Pashtun dress: Pathani dress for girls, boys and women

The traditional Pashtun (Pathani) dress for women is the khat, a fitted shirt that flares out to the ankles, worn over a loose partug shalwar with a large chador. It is often embroidered around the neck, sleeves and hem and decorated with beads, buttons and coins. Men wear a shalwar kameez with a waistcoat, a pakol or turban and Peshawari chappal.

Pashtun dress for women

• Khat: a long shirt, close-fitting at the top and flaring wide towards the ankles. Traditional village khats use many metres of cotton.
• Partug: a loose, gathered shalwar worn under the khat.
• Belt: a thick woven or decorated belt tied around the waist on special occasions.
• Chador or dupatta: a large head covering, plain for daily wear and embroidered for weddings.

In cities, many Pashtun women wear the national shalwar kameez in modern cuts, and keep the full traditional dress for weddings, Eid and culture days.

Pashtun and kuchi-style embroidery

Pashtun women's dresses, especially in villages and among nomadic families, are some of the most decorated in the region. Typical details:

• Dense embroidery around the neck opening, down the chest and on the cuffs, in red, green, orange and pink.
• Beads, buttons and coins sewn onto the chest panel and hem.
• Small mirrors set into the embroidery, as in Sindhi and Balochi work.

Very bright, heavily decorated dresses of this kind are often called kuchi dresses after Afghanistan's nomadic Kuchi Pashtuns.

Pathani dress for girls and kids

"Pathani dress for girls" is one of the most searched cultural outfits before school culture days. A complete look:

• A long, flared, embroidered frock (khat style) or a kuchi-style dress.
• A plain or matching shalwar.
• A bright dupatta, and a small embroidered cap or forehead jewellery.

For baby girls, a short embroidered frock with a shalwar is the easiest to wear.

Pashtun dress for men and boys

Men and boys wear a loose shalwar kameez, often white, grey or earth-coloured, with:

• A waistcoat (often black or grey).
• A pakol (the rolled wool Chitrali cap) or a turban (pagrai).
• Peshawari chappal, the famous leather sandals.
• A shawl (chadar) over the shoulder in winter.

Pashtun Culture Day outfits

Pashtun Culture Day is celebrated every year on 23 September, with the attan dance, music and traditional dress in Peshawar, Quetta, Islamabad, Karachi and in Pashtun communities in the Gulf.

• Girls: an embroidered frock or kuchi-style dress, shalwar, dupatta and jewellery.
• Boys: shalwar kameez, waistcoat, pakol and Peshawari chappal.

See ideas for every culture in the Pakistani culture day guide.

Ordering a Pashtun style dress

Balochify specialises in hand-embroidered Balochi dresses, and our artisans also do mirror work and bright, dense embroidery. If you want a Pashtun or kuchi-style dress, send us a picture of the style. 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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