North Region Traditional Dress

The main states covering North India are Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab
Salwar Kameezes are worn mainly by the women of northern India but is favoured all over India by now. It is impossible to tell by dress whether a Punjabi woman is a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian - they all dress in salwar kameez with a dupatta. The Kashmiri and the Himachali women wear a similar dress. Theirs is thicker to suit to the climate and the embroidery done on them is particular to the region. This traditional dress in Kashmir is called Phiran. The long, loose pheran covers their physique no doubt, but does not blunt their physical appeal. In Himachal Pradesh also, traditional dresses comprises of Kameez, Kurta and Salwar in distinctive Himachali style.

Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh
The traditional dress for women here is the lehenga choli or ghagra choli. These cholis are brightly embroidered, waist-length bare-backed blouses. Ghagras or lehengas are gathered ankle-length skirts secured around the waist. The attire is completed by a veil-cloth called odhni or dupatta draped across the neck or over the head. The lehenga-choli or ghagra choli is extremely colourful.