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EveryParampara

Dress and adornment

Clothes, jewellery, henna, tattoo and hair.

Dress and adornment traditions cover the clothes, jewellery, hairstyles, tattoos and henna that people wear to mark who they are and what the day is. A sari, a kilt, a kente cloth, a hanbok or a poncho is a statement of belonging, and the way it is worn tells of age, marriage, rank or region. Some garments are worn every day, others only on festivals, and many are made by hand by craftspeople whose skills are handed down. EveryParampara describes them with respect and notes how they are changing.

Cloth and meaning

Colour, pattern and fibre carry meaning: red for luck in China and India, white for mourning in some places and for brides in others, kente patterns that name proverbs, tartans that name clans. The making of cloth, whether by weaving, dyeing, printing or embroidery, is itself a tradition, and master weavers are honoured. A garment given at a wedding or handed down in a family holds the memory of the people who wore it.

Skin, hair and ornament

Body decoration is as old as cloth. Henna on the hands of a bride, a bindi on the forehead, the tattoos of Samoa and the Maori, the plaited hair of West Africa, the lip plates and neck rings of some peoples, each is a language. Many are rites of passage, done at a coming of age or a wedding. They are best described by those who wear them, and EveryParampara aims to give their meaning, not to treat them as curiosities.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Dress and adornment (kind of tradition). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇧 United KingdomTartanbreacan The checked woollen cloth of Scotland, woven from crossing stripes into named patternsDress 🇮🇩 Indonesia and 5 moreBatikꦧꦛꦶꦏ꧀ (bathik) A Javanese wax-resist way of patterning cloth, and the textiles made that wayCraft 🇳🇬 Lagos, Nigeria and 2 moreAso ebiAsọ-Ẹbí Matching cloth worn by family and friends at Yoruba weddings, funerals and partiesDress 🇮🇩 Palembang, Indonesia and 3 moreSongketᬲᭀᬂᬓᬾᬢ᭄ A hand-woven cloth threaded with gold or silver, worn at weddings and royal courtsDress 🇵🇸 Bethlehem, PalestineTatreezتَطْرِيز Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery, stitched onto dresses and read for its regionCraft 🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreUshankaушанка An ear-flapped fur hat from Russia, tied up or under the chin against the coldDress 🇺🇦 Kyiv, Ukraine and 1 moreUkrainian embroideryвишивка (vyshyvka) A stitched folk art of Ukraine, worked into shirts, cloths and church furnishingsCraft 🇹🇳 Tunis, TunisiaSafseriسفساري A cream cloth wrapped around a woman's whole body, worn by Tunisian women for modestyDress 🇵🇭 PhilippinesBarong tagalog The Philippine national shirt for men: embroidered, worn loose and never tucked inDress 🇷🇺 Kazan, Russia and 2 moreValenkiва́ленки Russian winter boots of felted wool, worn on dry snow and often paired with galoshesDress 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBindi A dot worn between the eyebrows, red for marriage and devotion, worn daily by many womenDress 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 2 moreHijabحجاب A Muslim practice of modesty and dress, worn by women as a headscarf or more coveringDress 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreRudrakshaरुद्राक्ष Seeds of the Elaeocarpus tree, worn as prayer beads by devotees of ShivaSpiritual 🇮🇳 India and 4 moreSindoorसिंदूर A red powder worn in the hair parting by many married Hindu womenDress 🇦🇫 Kabul, AfghanistanBacha poshباشا بوش / بچه‌ پوشی An Afghan custom of dressing and raising a daughter as a sonHome 🇦🇱 Albania and 3 moreXhubleta A rippling bell-shaped skirt made by Albanian women of the northern highlandsDress 🇪🇪 Tartu, Estonia and 5 moreEuropeade An annual gathering of folk dancers, musicians and singers across EuropeFestival 🇨🇦 Toronto, Canada and 5 moreNo Bra Day An annual October observance promoting breast cancer awareness and bodily autonomySeasonal 🇵🇰 PakistanSindhi Cultural Dayسنڌي ثقافتي ڏھاڙو An annual December celebration of Sindhi heritage, music, and traditional attireFestival 🇲🇦 MoroccoMoroccan kaftan A floor-length tunic worn by Moroccan women for weddings and celebrations, featuring heavy embroidery and rich textiles.Dress 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBreeching A rite of passage when a young boy first wore trousers instead of a dress.Rite of passage 🇲🇾 Malacca, Malaysia and 4 moreSampingسمڤيڠ A traditional Malay waist cloth worn over festive attire in Southeast AsiaDress 🇨🇳 ChinaQizhuang旗裝 (qízhuāng) The traditional attire of the Manchu people, characterized by riding coats, trousers, and horse-hoof cuffs.Dress 🇩🇿 Tlemcen, AlgeriaChedda of Tlemcenشدة تلمسانية The bridal dress of Tlemcen, velvet and gold thread, worn with a jewelled headdressDress 🇨🇳 ChinaXifu戏服 The stage dress of Chinese opera, its colour and pattern telling rank, sex and characterDress 🇮🇳 IndiaNadiri A sleeveless coat made for Mughal Emperor Jahangir and the courtiers he choseDress 🇫🇷 FranceBreton costume The traditional folk dress and lace headdresses worn for festivals across BrittanyDress 🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalTraditional Newar clothingनेवार समुदायमा भएको संस्कृति पहिरन The customary handwoven dress and ceremonial garments of Nepal's Newar peopleDress 🇪🇬 EgyptKallawtahكلوتة A rounded Turkic cap worn in the medieval Middle East, its colour set in Mamluk EgyptDress 🇨🇳 ChinaTraditional Chinese wedding dress The ceremonial bridal garments worn in Han Chinese marriage ceremoniesDress 🇮🇳 IndiaIndian wedding clothes Traditional attire worn by couples and guests during Indian wedding ceremonies across various regions.Dress 🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreGymnastyorkaгимнастёрка A loose pullover smock that began as a peasant shirt and became a soldier's uniformDress 🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKynodesmeκυνοδέσμη A cord ancient Greek athletes tied around the foreskin to stay modest in public.Dress 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKasayaकाषाय The traditional patchwork robes worn by ordained Buddhist monasticsDress 🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreArkhalig A traditional fitted jacket worn by men and women in the Caucasus and IranDress 🇬🇷 Athens, GreecePeplosπέπλος A draped woolen tunic worn by women in ancient Greece, central to Athenian religious festivals.Dress 🇲🇲 Amarapura, MyanmarAcheikအချိတ် A Burmese silk weave of waves and stripes, made with up to 200 shuttlesDress 🇨🇳 Dunhuang, China and 2 moreYingluo璎珞 A ring-shaped Buddhist neck ornament that became a Chinese necklace, worn again todayDress 🇩🇪 Hamburg, GermanyPrince Henry capPrinz-Heinrich-Mütze A peaked cap with a tall band and a small firm crown, linked to German naval dressDress 🇻🇳 VietnamÁo gấm A brocade tunic worn by Vietnamese men at ceremonies and festivalsDress 🇰🇭 Longvek, Cambodia and 2 moreKhmer traditional clothing How Khmer people dress: the wrapped sampot, the embroidered sbai, the checkered kramaDress 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSalwar Loose trousers gathered at the ankle, worn with a kameez across South AsiaDress 🇨🇳 ChinaMamianqun馬面裙 (马面裙) A Chinese wrap skirt with flat front and back panels, worn over trousers with a jacketDress 🇮🇳 Bagh, IndiaBagh print Hand block printed cloth from a village in Madhya Pradesh, dyed red and black on whiteCraft 🇸🇴 Somalia and 1 moreDirac A long Somali dress for weddings and celebrations, worn with an underskirt and shawlDress 🇦🇲 ArmeniaIşlic A tall felt cap worn by Danubian boyars to show their rank and public officeDress 🇨🇳 ChinaManchu platform shoes Wooden-soled shoes worn by Manchu women from the early Qing dynastyDress 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreCholi A cropped, fitted bodice worn with saris and ghagras across South AsiaDress
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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly EveryParampara

Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.