Hazaragi dress: Hazara traditional dress designs

The traditional Hazaragi dress for women is a long, long-sleeved dress reaching the calf or ankle, with a close collar, side slits and an embroidered chest yoke, worn over a full skirt and trousers (tunban) with a large scarf. Festive dresses are often in velvet or shiny fabric with gold or silver borders. Hazara embroidery is known for very fine cross-stitch and herringbone work.

Hazaragi dress for women

• Long dress: calf or ankle length, long sleeves, a close collar and slits at the sides.
• Embroidered yoke: the chest panel (yakhan) is the most decorated part, matched by embroidered cuffs.
• Skirt and tunban: a full, gathered skirt and trousers underneath, which make the dress swing when walking and dancing.
• Scarf: a large scarf or chador, often with fringe or a woven border.

Festive dresses often use a plainer fabric for the lower skirt and a richer one, such as velvet or zari, for the top, with decorative borders at the hem.

Hazara embroidery

Hazara embroidery is counted-thread work: very fine lines of cross stitch and herringbone stitch that build small geometric patterns, worked on cotton or silk. Flower embroidery (gulduzi) is also common on the yoke, sleeves and hem. Like Balochi doch embroidery, it is slow, careful handwork passed from mother to daughter.

Hazaragi dress colours and new designs

People often search for a blue, green or long Hazaragi dress. Popular choices:

• Royal blue or emerald green velvet with gold borders, the classic festive look.
• Red, pink and purple for girls and young women.
• Darker colours such as maroon and black for older women.
• New designs keep the long silhouette and yoke but use lighter fabrics and machine or hand-embroidered borders for everyday wear.

Hazaragi dress for girls and kids

For a school culture day, a girl's Hazaragi outfit is a long, bright dress with an embroidered yoke and full skirt, trousers, a fringed scarf and jewellery. Velvet in blue or green with gold trim photographs beautifully.

See outfit ideas from every culture in the Pakistani culture day guide.

Hazaragi dress for men

Hazara men usually wear a shalwar kameez with a waistcoat, and for culture events often add a round embroidered cap and a shawl over the shoulder. Boys wear the same in small sizes.

Ordering a Hazaragi style dress

Balochify specialises in hand-embroidered Balochi dresses, made by women artisans. If you want a Hazaragi-style dress with an embroidered yoke and borders, send us a picture. We tell you honestly whether we can make it, and the price and time. We take orders from Pakistan, the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

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