Kurdish clothing

Kurdish traditional clothing (Cilî kurdî, Cil û bergî kurdî or Cil û bergên kurdî) is a historical and contemporary aspect of Kurdish heritage.

Types of clothing and accessories

 * Star Xani
 * Kattafi
 * Kawa u Salta
 * Pishten
 * Puzawana
 * Kolwana
 * Klash
 * Shalvar (wide trousers which close at the ankles closely)

Traditional Kurdish dress
Kurdish men wear their traditional dress routinely, not only on special occasions. They wear leather boots and sometimes sandals. In the past, Kurdish costume was worn on many days. Currently some women still wear it on a daily basis, especially those of older generations. Everyday attire tends to be modest in colour, with little or no accessories or embroideries. In the present day, Kurdish dress is more commonly worn on special occasions.

The traditional Kurdish women's outfit includes either a vest or long-sleeved jacket or a long overcoat worn over a gown. An underdress and puffy pants are worn beneath the gown. A belt over the gown is also needed. Traditionally, women wore Kurdish hats ornamented with valuable coloured stones, beads and gold pieces. This has become less common over time. Now it is more popular among women to accessorise solely with gold jewellery.

Usually, younger women and girls wear brightly coloured dresses adorned with several beads and sequins, while older women wear darker colours. However, older women tend to wear more gold jewellery because traditionally when women married they would receive a dowry of gold jewellery pieces from their groom.

Costume pieces



 * Vest, long-sleeved jacket and overcoat: This is either made from a plain fabric, a velveteen fabric or a sequin covered fabric.
 * Gown: This is usually the dazzling masterpiece of the outfit. Most commonly, Kurdish women wear a mesh fabric or a sheer fabric which is ornamented skillfully with many beads or sequins, or both. The embroidery can be the same colour as the fabric, or multicoloured to create a bright dress. The brightly coloured outfits characterize the spirit of the Kurdish people. There are many different structural designs of the gown. The most common ones today are the traditional Kurdish region gown, which is straight top to bottom with very long sleeves, and the Kurdish-Iranian gown, which is frilly from the waist down.
 * Under layers: The under dress and trousers are made of a plain satin fabric usually matching the colour of the gown.
 * Belt: Fabric belts are colour coordinated with any piece of the outfit. Married women tend to wear gold belts. There are two common types:
 * Lira belt; a gold belt made entirely from connected gold lira coins or dangling gold liras.
 * Gobarah belt: similar to a lira belt, but made with inexpensive coins.
 * Trousers: These are a type of traditional Kurdish clothing for men. It consists of two main parts: Renek and Çoxe, together Çoxo-Renek (Sorani: چۆخۆ ڕەنەک, in Iran: چوخو رانک)
 * The rank is worn like pants, but is usually almost twice as wide as normal pants.
 * The Çoxe is like a jacket, but the bottom of it goes inside the chogha. In addition, a shirt must be worn under the chogha.
 * Traditional hat: This is usually black velveteen ornamented with traditional amber, turquoise beads, and gold or silver charms.
 * Traditional jewellery: This is gold, with gold charms and traditional amber, red or black beads and occasional dangling lira coins.
 * Şîlane: This is a long gold necklace with amber, red or black beads and dangling leaf-shaped charms.
 * Meglad: This is a large black stone dangling from a gold chain.

Modern dress
Modern Kurdish women's dress is traditional. It is, however, still fashionable amongst the Kurdish community. Kurdish women and men often have a large collection of Kurdish clothing and frequently seek out new designs and fabric. They usually buy the fabrics of their choice and then have clothing tailored, as there are tailors who specialise in Kurdish clothes. Recently these respected tailors have turned into designers, creating variations on the conventional structure of the dress. In villages, women usually tailor for their entire family after everyone chooses their fabric.

There are many different styles of the Kurdish clothes, and in recent years there have been several fashion shows, showcased for a Kurdish and international audience. Shows have been held in Vancouver, Canada; in Melbourne, Australia, at the Kurdish Film Festival by the Kurdish Women's Society; and at the Hackney Museum as part of their Kurdish Cultural Heritage Project.