Discover the timeless beauty of Jordanian traditional wear, where every stitch tells a story of craftsmanship, identity, and cultural pride.
Women’s traditional wear:
The traditional dress for women is very decorative and full of superb artisanship, embroidery, and patchwork. Jordanian women have always had a high standard of artisanship, taste, and color harmony. They also took special pride in their work and identity with their own village or clan. Time was always taken for embroidery and dressmaking despite their hard-working life. It was the time used for socializing with related women as they sat and embroidered together. At one time, every Jordanian girl from every social class embroidered her own trousseau, which consisted of between six and twelve loosely cut robes, and which lasted her for a lifetime. The colors used for the embroidery range from shades of red, maroon, purple, and pink, with bright additions of green, orange and gold. The main type of embroidery used is a simple cross-stitch, though it is/was used as the basis for complicated designs and recurring natural (e.g. feathers, flowers, trees or waves) and geometric motifs (zigzags or triangles).
The national costume is a handmade dress with embroidered and cross-stitched patterns that represent the region of the country that the wearer comes from. For example, in northern Jordan, women wear black cotton dresses embroidered with multi-colored triangles. Another type of traditional dress from Northern Jordan is called the Shirsh, which is a long outfit with tight sleeves and a decorated neckline and embroidered sides. In central Jordan, women wear dresses made from over 16 yards (ca. 16 meters) of fabric, with long, pointed sleeves measuring 10 feet (ca. 3.3 meters) in length. Blue panels are stitched around the sleeves and the hem of the dress.
Men’s traditional wear:
Jordanian men’s traditional clothing is plainer and less varied than the richly decorated costumes of the women. However, it was a rich medium for visual statements about identity, age, and status. It has also been subject to changes in fashion as individuals and groups sought to emulate their superiors and display their wealth.
The traditional clothing for men consists of tunic shirts, trousers, and an elaborate over-garment (thwab or dishdashah)Â with a belt or cummerbund.
The dishdashah was usually made of plain cotton cloth and the Jordanian form has small slits up the side to aid in walking. Winter dishdashahs are made of heavier material. A coat or jacket may be worn over the dishdashah.
Jordanian men also cover their heads with the typical Arabian scarf-like turban (kufiyah), more frequently in red and white checks or just plain white (in summer) rather than black and white. The Jordanian variety has tassels along the edges with longer white cotton tassels at the ends. The headpiece is held in place with a black band (‘aqal) made of woven and wrapped goat hair. These also end in long tassels that hang down the back, and so show that the man is from Jordan rather than other Arab states. Married men wear their ‘aqual straigh,t but unmarried men wear then at an angle.