The culture of Uzbekistan doesn’t come from a sole background but it is a blend of various ethnic groups and communities. The population mainly consists of the Uzbek, the Russians, the Tajiks and the Armenians, so the cultural and traditional values are much influenced by these nations. Same is the case with the traditional dress of Uzbekistan. Till the end of the nineteenth century, the Islamic impression was dominated upon the traditional clothing of Uzbekistan. Like other Central Asian states, the clothing mainly included the long tunic shirts, a wide pants and a jacket. As we have told you earlier there is not much difference in the male and female Tajik traditional dress, the position was the same for the traditional Uzbek attire. The males had the horizontal neckline opening while the females had the vertical ones. Designs and the patterns were almost the same for the whole classes; however the quality of the decoration, embroidery and fabric was superior for the upper class.

An Uzbek man in his traditional dress ( Image: Marti Brown )

The traditional costume for Uzbek men comprised of a loose fitting cotton coat that was actually a long-sleeved jacket prepared with a fabric of colorful stripes. This was also called as “Khal’at”. Normally a white tunic shirt was used underneath that was folded by a banded fabric. Trousers were stitched wider but narrowed to the bottom and were tucked into soft leather boots with pointed toes. A typical Uzbek cap or turban was a compulsory accessory to the traditional Uzbek costume for men.

An old lady from a village of Uzbekistan ( Image: Jonathan Hodgson )

Similarly, the traditional dress of the Uzbek women was also including the “Khal’at” same like the men’s coat, loose cut pants and a wide tunic shirt. The sleeves of the tunic shirt were kept wide till the wrists and the bottom of the pants were embellished with floral decorations. A proper head covering was must for the Uzbek woman so they used a scarf tied round the head, leaving long ends hanging down the back. Similarly, a woman was required to cover herself with a cloak when outside of the house. For footwear, the Uzbek women used low heeled shoes made of leather.

A cute and smiling Uzbek girl in her traditional dress ( Image: mittu12 )

When the twentieth century started, Russian influence made an impression upon the clothing of the Uzbek people. The clothing was evolved to closer out fits and today the dress with a yoke is considered the traditional Uzbek women’s costume.

Some smiling Uzbek girls wearing traditional dresses ( Dato' Prof. Dr. Jamaludin )

 Presently, the traditional dress of Uzbekistan doesn’t exist to its genuine form due to the Western craze in fashion, however the local garment industry produces the dresses with traditional designs and the ancient patterns which are still popular among the Uzbek community.

An exotic pose by Uzbek girls during a folk dance performance ( Image: Ramesh Lalwani )