Tajik textiles - Clothing & Sewing

One of the first things I noticed, upon arriving in Tajikistan, was the colorful style of dress of the women – nearly every woman in Dushanbe wears a similar style of clothing, of a long dress (kurta) over a pair of loose, elastic-waisted pants sort of like pajama pants.

The population of Tajikistan is about 98% Muslim, so conservative dress is preferred. That explains the loose, flowing tops over long pants – shorts are out of the question. Sleeves can be either short or long, depending on the weather and the occasion. The necklines were sometimes surprisingly low.

Sewing one's own clothes is a common skill for women in Tajikistan. A number of housewives I met worked part-time as seamstresses, and my host mother was able to sew clothing for her family (though she preferred to employ a seamstress, because she didn't like it very much!).

The bazaars are filled with all kinds of fabric, from material at 9 somoni a meter (about $2) all the way up to 70 or 80 som (that's up to $20 a meter) – those are normally colorfu velour decorated with rhinestones or sequins, reserved for special occasions such as weddings.
As far as I know, most of the fabric at Tajik bazaars probably comes from China, but Tajikistan does grow cotton for export.



I was lucky enough to have three Tajik outfits sewn for me - two were gifts from my host family, and the remaining one's fabric was a gift from a friend, which I then employed a seamstress to sew for me.




~Joyuna