Danish traditional dresses were historically handmade fabrics, usually made from yarn spun from wool or flax. The traditional dress of Denmark is a hallmark of the Danish culture which has not a very long history but the dresses roughly date back to the eighteenth century. Mostly the dresses were woven by the women themselves or by the professional weavers. Although the dresses had slight variations in different regions of Denmark, yet the patterns were based on a limited color schemes derived from the vegetable dyes.

Danish Dancers in their traditional costumes – Image by Björn Láczay – flickr

The Kingdom of Denmark is situated in Scandinavia which is although a small country but the Danish population living in various rural, urban and island areas have developed a mixed culture in the country. This is the main reason that the variations had made their impact and moderated the Danish clothing.

A model posing in the traditional Danish costume – Image : Kristina V Mack

The Danish women normally used to dress up in their best costume on Sunday and the most significant part of their costume was the superb headdress. This headdress was either in the form of a bonnet or a scarf. The headpiece often consisted of a bonnet, a piece of linen underneath and a scarf to hold it in place, either in broad lace or in embroidered tulle. On the island of Zealand, there was a tradition for trailing bonnets embroidered with gold and silver thread. The traditional skirts or petticoats were long, worn by the layer and invariably covered by an apron of fine silk or embroidered mull. The upper part of the body was covered by a fabric jacket or blouse. A close-fitting bodice fastened by hooks or laced at the front was worn in some regions. Skirts, jackets and bodices were edged and decorated with flat or patterned silk tape while light scarves were worn around the neck to cover the shoulders and throat.

Two old Danish women in their traditional dress – Image courtesy – www.travelphotogallery.net

Like the women, men’s clothing was made mainly of flax and wool but their knee-breaches were often of leather. Long home-knitted white woolen stockings reached above the knee. In addition to long shirts, men wore several jerseys and jackets. The well-off displayed buttons made of silver although usually they were of tin or even horn. Men and women both generally wore clogs while men often had long, leather top-boots and both men and women wore leather dress shoes with a buckle in front.

The traditional dress of Denmark is truly a hallmark of the Danish culture which actually represents the diverse cultural characters of the Danish society.

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The Federal Republic of Nigeria is the most populous nation of the African continent having a population of more than 150 million. The human in habitation in this part of the world started almost 8,000 B.C and this country has gone through rich diversity in ethnicity, cultural variation and geographical distortions. In the ancient times the country was inhabited by some nomadic tribes and around 800 B.C the land of Nigeria was settled by Noks. Since then many other immigrants arrived and made Nigeria as their homeland. In the most recent era the Portuguese, French and British colonizers dominated this country and their cultural influence is also evident from the lives of the Nigerian people.

The Nigerian women in their traditional dresses – Image: Africa Renewal

There is much multifariousness in the cultural clothing of Nigeria and this is due to the diversification in the ethnic classes of Nigeria.  Although in the urban areas of Nigeria the people wear the Western dresses but still many people feel pride in wearing the traditional costumes. We’ll discuss here about the traditional dress of Nigeria.

A Nigerian man in his traditional dress – Image courtesy ; flickr

The men in Nigeria wear the traditional attire which includes buba, fila, sokoto, abeti-aja and agbada. Buba is a loose shirt that goes down till halfway down the thighs and they wear Sokoto as trousers. The traditional headdresses for men are Abeti-aja and Fila.

The women of Nigeria wear the clothing that covers their full body including their heads. Nigerian dresses for women include buba, kaba, iro, gele and iborun or ipele. Buba is a loose blouse that reaches down a little below the waist. Kaba is basically a single-piece dress, which can have different styles. Iro is the bottom part of clothing, which is a rectangular piece of cloth that is wrapped around the waist. Gele is a headgear. It is a rectangular piece of cloth that be tied in different ways to give different looks. Iborun or ipele is a scarf that is either tied around the neck or just can be put diagonally across the body.

A beautiful Nigerian bride in her traditional bridal wear – Image: Simon Remark

The style and pattern on which the traditional dress of Nigeria is stitched is really exclusive and unmatched as compare to other African attires. These dresses are mainly prepared with the materials like lace, jacquard, adire, and Ankara etc.

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Jordan is an Arab country and the Jordanian culture is a blend of the Arabian, Islamic and Modern influences. The capital city Amman is a famous and ancient historic city.  The majority people of Jordan belong to Islam and they speak the Arabic language. English and French are also the official languages and the small geography of Jordan still possesses variation in the clothing and traditions due to various life styles of the Jordanians.

The traditional Jordanian dresses worn by the dancers - Image courtesy : mejourneys.com

The rural population mostly consists of Bedouin and Palestinian communities who have nomadic way of life. The Jordanian Arabians depends upon the agricultural farming and cattle breeding while the greater number of the settled urban Jordanians are educated and perform businesses and other official jobs.

A Jordanian man wearing the traditional dress - sarah g-love's Image

The traditional dress of Jordan is also very unique and fantastic as the traditional clothing for men consists of tunic shirts, trousers and an elaborate over garment with a belt or cummerbund. They also cover their head with the typical Arabian Scarf which is like a turban.

A Jordanian man wearing his traditional Arabic Scarf - Edward Wachtman's Image

The traditional dress for women is very decorative and full of superb craftsmanship and embroidery. This dexterity is full of amazing color patterns and fascinating patchworks. Apart from the heavy load of the tiresome household tasks, the Jordanian women love to wear delicate and embellished dresses.

A beautiful Jordanian girl in her Ttaditional dress - Colin McLurgjpg's Image

The most common part of a Jordanian women’s costume is a long rectangular cleavage which is decorated with tremendous embroidery and it is adjusted in the front of the dress.

A wonderful image of a Jordanian urban girl - Kaaa Teee's Image

In the Northern part, one of the traditional dresses of Jordan is Shirsh which is a long outfit with tight sleeves and a decorated neckline and embroidered sides.

An image of the Jordanian city girls wearing the modern costumes and scarves - Mr. Littlehand's Image

Often, the dresses of central and southern Jordanians are of double length with long pointed sleeves.

Traditional Jordanian Costumes ( Image Courtesy: Wikimedia )

The traditional dress of Jordan represents the unique and ancient culture of this small Arabian country. It also reflects the colors of the ancient Bilad el Sham; the greater Syrian Kingdom.

A Jordanian belly dancer dancing in her traditional costume - Sarah Ackerman's Image

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The Albanian clothing heritage consists of numerous traditional dresses because this country was dominated by various invaders since the Middle Ages. Presently the Republic of Albania is divided into 12 administrative counties and the each county has its own traditional costume. But overall the traditional dress of Albania is full of colors and richness in designs.

Albanian dancers in traditional costumes-Shkumbin's Image

The traditional male dress of Albania includes the Fustanella which is a classical skirt-like garment worn by men. For the lower part of body the Albanian men wear a long trouser which is known as Triq and in some parts of Albania, another traditional pant Çorape is also worn by men.

An Albanian village man in his traditional dress-Vindenis Image

Xhaqete is a traditional vest which is used by the Albanian men in the whole parts of Albania and they also use a belt called as Brez. The Albanian men also used different kinds of headgears in various parts of Albania; the most popular of them are Qeleshe and Fez Their traditional footwear is known as Opinga.

Wonderful Albanian costumes worn by Albanian girls-( diana-flickr-2 )

The Albanian women traditionally wore very colorful, bright, elegantly designed and decorative clothes. They are the best known in the whole Balkan region for the richness in their styles and colors. Xhubleta and Mbështjellëse are the favorite traditional attires of the Albanian women.

Beautiful Albanian girls wearing the traditional dresses- (Asdren Rrahmani's Image)

As it has early been mentioned that there is a tremendous variety of the traditional dresses in Albania, so there are also many kinds of headdresses in use by the Albanian women. They are having distinct designs as some of them are round shaped and the others are right shaped while in some parts Kryqe is also worn which a square is shaped hat.

The Albanian children wearing traditional clothes- ( Disha Thakur's Image )

The Albanian Muslim women wear two types of wedding dresses in their marriage ceremonies. One is worked on a “shajak” (large piece of wool) and with floral motives worked with “gajtan” (kind of rope) black cotton, sometimes mixed with green. The other one is worked in the same material but with red color. Different forms of motifs are used in these bridal costumes as in the first dress the motifs occupy all the area while the second one occupies a little part in the front and back.

An Albanian couple in their wedding dress ( Image: Saimir Gera )

The Catholic Shkodran bride wears the wedding dress which is tripped from the transparent white, shiny, soft, which spreads all over the body, and is intended to suggest tranquility and a warm purity.

Albanian folk dancers in their traditional costumes-Julian Poutzka's Image

The traditional dress of Albania is a magnificent dress which is so attractive for the colorful and golden cloaks, unique jackets and waistcoats and fantastic headdresses. Although in the urban areas of Albania the conservative Western-style dress is common, still every Albanian dislikes wearing shorts or other revealing clothing. The traditional clothing with full swing can be observed in the theatrical or folk dance performances in the main cities.

Some Albanian women dancers in a cultural festival ( Bastlomiej Haluszczak's Image )

Balochistan is the largest province of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in area which is also the richest province in terms of natural resources. But unfortunately, the people of Balochistan are the poorest and the most backward as compare to other parts of the country. There are many reasons for their retardation like the lack of education, slowness in development, ignorance by the authorities, typical tribal system and the everlasting abnormal situation.

But all this has never stopped the Baloch people to continue their lives with their unique traditions and customs. Although the modernization has put some effects upon the centuries old culture of the Baloch people, however, the colors of their culture is much reflected from their day to day affairs even, today. This might not be wrong to say that the most prestigious thing near to Balochs is their culture. Obviously, like many other ancient cultures of the world, where the traditional dresses have much significance, the enlightening feature of the Baloch culture is also their cultural dress. The cultural dresses of Balochistan are called as “phashik” in the Balochi language.

A group of Balochi folk dancers ( Image : mana008 )

The Balochi males who normally belong to the major ethnic communities, Baloch, Pashtoon and Brahvi, all of them wear similar clothes with little divergence. Turban is considered as an integral part of the male dress and they use loose trousers ( Shalwar ) with knee long shirts in their dress. The Baloch woman wears a dress embellished with heavy sleeves and borders. Another prominent part of the woman’s dress is the trio shaped pocket with lots of embroidery. The cultural dresses of Balochistan are prepared with glass and several colored threads. This is not really easy to make such phenomenal dress as it requires lots of hard work and designing.

We have added some of the eye catching images of the fabulous Baloch people in their traditional wears for your interest ;

1- A Model in the Balochi male dress

A Model in the Balochi male dress ( Image : Jaan AlBalushi )

2- A Balochi girl in the typical cultural dress

A Balochi girl in the typical cultural dress ( Image : Nai Baat Pakistan )

3- A Baloch Folk Singer in the cultural dress  

A Baloch Folk Singer in the cultural dress ( Image: Engineer J )

4- A beautiful girl in Baloch dress

A beautiful girl in Baloch dress ( Image: Tahir Kayani )