Thread by @MHuzaifaNizam

The Shalwar Kameez is Pakistan’s national attire and a dress now worn throughout the country.

But it only became this popular in the past century.

So what did our ancestors wear before the Shalwar Kameez?

A collection of unique attires. (🧵)

The fashion of loose trousers combined with tunic like shirts arrived in our region in continuous waves from Central Asia starting with the Kushans two millennia ago

Over the course of time small local variants of this combination arose in various parts of today’s Pakistan.

A Yousafzai Pashtun in his traditional clothing - 1815.

Two punjabis, a man from Rawalpindi and a Bania from elsewhere. - Punjab 1860

Baloch men looking upon followers of the Zikri sect as they engage in a ritual dance. - 1891

A soldier (possibly Baloch) in Sindhi attire serving in the Talpur army of Sindh - early 19th century.

An inhabitant of Kashgar - could be perhaps a mistake with Kashkar (Chitral’s old name derived from Kashgar) owing to the Chitrali cap and attire of the man.

Even if not a mistake, the dress is near identical to the old attire of Chitral.

A native of the walled city of Peshawar (known as the Peshawaris) in the traditional winter dress of Peshawar - 1815

A group of dancing Gilgitis - 1866.

Balti soldiers in the army of the Maharaja of Kashmir - 1883.

Men from Ladakh and soldier of the Maharaja - mid to late 19th century.

The dress of the two men is close to what people from the northwestern portions of J&K wore and perhaps also of the central vale.

Dress of the males within the tribes of Nuristan from before their Islamization.

This thick fur clothing was seen in some photos of Nuristani refugees in Chitral in the early 20th century.

Tanolis of the Hazara region of today’s Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province - early 20th century