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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
🇮🇳 Paithan, IndiaPaithani A handwoven silk sari from Maharashtra, with a squared border and a peacock palluDress 🇮🇳 Kolhapur, IndiaKolhapuri chappal Handcrafted braided leather slip-on sandals from western IndiaCraft 🇮🇳 India and 1 morePhulkariਫੁਲਕਾਰੀ Geometric and floral threadwork embroidered by Punjabi women on handwoven cotton.Craft 🇮🇳 Srinagar, India and 3 morePashmina Ultra-fine wool of Himalayan goats, hand-woven in Kashmir into shawls of rankDress 🇮🇳 Lucknow, India and 3 moreSherwani A long buttoned coat for men, worn at weddings and state occasions in South AsiaDress 🇮🇳 Pune, India and 5 moreTurbanدولبند (dolband) Cloth wound around the head, worn for faith, rank, shade and identityDress 🇮🇳 Lucknow, India and 5 moreKurtaکرته (Persian), कुरता (Hindi) A loose collarless tunic from South Asia, worn plain or embroidered over pyjamas or jeansDress 🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 1 moreJamdaniজামদানি A fine handwoven cotton cloth of Bengal, patterned with motifs worked in by handCraft 🇧🇹 BhutanKiraདཀྱི་ར་ Bhutan's national dress for women, an ankle-length woven cloth wrapped and pinnedDress 🇮🇳 India and 4 moreSariसाड़ी An unstitched length of cloth that women drape around the body, worn across South AsiaDress 🇮🇳 Ayodhya, IndiaTilakaतिलक A forehead mark worn by Hindus and Jains, at home, at temple and on special daysDress 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreMangalasutraमङ्गलसूत्रम् (maṅgalasūtram) A necklace tied by the groom at a wedding, worn through married lifeDress 🇮🇳 Bhuj, India and 1 moreBandhani Tie-dye cloth from India, knotted by hand and dipped in dye to leave dot patternsCraft 🇮🇳 IndiaGamosaগামুছা A white Assamese cloth with a red border, worn, gifted and laid under sacred textsDress 🇵🇰 Multan, Pakistan and 3 moreShalwar kameez Loose trousers and a long tunic, worn as one outfit across South AsiaDress 🇦🇫 Kabul, Afghanistan and 1 moreBurqa A garment covering the body and face, worn by some Muslim womenDress 🇮🇳 Mumbai, India and 1 moreDhoti A long unstitched cloth men wrap like trousers, for worship and formal daysDress 🇮🇳 India and 4 moreSindoorसिंदूर A red powder worn in the hair parting by many married Hindu womenDress 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreRudrakshaरुद्राक्ष Seeds of the Elaeocarpus tree, worn as prayer beads by devotees of ShivaSpiritual 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBindi A dot worn between the eyebrows, red for marriage and devotion, worn daily by many womenDress 🇦🇫 Kabul, AfghanistanBacha poshباشا بوش / بچه‌ پوشی An Afghan custom of dressing and raising a daughter as a sonHome 🇵🇰 PakistanSindhi Cultural Dayسنڌي ثقافتي ڏھاڙو An annual December celebration of Sindhi heritage, music, and traditional attireFestival 🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalTraditional Newar clothingनेवार समुदायमा भएको संस्कृति पहिरन The customary handwoven dress and ceremonial garments of Nepal's Newar peopleDress 🇮🇳 IndiaNadiri A sleeveless coat made for Mughal Emperor Jahangir and the courtiers he choseDress 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreWedding dress The dress a bride wears at her wedding, white in the West and often red in the EastDress 🇳🇵 NepalPatukaपटुका A traditional Nepalese cloth sash worn for core support, carrying items and festivitiesDress 🇧🇩 BangladeshGrameen checkগ্রামীণ চেক A woven plaid of coloured squares, made by handloom weavers in rural BangladeshDress 🇵🇰 Peshawar, PakistanPeshawari chappal A leather sandal hand-stitched in Pakistan, worn with shalwar kameez and to weddingsDress 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSalwar Loose trousers gathered at the ankle, worn with a kameez across South AsiaDress 🇮🇳 Bagh, IndiaBagh print Hand block printed cloth from a village in Madhya Pradesh, dyed red and black on whiteCraft 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreCholi A cropped, fitted bodice worn with saris and ghagras across South AsiaDress 🇮🇳 IndiaMadisarமடிசார் (Tamil) A nine-yard sari drape kept by Tamil Brahmin women for weddings, puja and mourningDress 🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 3 moreDupattaदुपट्टा A traditional South Asian scarf worn across the shoulders, chest, and headDress 🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreDaura-Suruwalदौरा सुरुवाल The traditional Nepali male attire of a wrap shirt, tapered trousers, and a coat.Dress 🇱🇰 Kandy, Sri LankaOsariyaඔසරිය (Sinhala) Sri Lanka's national dress: a sari with a waist frill and a full blouseDress 🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreDhaka topiढाका टोपी A patterned cotton cap worn across Nepal as part of the national dressDress 🇵🇰 Karachi, PakistanPakistani clothing Shalwar kameez and its many regional forms, worn across Pakistan's provincesDress 🇮🇳 IndiaLuanchariलोआंचरी A traditional one-piece flared garment worn by Gaddi women in Himachal PradeshDress 🇮🇳 IndiaIndian wedding clothes Traditional attire worn by couples and guests during Indian wedding ceremonies across various regions.Dress 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreKurti A midriff-covering top worn across the Indian subcontinent in many regional stylesDress 🇮🇳 India and 4 morePuttee A cloth leg wrap worn by soldiers, from the Himalayas to the armies of two world warsDress 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKasayaकाषाय The traditional patchwork robes worn by ordained Buddhist monasticsDress 🇮🇳 Hyderabad, IndiaClothing of Hyderabad Traditional attire of Hyderabad, shaped by South Asian and Islamic stylesDress 🇮🇳 IndiaLohepfhe A handwoven black shawl with red and green bands, worn by Angami and Chakhesang Naga men as a marker of identity.Dress 🇦🇫 AfghanistanPashtun clothing Loose linen clothes worn by Pashtun men and women in Afghanistan and PakhtunkhwaDress 🇮🇳 Jammu, India and 1 moreChura A set of bridal bangles worn across South Asia at weddings and in early marriageDress

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.