Pakistani fashion designers are taking Pakistani women fashion especially shalwar kamiz (salwar kameez, shalwar kameez) at the next level. We love to see the changes Pakistani women fashion designers are trying to make in this centuries old dress to keep it up with modern days demands.
It is the usual everyday dress for both men and women in Pakistan where it may be transliterated into English as shalwar-qamiz. It is also popular in India and Bangladesh and often worn in Afghanistan.
Some versions are sometimes called a ‘Punjabi suit’, after the Punjab. Salwars are loose pajama-like trousers. The legs are wide at the top, and narrow at the bottom.
Salwars are pleated at the waist and held up by a drawstring or an elastic belt. The pants can be wide and baggy, or they can be cut quite narrow, on the bias. In the latter case, they are known as churidar.
The kameez is a long shirt or tunic. The side seams (known as the chaak) are left open below the waist-line, which gives the wearer greater freedom of movement. The kameez is usually cut straight and flat; older kameez use traditional cuts, modern kameez 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 kameez. When women wear the salwar-kameez, 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 hijab). For 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 temple or the presence of elders. F
