5 most famous traditional clothes around the world
Tales of culture heritage conservation
All around the world, we can observe that people have a diversely rich way of clothing themselves. From patterns to colors, what people wear says more about their sense of fashion, it is also a part of cultural heritages that has been transmitted from generations to generations.
Although globalization has led us into having almost the same fashion trends during a certain period of time (usually a generation), fashion used to be a lot more clustered and particular to regions, villages, tribes, etc. Fashion items in “ancient times” used to have a meaning strong;y attached to occasion, social classes, line of work, etc. in much smaller geographical areas. Due to the decrease of traditional clothes usage in the world, it suffice to say that wearing them in the modern world gives us a sense of pride and belonging. That is the reason why we often wear them on special occasions.
Let’s explore 5 of the most traditional clothes in the world:
- The sari
The sari is also one of the world’s most versatile and stylish garments, which can be draped in many different ways. Its history of sari starts with the early cotton cultivation in the 5th millennium BC. The sari garment comes from the evolution of a popular word ‘sattika’, meaning women’s attire. Sattika was a three-piece ensemble comprising:
- the Antriya — the lower garment,
- the Uttariya — a veil worn over the shoulder or the head and
- the Stanapatta which is a chest band.
In terms of design, the sari evolved with time, incorporating more and more stones and patterns that helped distinguish different social classes. It is today a symbol of femininity and is worn in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
(sources: TNN, Bhakti Mathur, CHARU SURI)
2. The kimono
Originally, “kimono” was the Japanese word for clothing. However, in recent years, the word has been used to refer specifically to traditional Japanese clothing. The first ancestor of the kimono was born in the Heian period (794–1192). By the Edo period (1603–1868) it had evolved into a unisex outer garment called kosode, which means “small sleeves”. Throughout the history of Japan, the Kimono has taken different forms and patterns from the Nara period to the Heian Period, the Kamakura Period, Edo Period and the Meiji period (sources: Web Japan, Cynthia Green, Alicia Joy).
3. The Shuka
Often red with black stripes, shuka cloth is often known as the ‘African blanket’ and is worn by the Maasai people of East Africa. The Maasai are a semi-nomadic group of people from East Africa who are known for their unique way of life, as well as their cultural traditions and customs. Originally, the Maasai wore leather-based animal clothing. In the 1960s, they began using commercial cotton as a means of payment following the slave trade (Source: Leona Chapman, Ubuntu, Afroculture, Nellie Huang).
4. The kilt
The kilt is one of the biggest parts of Scottish heritage. The Gaelic speaking highlanders called it feileadh mor (the “big wrap”), then it evolved to feileadh beag (the “little wrap”) and became the first identifiably “Scottish” costume in the late sixteenth century. As worn today, the kilt today is the lower half of the belted plaid with the back pleats stitched up. The Kilt is the universal symbol for the Scotsman and undoubtedly part of the nation’s identity and history. It’s worn at weddings, christenings, military parades inter alia (Sources: Andrew Bolton, Mathew Newsome, Lochcarron of Scotland).
5. The Keffiyeh
The history of the scarf called Keffiyeh begins with the Sumerians and Babylonians in Mesopotamia. A different version of the Keffiyeh was worn by high ranked individuals and priests, before it got adopted by the peasants as a way of protecting themselves against harsh weather and sand. Beyond fashion, the Keffiyeh tells the story of sailors, merchants of the time. Moreover, it is also a symbol of Palestinian solidarity (Sources: Majdi Habash, Dana Masamra, Layan Al-Yassin, Indlieb Farazi Saber, Qatar foundation)
Our traditional clothes and garments are beautiful and special, because they tell stories,
the stories of people who came before us,
the stories we ought to preserve for next generations.
Do you think there are many similarities in these traditional clothes ?
Visit tells market for more traditional heritage items.
