The Traditional Costumes throughout Tibet
The regional costumes of Tibet have distinctive regional characteristics and together form the Tibetan various garment art.
Lhasa: Dress collocation is exquisite; elegant tone is used and decoration does not seek piling-up. Women wear sleeveless robe, earrings, necklace, bracelet and ring, with a colorful pinstripe “Pan tan” tied to the waist. During the Tibetan New Year or various celebrations, men wear long sleeved robe, wool inside and pure wool fabric outside, which is called “Pagtsar” in the Tibetan language, and wear a silk hat which is called “tsering pot of gold” in the Tibetan language. Women are dressed in silk shirt inside and sleeveless satin Tibetan robe outside, with colorful satin fabrics or rainbow “Pantan” fastened around the waist, a colorful Pulu square clothe on the back, the hair combed like wings with triangle pearl crown. Men wear wool or tapestry satin robe. During the summer, they wear Tibetan turtleneck shirt, hat, leather boots, and they also like to wear rings and bracelets.
Shigatse: the basic clothe style is the same as Lhasa's, while having their own characteristics in decoration. Men in Tibet mainly wear black or white Tibet wool with collar, cuffs and clothes as well as the bottom of the robe beset with seven-or-eight-cm-wide color Tibet wool, which is mainly decorated with cross stripes pattern. They wear a gold silk hat or formal hat. Women wear sleeveless Tibet robe, and fasten colorful “Pantan” with wide stripes. The overcoat is made of "Pantan", called "Dangta". When they dress up, they wear "Palun", which is bow-shaped.
Shannan(Lokha): The costume has the characteristic of those in Lhasa and Shigatse. Shannan women wear Tibet wool stripe top cap, and wear Tibet wool dyeing printing sleeveless long coat outside with a long sleeve Tibet wool robe inside. They wear embroidered Tibet wool boots, and wear necklace inlaid stone. Women of Shannan often wear flat-top caps, with two triangle wings symbolizing the wings of birds. If the wings are backward, it means that they are married, while if the wings are of one side, it represents that they are single. The old people wear round caps, which are made of black Tibet wool and drap d'or. The typical dress for men in Shannan is to wear golden caps and a white Tibet wool robe which is edged with striped Tibet wool over a black garment.
Nyingchi: (Gongbu) residents have been living on farming, gathering, lumbering, and hunting since ancient times, developing their unique living styles and clothing culture. Gongbu residents are accustomed to wearing a kind of long sleeveless jackets, which are called "ancient elegance" in Tibetan. "Ancient elegance" is usually made of Tibet wool, mainly in black color and edged with brocade lace. Also, some "ancient elegance" is made from furs of monkeys and bears. Women live in Gongbu do not wear “Pantan” (a kind of apron). They wear silver belts, necklaces and round brocade hats. The hat-tail at the side indicates single, while toward back means married. Men wear top felt hats with round satin color lace.
Chamdo: Khampa apparels are mainly characterized by thickness, sumptuousness, and a variety of accessories. Both male and female clothing are similar to that in those counties which are close to the east of Nagchu Prefecture. In the past, Khampa male apparels were embedded with a wide piece of silk brocades and otter skin and tiger skin. Khampa men's hats were made from fox skin, and they wore the animals' hair in a bun after braiding it with black and red silk yarn. They also wore lots of coral beads and Buddhist lockets on their chest, they enjoyed placing broadswords in their waistbands, and they wore white trousers and leather boots. Khampa women are flawless beauties. They wear shirts with long sleeves or without sleeves, and have countless fine plaits. They also have larger amount of head, chest, waist and other ornaments, which are slightly bright compared with that of other districts.
Ali: Costume culture follows the culture in Tubo kingdom period. Taking Burang and Zanda for examples, women are dressed in Tibetan robes made by Tibetan woolen fabric and wear brocade cloaks on the back, the inner side of which are white sheepskin and rimmed with relatively narrow otter skin. On their heads are bead crowns hanging down from the back side of the heads, the shape of which are crescent. The beads about 4 to 5 inches drop down in front of the foreheads and cover the faces. And the crescent ornaments on the right shoulder are the same as the headwear embellished with turquoises and pearls. They wear necklaces on the chests made of corals, turquoises, and Petro-wax, etc. Some of them are so long that they touch the knee. And they wear a circle of rather wide necklace arranged by corals. Their dressed are extremely unique.
Nagqu: In the past, herdsmen in North Tibet lived a nomadic life, often migrating to places where there were aquatic plants. They lived in the black tents sewn by cow hair. They wore sheepskin coats which are heavy, loose, sturdy and warm. A three-inch-wide black velvet at the lower hem is the only decoration of male's robes in the northern Tibet. The wearing of the shepherdesses is rough-styled but embellished with some delicate details, which looks seductively charming. The bottom and edge of their Tibetan cloaks with black velvet inlaid were decorated with three red, green and black velveteens, two or three inches in width. The decoration is different in eastern and western counties. Their braided hair drapes from both sides of the forehead to the back, which is decorated with corals, beeswax, turquoise and other accessories. There are always milk hooks, milk spoons, knifes, sewing boxes and other things hanging on the waist of Northern Tibetan shepherdess.
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