Dresses

Dress is the identity of any nation. It is the thing which tells you the nationality of a person without even asking. Every country has its own traditional dress. So is the case with Pakistan. Our traditional dress is the shalwar kameez. This is good for all men, women and children of Pakistan. It is worn and is equally popular in all the provinces, cities and villages of Pakistan. The shalwar kameez holds equal importance in both ceremonial wear and casual wear. Women like to dress up in shalwar kameez most of the time and also during different ceremonies. Same holds true for men and children of the country.
Shalwar is like a loose pajama and is similar to the trousers. It is wide near the thighs and the waist. Near the bottom it is tapering. The kameez is a shirt and the seams of the shirt are kept open. The seams are open normally below waist line. This dress gives you great freedom of movement and is also very easy and simple to wear.
Then another important dress is the achkan. It has been the dress of nobles for long and is now worn extensively in Pakistan on different occasions, mostly ceremonial. It can be referred to as a long jacket. The jacket reaches the knees and there are buttons in the front of the jacket. In some cases it may even go lower than the knees. It also has long sleeves. This dress has been long associated with aristocracy. It is now worn by most desert dwellers in Pakistan.
Kurta is also an important traditional dress item. It is similar to a shirt but is quite loose in fitting. The length of the kurta goes up to the knees of the wearer. It can be worn with either jeans or a shalwar. The Kurta is also worn by women in many western countries. In Pakistan, kurta holds importance amongst both men and women. Different materials can be used to make a kurta and normally it is up to the wishes of the user that what style and material one wants to be used in one’s kurta. Men also love to wear waist coats with the kurta and also with shalwar kameez. It gives a very tidy look to the dress.
The Pakistani culture is very rich as far as clothing is concerned. These clothes are famous not only in Pakistan but also in Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh. 

Characteristics of Eastern Dresses

The East or the Eastern World is composed to Asia; Eastern Europe including Russia, Indian Subcontinent, The Far East, the Middle East and Central Asia.  They are known to be closely in touch to their culture and religion.  Even in the manner of clothing, eastern clothes depict eastern religious beliefs, cultural obligations and traditions.

Large populations in the East are Muslim and thus most of the clothing lines that may be noticed in the eastern manner of clothing follows Islamic ruling.

Additionally, most of the eastern clothes are influenced by climate, material availability and of course cultural traditions.  While the modern day eastern population follows some clothing influences from the western world, it remains that most eastern clothes are defined by Islam influences.

Let us discuss a bit about eastern clothes with the influenced that related to their development.

Climate

The east spans a huge area in the globe.  There are areas that are cold and there are areas that are mostly deserts.  Thus, there are eastern clothes that are definitive of the climate in that region.

In tropical and desert environment, the eastern clothes worn by the population are usually loose clothing and made of cotton fabric.  They may often wear headpieces to protect their head and their body to protect them from the sun. 

Those eastern countries that experience cold weather usually wear thick clothes that will protect them from the coldness especially at night.

Fabrics

The eastern world uses five main fabrics in their clothing. 

Cotton, as mentioned, is a cool fabric and usually worn loosely in areas where it is hot and mostly desert like India and the Middle East.

For winter season, eastern clothes are made of wool to protect their bodies from the cold.

Camel hair is another material used for clothes during cold weather.

Silk is a material abundant in the East and they are usually used in areas like China and Persia.

Linen, a plant based fabric is made of woven fibers and used in clothing as well.  This is a versatile material that can be used in both cold and hot season.

Culture and Tradition

Because many areas in the East are of Muslim influence, the clothes of these eastern populations depict their culture and tradition.

Those that are not Muslim usually mimic western clothing influences where as those that are Muslim follow the Islam way of dressing.

Women in Islam usually wear clothes that will hide the whole body.  Does not show any flesh except their hand and their face.  For unmarried women, only their hands and their eye are exposed.  Women likewise wears veil to cover their head.

For the men, they cannot wear silk or any clothing with adornments becuase of the ruling that they should be modest.

However, even with the modesty requirement of Islam, eastern clothes used by the master cannot be used by the slave.

Muslim men cannot wear clothes just like non-Muslim men. 

Likewise, men should not wear any clothing article that depicts that of women and this is likewise true in the other way around.

Eastern clothes likewise shows status and group identity.  These people have been closely following their traditional influences and they are good with it.

A Woman’s Dressing in Pakistan

Pakistan is amongst the few countries in the world where women’s dressing is very diverse and beautiful. The dresses worn by the Pakistani women are a true reflection of their culture and traditions.
It is not one but a whole range of dresses which brings out the true beauty of the Pakistani woman. The best loved and the most beautiful is the shalwar kameez. It is simple yet elegant. It is the beauty of the dress that you can have both a simple and a stylish shalwar kameez designed and it will look beautiful in all its forms. The shalwar is a pajama like a trouser and the kameez is like a long shirt. You can have different designs embroidered on the kameez to give it a stylish look. Normally the stylish look goes with the parties, weddings and other functions. For normal house wear and work, simple shalwar kameez is used. These do not have any embroidery over them but are still beautiful in design. Different types of cloth are used to make the shalwar kameez for example silk, lawn etc.
Kurti is also a very stylish and casual shirt which is worn by women normally in the urban areas of Pakistan. Women like to wear it with shalwar but the best loved combination is with a jeans. These are long shirts and are available extensively in the Pakistani markets to cater for the needs of the more stylish women.
Coming out of traditional and casual stuff, there are a lot of dresses which are worn by the women for ceremonies. These are following:-

1. Gharara
2. Sharara
3. Mermaid cut lehenga
4. Lehenga choli
5. Saree
6. Pajama with angrakha
7. Churidar pajama with angrakha

The best thing about these dresses is that they are a little more stylish and heavily loaded as far as embroidery and attachments are concerned, but people of all classes can have them designed and they can be custom made to suit everyone’s budget. It is ensured that while having the dress designed both style and traditional look should have their equal share. These dresses are heavily decorated with items such as the beads, threads, silver thread and in some cases gold threads. The dresses are multi colored but the colors loved the most are red, black, green and blue. 
Pakistan is a place where women like any other country like to custom design their clothes. More diverse clothing options give them more range as compared to women in the western countries.