Churidar Hosiery (1)

01-Churidar

Churidars  or more properly churidar pyjamas are tightly fitting trousers worn by both men and women in South Asia. Churidars are a variant of the common salwar pants. Salwars are cut wide at the top and narrow at the ankle. Churidars narrow more quickly, so that contours of the leg are revealed. They are usually cut on the bias, making them naturally stretchy. Stretch is important when pants are closefitting. They are also longer than the leg and sometimes finish with a tightly fitting buttoned cuff at the ankle. The excess length falls into folds and appears like a set of bangles resting on the ankle (hence 'churidar'; 'churi': bangle, 'dar': like). 

When the wearer is sitting, the extra material is the "ease" that makes it possible to bend the legs and sit comfortably. The word churidar is from Hindi and made its way into English only in the 20th century.  Earlier, tight fitting churidar-like pants worn in India were referred to by the British as Moghul breeches, long-drawers, or mosquito drawers.

The churidar is usually worn with a kameez (tunic) by women or a kurta (a loose overshirt) by men, or they can form part of a bodice and skirt ensemble.

Thawb Gown(26)

Thawb

A thawb or thobe  is an ankle-length garment, usually with long sleeves, similar to a robe. It is commonly worn in Iraq and Arab countries bordering the Persian Gulf. An izaar is typically donned underneath.

The word thawb is the standard Arabic word for 'a garment'. It is the traditional Arabian clothing for men. It is sometimes spelled thobe or thaub. It is a tunic, generally long. The word is used specifically for this garment in the Persian Gulf region. There has been some debate regarding the correct length of the thawb.

Prevalence

The thawb is commonly worn by men in the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, and other Arab countries in the Persian Gulf. It is normally made of cotton, but heavier materials such as sheep's wool can also be used, especially in colder climates in Iraq and Syria. The style of the thawb varies slightly among the various regions within the Persian Gulf. The sleeves and the collar can be stiffened to give a more formal appearance. Other names may be used for this garment. In Souraqia and Oman, dishdasha is the most common word for the garment; in the UAE, the word kandura is used. In Morocco, the sleeves tend to be much shorter so that the thawb may seem more like a long T-shirt and is locally called gandora. Also the neck tends to be more open than in its Saudi counterpart and is often embroidered as is the breast pocket. Also it might lack buttons altogether.

The term thawb is also used to refer to similar women's garments. The traditional Palestinian woman's long tunic is called thawb. Another example is a very long, over-sized woman's garment with a heavily embroidered front panel and billowing back, also known as a Khaleeji dress, which is most commonly seen in the West worn for performance of the Saudi women's social-style dances, in which manipulation of the large thawb is a key component.

This garment is also known as Kanzu in Swahili, and is commonly worn on the Swahili Coast by Swahili men.

Other occasions

A thawb or thaub can sometimes be worn with what is known as "besht" or in other parts of the Arabian Peninsula abat "عباة" which means a robe. It is usually worn in ceremonial occasions or by officials; a "besht", "بشت" can be worn in a wedding, Eid, and funerals. It may refer to a status of wealth and royalty, or sometimes a religious position. It was originally manufactured in Syria, Iraq and Jordan, and it is usually worn in Jordan, Syria, Iraq and the Arabian peninsula.

Surplice Gown(25)

Surplice

A surplice (Late Latin superpelliceum, from super, "over" and pellis, "fur") is a liturgical vestment of the Western Christian Church. The surplice is in the form of a tunic of white linen or cotton fabric, reaching to the knees or to the ankles, with wide or moderately wide sleeves.

It was originally a long garment with open sleeves reaching nearly to the ground, as it remains in the Anglican tradition, but in the Catholic tradition, the surplice often has shorter, closed sleeves and square shoulders. Anglicans typically refer to a Roman-style surplice with the Medieval Latin term cotta [meaning 'cut-off' in Italian], as it is derived from the cut-off alb. English-speaking Catholics, however, typically do not make the distinction between the two styles, and refer to both by the term "surplice".

Origin and variation

It seems most probable that the surplice first appeared in France or England, whence its use gradually spread to Italy. It is possible that there is a connection between the surplice and the Gallican or Celtic alb, an ungirdled liturgical tunic of the old Gallican Rite, which was superseded during the Carolingian era by the Roman Rite. The founding of the Augustinian Canons in the second half of the eleventh century may have had a special influence upon the spread of the surplice. Among the Augustinian Canons the surplice was not only the choir vestment, but also a part of the habit of the order.

The surplice originally reached to the feet, but as early as the 13th century it began to shorten, though as late as the 15th century it still fell to the middle of the shin, and only in the 17th and 18th centuries in Continental Europe did it become considerably shorter. In several localities it underwent more drastic modifications in the course of time, which led to the appearance of various subsidiary forms alongside the original type. For example:

the sleeveless surplice, which featured holes at the sides to put the arms through

the surplice with slit arms or lappets (so-called "wings") instead of sleeves, often worn by organists today, due to the ease of maneuvering the arms

the surplice with not only the sleeves but the body of the garment itself slit up the sides, precisely like the modern dalmatic

a sort of surplice in the form of a bell-shaped mantle, with a hole for the head, which necessitated the arms sticking out under the hem.

The first two of these forms developed very early; and, in spite of their prohibition by synods here and there (for example that of Liège circa 1287), they survive in various places to the present day. The latter two only appeared after the close of the Middle Ages: the first of them in South Germany, the second more especially in Venetia, where numerous pictorial records attest its use. As a rule, however, only the lower clergy wore these subsidiary forms of surplice. They came about partly under the influence of secular fashions, but more particularly for convenience.

Smock-frock Gown(24)

Smock-frock

A smock-frock or smock is an outer garment traditionally worn by rural workers, especially shepherds and waggoners, in parts of England and Wales from the early eighteenth century. Today, the word smock refers to a loose overgarment worn to protect one's clothing, for instance by a painter.

The traditional smock-frock is made of heavy linen or wool and varies from thigh-length to mid-calf length. Characteristic features of the smock-frock are fullness across the back, breast, and sleeves folded into "tubes" (narrow unpressed pleats) held in place and decorated by smocking, a type of surface embroidery in a honeycomb pattern across the pleats that controls the fullness while allowing a degree of stretch.

Types of smock-frocks

1. The round smock is a pullover style with an open neckline and a flat, round collar. This smock is reversible front-to-back.
2. The shirt smock or Surrey smock is styled like a man's shirt, with a collar and a short placket opening in the front. It is not reversible.
3. The coat smock worn by Welsh shepherds is long and buttons up the front in the manner of a coat

Development

It is uncertain whether smock-frocks are "frocks made like smocks" or "smocks made like frocks"—that is, whether the garment evolved from the smock, the shirt or underdress of the medieval period, or from the frock, an overgarment of equally ancient origin. What is certain is that the fully developed smock-frock resembles a melding of the two older garments.

From the earlier eighteenth century, the smock-frock was worn by waggoners and carters; by the end of that century, it had become the common outer garment of agricultural labourers of all sorts throughout the Midlands and Southern England. The spread of the smock-frock matches a general decrease in agricultural wages and living standards in these areas in the second half of the eighteenth century. The smocks were cheaper than other forms of outer garments, and were both durable and washable.

Embroidery styles for smock-frocks varied by region, and a number of motifs became traditional for various occupations: wheel-shapes for carters and wagoners, sheep and crooks for shepherds, and so on. Most of this embroidery was done in heavy linen thread, often in the same color as the smock.

By the mid-nineteenth century, wearing of traditional smock-frocks by country laborers was dying out, although Gertrude Jekyll noticed them in Sussex during her youth, and smocks were still worn by some people in rural Buckinghamshire into the 1920s. As the authentic tradition was fading away, a romantic nostalgia for England's rural past, as epitomized by the illustrations of Kate Greenaway, led to a fashion for women's and children's dresses and blouses loosely styled after smock-frocks. These garments are generally of very fine linen or cotton and feature delicate smocking embroidery done in cotton floss in contrasting colors; smocked garments with pastel-colored embroidery remain popular for babies.

Sleeved blanket Gown(23)

 Sleeved blanket

A sleeved blanket is a unisex body-length blanket with sleeves usually made of fleece or Vellux material. It is similar in design to a bathrobe that is meant to be worn backwards (i.e., with the opening in the back). The product has been marketed by various brands as the Snuggie, Snuggler, Doojo, Toasty Wrap, and Slanket, with varying sizes, colors and qualities of materials but similar basic design.The "Snuggie" brand itself also became a phenomenon of pop culture, outselling other brands and being referenced or imitated by many comedians or TV shows.

Popularity

In late 2008 and early 2009 the Snuggie brand of sleeved blankets became a pop culture phenomenon, sometimes described humorously as a "cult" 

The product became famous after a direct response commercial promoting the product was aired. It was featured on television programs like Today where cast and crew donned Snuggie blankets for a segment which was described as looking like a gospel choir. Others have described mass-snuggie wearing as looking like a Harry Potter convention.The Associated Press likened it to a "monk's ensemble in fleece" and proclaimed it the "ultimate kitsch gift". The Snuggie initially sold singly for $14.95, and later in sets of two for $19.95.

Commercial variations

The Slanket was created by Gary Clegg using a sleeping bag in Maine in 1998 (before the Snuggie). Clegg's mother made him a blanket with a single sleeve for use in his cold dorm room. Clegg later developed that into the Slanket with two sleeves.

The Snuggie sleeved blanket product has been sold in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It was marketed primarily through a memorable television commercial. As of January 2009, over 20 million of the product had been sold.

Travel blanket for children (up to size 5) which complies with federal safety regulations for car seats and strollers. GO-GO Blankets were created in 2007 by a grandmother in New Jersey who wanted to find a solution to keeping children safe and warm in a car seat without bulky winter wear.

There is also an Italian version sold in Europe, Canada, and Japan called the "Kanguru" with a pocket in the middle