Khmer traditional clothing

The wrapped skirt

The base of most Khmer dress is the sampot, a piece of cloth wrapped and held at the waist. It is tied in more than one way, and each way carries its own name. Some are knotted twice at the front, with one knot longer and the other more decorative. Some hang freely like a tube skirt, and one kind is twisted, drawn up between the legs and fixed with a belt. That last style is unisex. In the countryside, women wear skirt cloth woven in checks or stripes, while dancers and court wear pleated or brocaded silk.

Origins and history

Khmer dress is older than the Indian influences that arrived in Southeast Asia. Its changes can be followed in objects and carvings from the sixth century through to the period after Angkor. A Chinese account from the Funan era says a king ordered his people to cover themselves when envoys came from China. Bas-reliefs at Angkor Wat show dancers in pleated skirts and figures with cloth tucked at the waist. Zhou Daguan, a Chinese envoy who stayed at Angkor in 1296, described looms and wrote that silk production came from Siam, along with the mulberry trees and silkworms.

Blouses and breast cloth

Above the waist there are many forms. One top is tied at the chest and leaves the underarms uncovered; another is thick and fitted close to the body. Some shirts button down the front, some carry lace or embroidery, and some have a row of pleats. Men wear loose jackets, and a groom adds a translucent jacket threaded with gold over his shirt. The sbai is embroidered silk worn as a breast-sash, with one end wrapped around the body, the other falling down the back, and one shoulder left free. It appears in dance, in ceremonies and at weddings.

Cloth and colour

Silk and cotton have been woven in Cambodia for a very long time. Three silk textiles are counted as important, among them the ikat cloth called chong kiet, or hol. For that cloth, weavers tie and dye parts of the weft threads before weaving starts, then repeat the process in other colours until the pattern is set. Lattices, stars and spots are common motifs, and they change from one region to the next. Red, yellow, green, blue and black are the colours used most. In earlier times each day of the week had its own colour, and Monday's was dark yellow.

Today and change

Khmer dress is still worn. Villagers put on wrapped skirts and simple tops, and a checkered krama goes over the shoulder, ready to serve as a towel, a sun cover, a sling for a baby or a cloth a child plays with. Dancers wear costumes of the kind temple carvings show. Some styles vanished and were later brought back. In one village in Kandal province, roughly forty families embroider sbai for weddings, festivals and visitors to Angkor. Skirts bought from Laos in the 1980s were cheap enough that Cambodians began making that style themselves. Under the Khmer Rouge, everyone was made to wear a checkered krama.

How Khmer traditional clothing is kept

Who wears what depends on the day. In the countryside, a wrapped skirt and a simple top are everyday dress, with the krama over the shoulder or around the head. Dancers rehearse in short-sleeved shirts and perform in pleated skirts, brocaded cloth and a sbai across the chest. At a wedding, the couple wear gold-threaded silk, and the groom holds the bride's sbai from behind as they walk together. Guests choose white or pale cloth for a pagoda visit and brighter colours for a festival. Families keep these garments for years, and some are rented for a single occasion.

When and where

There is no single date for Khmer dress. It is worn every day in many villages, and on festival, wedding and ceremonial days through the year, as well as by dancers at rehearsals and performances. The Cham wear one style of shirt at the Royal Plowing Ceremony. In the past, colour was also tied to the days of the week.

Khmer dress belongs to Cambodia, and it is strongest in the countryside, at temples and courts, and in the dance schools. Related wrapped garments are worn in Thailand and Laos, where they are called chong kraben. Silk for the cloth is woven in Cambodian villages, and the village of Sampan Leu in Kandal province is known for its sbai embroidery.

What Khmer traditional clothing means

The sampot has long been regarded as the national dress of Cambodia, and small differences in cloth once showed rank, region and period. Colour carried meaning too, with one given to each day of the week. The krama sets Khmer people apart from their Thai, Vietnamese and Laotian neighbours. At a wedding the sbai holds a story told in Chinese records, in which a cloth is passed over a head; as the groom holds the bride's sbai and they walk, the pair are entering her naga realm.

Questions people ask about Khmer traditional clothing

See also

SampingA traditional Malay waist cloth worn over festive attire in Southeast AsiaKhruiA sheer ceremonial robe worn by Thai royalty and now as academic dress at universities.KebayaA front-opening blouse and wrapped cloth, worn by women across Southeast AsiaLongyiA tube of cloth worn from waist to feet in Myanmar, folded shut with no knot

Good reading and sources

• Khmer traditional clothing on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-10.