What Culture Do You Wear?

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Assignment 3-2: What Culture Do You Wear? Pakistani clothing has many similarities with Indian clothing. The most widely known outfit of Pakistan is known as the salawar kameez, which is spelled and said many different ways in the English language. I decided to step away from the most widely known type of Pakistani clothing, and delve deeper into the region of Kashmir, about which I know little, in order to expand my horizons and have a more interesting learning experience with this particular research project. (Map of Kashmir, 2013) Kashmir has been split between the countries of Pakistan and India since 1947. Some of Kashmir is located in the extreme north of the country of India, and another part of Kashmir is located in northeast Pakistan. The Princely State of Kashmir, as it's called, shares many of the characteristics of both countries. The similarities include wearing two layers of dresses together which are called Pheran and Poots. The Pheran and Poots describe the entire outfit and not necessarily one garment or another. This mode of dress may be worn by both men and women, and may also be worn by both Hindu and Muslim people of Kashmir. In winter the bottom layer of Pheran and Poots is made of cotton, for comfort, and the top layer is made of wool. In summer, both layers are made of cotton. In Kashmir, winter can be brutally cold, and the need to layer and adapt the clothing for seasons is necessary. The practicality of the layers is one reason why this mode of dress is so clever, and has been kept for many years (Kaw, 2004). (Picture of Pheran and Poots, 2010) When the Pheran and Poots are worn by a Muslim woman, they fall to the knee. When it is worn by a Hindu woman, it will touch the top of the feet. Sometimes, the muslim style of this dress will have long flowing sleeves and the Hindu version of

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