Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A chador is an outer garment worn by women; it is one possible way in which a Muslim woman may follow the hijab dress code. A chador covers the wearer from head to toe, leaving the face visible, and is traditionally a single large piece of fabric — a semicircle draped over the head and held closed at the front by the wearer's hand or pinned under the chin. The chador is most associated with Iran and neighboring regions. This page explains how it is worn and how it compares with other modest-dress garments.
A chador covers the wearer from head to toe, leaving only her hands and part, or all, of her face exposed. It is similar to a khimar, which is a round head-scarf that leaves the face exposed but only falls to the waist. A chador which covers the face is more commonly called a (full or Afghan) burka.
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/chador). 10/12/04 |
Because a chador has no fastenings, wearing one is a practiced skill: the cloth is draped evenly over the head, the front edges are gathered and held with one hand or secured with a pin, and a headscarf underneath keeps hair covered when the chador shifts. Everyday chadors are usually dark and plain in durable fabric, while lighter colors and patterns appear in some regions and for prayer at home, where a white or printed prayer chador is customary in Iran.
The garment's history in Iran includes periods when it was discouraged or banned by the state and periods when it has been required in certain settings, which gives the chador a public significance beyond dress alone. In form, though, it remains what it has long been: a single generous cloth, cut in a half-circle so it falls in folds from the head to the ground.
Chadors are traditionally cut from a single length of cloth with no sewing except a hem, which keeps the garment inexpensive to make and easy to replace. Fabrics range from everyday crepe and cotton blends to finer cloth for visiting and occasions. Worn with a separate headscarf and, in some settings, a face veil, the chador forms the outermost layer of a complete modest dress system rather than a garment used on its own.
A chador is a large outer garment, traditionally one semicircular piece of cloth, worn over other clothing. It covers the wearer from head to toe with the face left open, and is held closed at the front rather than fastened with buttons or seams.
An abaya is a sewn, long-sleeved, floor-length dress-like garment worn open or closed over clothing, customary in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. A chador, customary mainly in Iran, is an unsewn drape of cloth thrown over the head and held in place, with no sleeves or fastenings built in.
Hijab is the general principle and practice of modest dress, expressed through many different garments. The chador is one of the fuller-coverage garments used to observe it, alongside the headscarf alone, the abaya, and face-covering options such as the niqab.