Kurdish Clothing - Costume Pieces

Costume Pieces

The vest, long-sleeved jacket and overcoat; are either made from a plain fabric, a velveteen fabric or a sequence covered fabric.

The gown; is usually the dazzling masterpiece of the outfit. Most commonly Kurdish women wear a mesh fabric or a sheer fabric which is ornamented skillfully with many beads or sequence or both. The embroidery can be the same colour as the fabric or multicoloured to create a bright dress. The brightly coloured outfits characterize the spirit of the Kurdish people. There are many different structural designs of the gown. The most common ones today are the traditional Kurdish region gown which is straight top to bottom with very long sleeves and the Kurdish-Iranian gown which is frilly from the waist down. Not to be confused with puffy "Aladdin" style garments.

The under layers; the under dress and trousers are made of a plain satin fabric usually matching the colour of the gown.

The belt; Fabric belts for are colour coordinated with any piece of the outfit. Married women tend to wear gold belts. There are two common types of gold belts:

• Lira belt; a gold belt made entirely from connected gold Lira coins or dangling gold Lira’s.
• ‘Gobarah’ belt: similar to a lira belt but the coins are inexpensive unlike the Lira coins.

The traditional Kurdish hat; is usually black velveteen ornamented with traditional amber and turquoise beads with gold or silver charms.

Traditional Kurdish gold jewellery; Traditional jewellery is gold, with gold charms and traditional amber, red or black beads and occasional dangling Lira coins.

• Sheelana ; A long gold necklace with amber, red or black beads and dangling leaf shaped charms.
• Meglad ; A big black stone dangling from a gold chain
• Lira belt; A gold belt made entirely from connected gold Lira coins or dangling gold Lira’s.
• Gobarah belt; similar to a lira belt but the coins are inexpensive unlike the Lira coins.