Traditional clothing of Scotland

The Highland dress refers to the traditional dress of Scotland which are globally admired and recognised as a symbol of Scotland. Kilt appears to be the characteristic dress of the Highland from the sixteenth century.

A kilt is a knee length skirt without any bifurcation whose upper half could be draped around the shoulder or brought up over the head as a hood. Dress of scottish women is not much of a difference than the costume of women in neighbouring countries (England and Ireland). Something equivalent to Kilt worn by women would be a traditional item known as Earasaid.

Chinese Traditional clothing

Traditional attires are mostly worn on festivals, ceremonies or religious occasions. Attire worn by Chinese women is named as Qipao. It is suitable for wearing in all seasons and it can be either long or short. Qipao is a one piece cloth style. They also wear a two piece cloth style called as Qungua or Kua which is also adorned with a gold dragon and a phoenix pattern.

Traditional Wedding Costumes: Chinese traditional wedding costumes vary in different dynasties and time periods. However, they are red most of the time as red is considered lucky, happy and auspicious in the country’s culture. The most well-known are red chaplet and official robes, which are still widely worn today by newly wed in traditional style wedding ceremonies or for taking wedding photos.

Traditional clothing of Arab States

Women in Arab states usually wear a long black robe called Abayah that covers the body from shoulders to feet. Under this, she could be wearing a traditional Arabian dress or a designer wear. Abayah is worn with a Hijab that covers the neck and part of the head. Some may add a Niqab which covers the mouth and nose leaving just the eyes exposed. Traditional abayah is black in colour but today you might see multiple colours with embroideries.

The same goes for men and depending on the country they reside in or whether they live in a rural or urban area you will find men wearing the western style clothes or they might wear the traditional “Dishdasha”, “Thawb” and “Kaffiyeh” with “Igal”

(History) Traditional dress of North America

 North American's respect for nature is clearly evident in their clothing as the only major constant in their clothing prior to European contact was the use of the skins of animals, mostly the tanned skins of the variety of mammals like buffalo, mountain sheep and deer was the most prevalent. Even the decorative items were made of either quills of the porcupine or bird feathers.

Natives created textile clothing technology that mainly utilised fibers harvested from gathered plant products and sometimes used spun thread made from hair from both domesticated and captured animals. Even hats and footwear were made out of plant material. Dyes and paints were used to colour the main parts of the clothes.

Although native beliefs and culture have been legally suppressed , they have adapted and changed to new lifestyles.

Traditional dress of Germany and Austria

Austria and Germany share a similar passion for traditional dress. They use the same Dirndls for women and Lederhosen for men.


Dirndl is a must have look for Octoberfest. Dirndl usually consists of a blouse, full skirt and apron. Winter style involves thicker skirts and apron made of wool and full sleeves. Frequency of wearing a Dirndl varies depending on the age and region. It is used as an everyday dress by older women in rural areas while other women may wear it on special occasions.

Tracht also plays a good role in Octoberfest. In former times, bride used to get it as a part of dowry. Lederhosen are leather shorts that goes to the knees. They are usually worn with high socks which sometimes may come up to the knees.

Polish Traditional dress

Poland is the country which share its border with no less than seven countries. This is the place where people peel bananas from the blossom end but not the stem end.

Well, to talk about polish traditional dress, they vary from region. Their sensitivity to colours is very admirable. Their dress usually involves a lot of embroidery. We look at traditional polish dress as objects of art. Their folk costumes are still worn at special occasions like weddings and in rural parts of the country by old generations.

One thing that surprises me is their shoes called as "tyszowiaki" which has no distinction between the right and the left shoe, both are completely identical and same.

Their wardrobes are seen filled with embroider dresses in all possible colours. Almost all the dresses were either made of silk, wool or linen. Talking about jewellery, basic element is always red corals.

Brazilian Traditional clothing

Brazil, the country famous for its culture, art, music and festivals holds the fame for its traditional attire too. Usually traditional clothing evolves from their traditions, climatic conditions and history of the country. Brazilian clothing is definitely famous for its super popping colours.

Their clothing vary from region as well. For instance, people from north eastern part of the country, preferably from Bahia region pair the long skirts with scarves and shawls. People from southern plains prefer cowboy boots, hats and baggy pants which they call as bombachas. In Amazon you get to see people paint their faces, body decorated using beads and feathers.

Again people who reside in cities follow western clothing while people from country side wear inexpensive cotton wear.

As, Brazil is a hub for beautiful beaches, bikini and bermudas.

Most of the Brazil's traditional look can be seen at the time of carnivals. Samba dancers can be seen with their figure hugging dress but not revealing paired with high heels and their glamorous headdress bejeweled with feathers, colourful jewellery and outstanding make up.

Traditional dress of Vietnam

The trend is same that of other countries to wear western clothing in Urban areas and traditional clothing in rural areas. Their dresses are usually made up of cotton or silk which are hand oven mostly. Such fabric helps to cope up with heat and humidity.

Their traditional dress is called as "Ao Dai" which may be pronounced as Ao zai or Ao yai. It is a body hugging tunic with long sleeves worn with loose trousers. Tunic has splits on the sides that extend above the waist height. Generally married women weat bright and colourful ao dai, unmaaried women wear pastel colours and young girls go with the white one.

They pair it up with the conical hat which protect them from hot sun, rain and rough wind. Both men and women wear them but they have a lot of design which vary a lot.

Men traditional costume is ao dai too, but much shorter and fuller and worn with trousers.

WOMEN'S TRADITIONAL CLOTHING-INDIA

India being a multi-cultural and multi-religious society has its own distinct traditional clothing for each and every state. It varies with region, religion and community. For instance phiran and poots in Kashmir, ghagra in Punjab, mundu in Kerala. Festival season marriage ceremony are the best ways to explore India and its culture and this is when one can find maximum Indians wearing their ethinic wear with a lot of pride.

Sari is the most traditional piece of clothing worn in India irrespective of religion and region. A sari is a long strip of multi coloure cloth seductively wrapped around the body. There are more than 80 recorded ways to wear a sari. The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with the loose end of the drape to be worn over the shoulder, baring the midriff.

Saree-draping styles

North & East India:

The main states covering North India are Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Jammu
Kashmir and Punjab. Main states in East India are Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West
Bengal. Clothing in these parts of India are mostly paired with Choli (sort of a top) and a
long skirt called lehenga or

Indian youth performing a Punjabi traditional folk dance, the Giddha during Republic Day celebrations at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Amritsar on January 26.

pavada.In northern part of India Salwar Kameez is prevalent among women. Salwar is a type of loose trouser, which is worn with lose Kurta known as Kameez. This Indian dress is usually accompanied by Dupatta, a kind of veil used to cover head or bosom.

West India:

States covered under this part of India are Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharastra. The traditional dress of Indian women in these states is the colourful ghagra choli. The choli is
brightly embroidered, waist-length bare-backed blouses. Ghagras or lehengas are
gathered ankle-length skirts secured around the waist. The attire is completed by an odhni or dupatta draped across the neck or over the head. Saree is also another traditional dress of Gujarat but here the pallu is draped in front rather than over the shoulders.

South India:

South Indian dresses are known for its simple and graceful look. The four South Indian states, namely Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are famous for many reasons. Temples and the sarees of south India top this list. Although there are minor variations in the costumes and ways of wearing, the traditional dresses of South India do not vary too much.

People in chennai have different style of wearing depending on their age and marital status. Pattu-Sari for women, half-Sari for young, unmarried women and pattu  pavadai for little girls.

Rishika Thota

Welcome to my little world.

 My name is Rishika Thota. Pursuing Masters in IT. I am from a country famous for its multi-religion and multi-cultures. Yes, India it is..! Besides, I am from that part of the country which is popularly known as City of Nawabs and famous for a dish named Biryani. The city has kept the rich heritage and culture intact all over the years. Being a part of this city and always surrounded by traditionally involved people slowly dragged my enthusiasm towards its traditional attire. Another huge influence for me to start this blog would be my mother, as she is a fashion designer and kept myself surrounded by all those variety of designer wear.

I am not an amazing bogger, but my interest towards sharing my knowledge on traditional clothing made me do this. This is my debut in writing. Here you can find articles related to all the traditional clothing around the globe.

Feel free to leave your valuable comments.