Newar traditional clothing

Men's common costume consists of a long shirt called tapālan (Nepal Bhasa: तपालं) and tight fitting trousers known as suruwā (सुरुवा:). A waistcoat and coat may be worn over the shirt. Today, the garment is worn during special occasions, official functions and festivals while it is still everyday wear for many among the older generation. Men dress in tapālan and suruwā and women wear the hāku patāsi when taking part in the New Year's Day parade of Nepal Sambat. This traditional dress is also worn during wedding processions. ==Hāku patāsi==

Women wear black cotton saris with a red border known as hāku patāsi (हाकु पतासि) or hāku parsi (हाकु पर्सि). It is still widely used especially among farmer women as everyday wear and is the most popular dress during festive occasions. A blouse fastened with cloth ties called misālan (मिसालं) is worn with the sari. A shawl, gā (गा), is wrapped around the upper part of the body. In 1973, Nepal's Postal Services Department issued a commemorative stamp of a woman and a man dressed in haku patāsi and tapālan to show the traditional clothing of the Kathmandu Valley. The stamp was part of a series on the costumes of various parts of Nepal. ==Sayn kaytā==

Sayn kaytā (सँय कयता) are traditional men's trousers. They were worn mostly by the merchant and courtier classes till the 1930s. The baggy trousers are gathered at the knee and fastened with a piece of string. The trousers feature a drawstring tie waist. The material used to make the sayn kayta is raw silk. A pair requires 6 yards of material. The sayn kayta is worn with a long shirt which is held in place by cloth ties. A cotton cummerbund completes the set. ==Parsi==

Some classes of Newar women wore plain or printed [sari]s known as parsi (पर्सि). It has many pleats which are gathered at the front and tied in a bunch with a piece of string. These saris were up to 20 yards long. ==Bhāntānlan==

Girls wear an ankle-length tight-fitting gown known as bhāntānlan (भान्तांलं) which extends from the neck to the ankles. It is smitten at the sides to reveal the legs; the upper part is fastened with cloth ties. Drop crotch pants were another popular item of clothing for girls. They are worn with a knee-length dress. ==Ceremonial attire==

Special costumes are worn during lifecycle ceremonies like Janku, a baby's first rice feeding, initiation rites, weddings, old-age rituals and investitures. A child undergoing his or her first rice feeding is dressed in a vest and cap made of brocade. Boys celebrating their coming-of-age ceremony wear a loincloth. For Buddhist boys, the corresponding right is Bare Chhuyegu which is an initiation into the monkhood, and they wear a monk's robe. Girls dress up in the fancy attire of silk and brocade in grown-up designs for their Ihi and Baray, two ceremonies they undergo before reaching their teens. Priests wear ankle-length pleated gowns during special religious services. Caps, turbans and crowns are the headwear worn with ceremonial garments. ==Historical gallery==

File:Nepalese men in coats 1930s.jpg|Men in local dress and Western coats, c. 1930 File:Newar gentlemen of Kathmandu 1940.jpg|Men in tapālan and suruwā, c. 1940 Brahman (Rajopadhyaya) woman in parsi with her children, circa 1930 --> File:Newar bride 1941.jpg|Bride flanked by two women in parsi, 1941 File:Kathmandu women ca 1930-35.jpg|Group of women, c. 1930-1935 File:Manandhar women in Kathmandu circa 1890.jpg|Manandhar women in Kathmandu, c. 1890 File:Manandhar men in Kathmandu circa 1925.jpg|Manandhar men in Kathmandu, c. 1925 File:Mathema men in sayn kayta 1890.jpg|Mathema (subdivision: Chhathariya) men in sayn kaytā, 1890 File:Shakyas 1868-1875.jpg|Shakyas in jāmā gowns, c. 1868-1875 File:Newar women weavers 1920s.jpg|Newar women weavers in Kathmandu, 1894 File:Traditional_dress_of_Kathmandu_1973.jpg|Stamp showing traditional clothing of Kathmandu ==Modern gallery==

Newa Dress Girl.jpg|A girl is preparing to go to school in a Newari dress Tapaln Newar girl.jpg|Newar girl in cultural dress Bel Marriage02.jpg|Newar children in Nepal performing Ihi, also known as Bel Marriage Newari lady.jpg|Newar lady in her traditional dress Newarni of Saldanda Village Syangja.jpg|Newar woman of Saldanda Village, Syangja Nepal Newar girls.jpg|Newar girls playing stones Pakhawaaja (Newar drum).jpg|Newar man playing Pakhawaaja (Newar drum) Newari cultural dress2.jpg|Music performed by the Newar community in Lalitpur district File:Bhimshen Jatra4.jpg|Newar ladies during Bhiumshen jatra at Sunakethi, Lalitpur. ==See also==