Ead enough of running around in clingy leggings and tights? Not daring to stretch out in tight-fitting cigarette pants? Getting caught in the car door with flapping culottes? Don’t fret, for a chic, cool and comfortable summer is on its way as designers and fashion gurus focus once again on the shalwar.

Fortunately, the shalwar remains a fashion staple in a sartorial climate where trends flit back and forth, happily swinging between the cutting-edge and the ghastly. Hemlines zig-zag, saris hybridise into sari pants, dupattas unfathomably swish down belted waistlines and unflattering tights cause perpetual eyesores. All the while, the shalwar — and its counterpart, the kameez or kurta — remains. Classic, timeless, and intrinsically Pakistani.

“The shalwar has never died off completely,” observes designer Maheen Khan whose high street label Gulabo features some of the snazziest shalwars in the market. “It just went dormant for a while, making occasional outings before returning to rule the roost. There is a reason why the kurta shalwar is Pakistan’s national dress — it suits our native physique. It’s also very trendy, in its many variations.”

The shalwar is back in vogue, but was it ever out?

“I remember the expansive shalwar with the wide paaincha that was extremely popular during my youth,” continues Maheen. “In the ’60s, the tight teddy shirt was paired with an equally fitted shalwar. There was the patiala, which wasn’t a very flattering option given that it made women look fatter. The half-patiala was more svelte.”

Journalist and designer at The Pink Tree Company, Mohsin Sayeed, further recounts, “Back in the mid ’70s, the ‘genie shalwar’ or harem was massively popular. Then in the early ’90s there was the ‘mullah’ shalwar, wide and worn above the ankle. There have been many more variations — the cowl shalwar, the patiala, the dhoti, the double dhoti, the tulip [with pointy tips].”

Through the annals of time, the shalwar has constantly evolved. Circa the Mughal era, the patiala shahi shalwar, was a garment with heavy front gathers worn by the royal family of Patiala. The Pathani shalwar with its intricate semi-circular cowls hails from the country’s frontiers but has since been adapted to the wardrobes of men and women living in urban cities.

In the ’70s, Teejays created retail history in Pakistan and revolutionised the shalwar kameez in the process. “Teejays is to shalwar kameez what Levi’s is to denim,” Tanveer Jamshed famously declared. The designer tweaked the androgynous awami jora or shalwar kameez, popularly worn by Bhutto and embraced wholeheartedly by the nation.

Later in the ’80s, TV icons like Marina Khan and Shehnaz Sheikh wore shalwar kameez designed by Teejays in popular dramas: crisp narrow shalwars paired with shirts with rounded hems and square sleeves — pocketed, polka-dotted, uber cool. The clothes were a sensation and at the time, there was no hotter statement than wearing a brand new Teejays’ shalwar kameez.

Back in the mid ’70s, the ‘genie shalwar’ or harem was massively popular. Then in the early ’90s there was the ‘mullah’ shalwar, wide and worn above the ankle. There have been many more variations — the cowl shalwar, the patiala, the dhoti, the double dhoti, the tulip [with pointy tips].

In present times, one of the savviest shalwar hybrids currently doing the rounds is Gulabo’s ‘almost trouser’ with buttons at the ankle — button it up and it’s a shalwar, open it and it becomes a straight pant. In a recent fashion shoot by The Pink Tree Company, actress Resham was featured wearing a traditional heavily-worked shalwar paired with a Kashmiri phiran-style shirt. One also remembers the shalwar jumpsuit devised by Teejay’s Feeha Jamshed about two years ago in which the lower part of the jumpsuit resembled a heavily pleated shalwar.

And Generation’s critically-acclaimed ‘A Dot That Went For A Walk’ from Fashion Pakistan Week last year featured myriad takes on this wardrobe staple — the shalwar was featured with wide gathers, with tassels hanging down its length, draw-stringed at the waist, and the harem with the cuffed ankle; swishing, swaying, savvy yet comfortable.

In luxury-wear, design houses such as the Nida Azwer Atelier, Zara Shahjahan, Elan and Mahgul have consistently been playing with the shalwar’s many forms. “I am fascinated by the inner seams of the shalwar and how the pleats determine the garment’s fall,” explains Mahgul. “It’s also interesting how such a traditional silhouette can be transformed into Western wear. In my various collections, there have been high-waisted shalwars with embellished belts, cowl shalwars and draped ones.”

Nida Azwer observes that her clients love shalwars. “For weddings, they will ask for heavily embroidered ones. Some require tulips, others just want the basic simple version. I even create simple shalwars in cotton that sell very well. They are just so easy to wear.”

They are also easy on the eyes. Unlike cigarette pants that can make mere stretching a Herculean effort and the perpetual fashion faux-pas committed by tights, clinging like a second-skin to legs that are far too plump to be accentuated, the shalwar makes life easy — and breathable.

“We’re planning out some eclectic shalwars for our lawn and prêt ranges,” says designer Safinaz Munir. “They’re a fun alternative to the pant, very wearable and they work very well as casuals.”

The shalwar, then, is back in vogue. Then again, it was never out of it.

Published in Dawn, EOS, February 19th, 2017