Shalwar kameez

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For the article just about the trousers, see Salwar. For the Homeland episode, see Shalwar
Kameez (Homeland).

Schoolgirls in Abbotabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, in shalwars with cuffed hems, and kameez with
western-style collars.

Boys in Badakshan, Afghanistan, wearing kameez tunics, showing side seams left open below the waist.[1]
Women in the kitchen at Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar, India, displaying the wide-ranging colors and designs of
shalwar-kameez

Shalwar kameez[2][3] (also salwar kameez[4] and less commonly shalwar qameez)[5][6] is a
traditional combination dress worn by women, and in some regions by men, in South
Asia,[4][7] as well as Central Asia.[8][9]
Shalwars are trousers which are atypically wide at the waist but which narrow to a
cuffed bottom. They are held up by a drawstring or elastic belt, which causes them to
become pleated around the waist.[4] The pants can be wide and baggy, or they can be
cut quite narrow, on the bias. Shalwars have been traditionally worn in a wide region
which includes Eastern Europe,[10][11] West Asia,[12][13] Central Asia, and South Asia.
The kameez is a long shirt or tunic.[14] The side seams are left open below the waist-line
(the opening known as the chaak[note 1]), 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
kameez may have a European-style collar, a Mandarin-collar, or it may be collarless; in
the latter case, its design as a women's garment is similar to a kurta.[16] The combination
garment is sometimes called salwar kurta, salwar suit, or Punjabi suit.[17][18]
The shalwar and kameez were introduced into South Asia after the arrival of Muslims in
the north in the 13th century: at first worn by Muslim women, their use gradually spread,
making them a regional style,[19][20][21] especially in the historical Punjab region.[18][22][23] The
salwar-kameez is a widely-worn-,[24][25] and national dress,[26] of Pakistan. It is also widely
worn by men in Afghanistan,[27] and by women, and some men, in the Punjab region of
India, from which it has been adopted by women throughout India,[28] and more generally
in South Asia.[29]
When women wear the shalwar-kameez in some regions, they usually wear a long scarf
or shawl called a dupatta around the head or neck.[30][31] In South Asia, the dupatta is
used to display modesty: for Muslim women, the dupatta is a less stringent alternative to
the chador or burqa (see hijab and purdah); for Sikh and Hindu women, the dupatta is
useful when the head must be covered, as in a temple or the presence of
elders.[32] Everywhere in South Asia, modern versions of the attire have evolved, the
shalwars are worn lower down on the waist, the kameez have shorter length, with
higher splits, lower necklines and backlines, and with cropped sleeves or without
sleeves.[33]