often render the sibilant sound at the start of salwar/shalwar as an "s". Transliterations starting from Urdu, Persian, Pashto, Turkish languages use "sh". Both spellings are found in common English usage. The shalwar spelling seems to be most common in Canada and the United Kingdom, and is the preferred spelling in the Oxford English Dictionary. Salwar seems to be more common in the US and is found at many online stores selling salwar kameez. The word kameez is often spelled with an H, as in khameez.
Gallery
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Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, in shalwar and sherwani; his sister Fatima Jinnah, in shalwar qamiz. 1947.
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Women, dressed in ornate shalwars, in a picket line. -
Woman in green cotton salwar kameez. -
Men wearing shalwar kameez at Kabul Airport in Afghanistan.
See also
Notes
- ^ Breidenbach, Pál & Zcaronupanov 2004. Quote: "And in Bubby Mahil’s fashion store in London, white socialites and young British Asians shop for the same Punjabi suit...."
- ^ Walton-Roberts & Pratt 2005. Quote: "Meena owns a successful textile design and fashion business in the Punjab, designing and selling high-end salwar kameez (Punjabi suits) ..."
- ^ Bachu 2004
- ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary: chemise".
- ^ Burnham, Dorothy. 1973. Cut My Cote, Royal Ontario Museum. p. 10.
References
- Bachu, Parminder (2004), Dangerous Designs: Asian Women Fashion the Diaspora Economies, London: Routledge. Pp. xii, 196, ISBN 0415072212
{{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Breidenbach, Joana; Pál, Nyíri; Zcaronupanov, Ines (2004), "Fashionable Books", Identities: Global Studies in Power and Culture, 11 (4): 619–628
- Walton-Roberts, Margaret; Pratt, Geraldine (2005), "Mobile Modernities: One South Asian Family Negotiates Immigration, Gender and Class in Canada", Gender, Place and Culture, 12 (2): 173–195.