Rather than baggy pants, women instead wore skirts and dresses. However, the Western fashion world went in a completely different direction from the East- both literally and figuratively □ Although Europe had much the same ideology of feminine “modesty”, this manifested itself in a different way. Turner WilcoxĪlgerian Lady in Traditional Dress, Source Up until the last century, this remained the standard outfit of Middle Eastern women.įrom Mode In Costume, by R. The combination of these trousers, and the large mantle effectively concealed the body, and maintained modesty. However, whenever women left their homes, they did not wear the more revealing trousers, instead wearing baggy ankle length trousers, long tunics and shawls over their upper body and head. While we do have some record of what men were wearing, one of the earliest records of women’s fashions is from 5th century BC, in which a Queen is depicted wearing trousers and a long tunic. Interestingly enough, women are also shown wearing more fitted and “modern” styled trousers underneath long tunics at home. There is very little evidence of what women wore in ancient Persian/Middle Eastern cultures, as there are no records depicting women in artwork of the time. They are thought to have developed from the man’s dhoti, which was a skirt/tunic tied and wrapped into a trouser shape, eventually evolving into a true trouser like garment. Originating in ancient Persia about 2,000 years ago (as we don’t have any records to substantiate the fashion before then) these trousers were everyday clothes for both men and women. This style of pant is alive and well, yet despite the fact that this fashion has been around for ages, much like the Turban, which I shared about in my post here, it has only been sporadically and minimally popular in the West. When my brother was traveling in Nepal, he saw many people wearing this style of pant, and even purchased a pair like the ones I have, only in red. Yet in much of the world- the Middle East, African, and Asian cultures- these pants are still worn daily by both men and women as a practical and comfortable everyday garment. Even the name “Harem Pants” conjures up images of foreign, glamorous and outrageous fashions. Harem pants are one of those distinctly “exotic” garments we encounter very little in the Western world. (Other languages also use the word “shalwar” for this style of garment, with variations on spelling.) These are simply the Turkish and Persian words for “pants”. ) The true name for these pants, which are “extremely full, puffed Turkish-style pants, very full at the waist and gathered at the ankle”*, is “Salvar” or “Shalwar”. Most commonly known as “harem pants” in the West, they can also go by the names “genie pants”, “elephant pants”, “Aladdin pants”, “parachute pants”, “Sarouel pants”, “Thai pants”, “pantaloons”, and “bloomers” (And I am sure the list goes on. Harem pants have got to be one of the most interesting and comfortable garments ever invented, and honestly I don’t know why they are not more popular in Western fashion. Nicole fashion history, style tips fashion history, vintage JHarem Pants: A Most Interesting and Scandalous History
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