Men’s Attire

Wardrobe of a Lucknawi gentleman

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Rajkumar Mohd. Amir Naqi Khan (1965) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

Wardrobe of a Lucknawi Gentleman

Men from Lucknow are known for their sartorial style.

Glimpses of traditional men's attire...

Dr. S.M. Zaheer in an achkan (2012) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

Ackan (Achkan)

The ackan is a slightly loose- fitting knee length jacket. The upper part is like a coat and the lower part has a slight flare as in an angarkha. The chest fastening can be on the side but now it is more frequently on the front. The ackan is worn with a pyjāma, cūṛīdār or dhōtī as the lower garment. It is made of linen, jamavar, silk and cotton. Today, it is usually worn on festive occasions.

Achkan in banarasi brocade, Unknown, 1920/1930, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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A boy’s sherwani in embroidered silk, Unknown, 1950, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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Ackan/Sherwani in banarsi brocade.

Achkan in woven silk fabric. (1900/1935) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

Sherwāni (Sherwani)

It is a tight- fitting coat like garment that falls just below the knee. The sherwani has a breast pocket on the left side. It can be made of brocade, silk, cotton or woolen cloth and is usually worn at weddings or formal occasions. A sherwani can be further embellished with zardōzī work on the cuffs and collar. Sherwani buttons are often plain, but can also be made simply in gold with the more elaborate ones have a jaṛāu setting of precious stones.

Muslin angarkha with fine chikan work (1800/1899) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

Angarkha

The angarkha is a full-sleeved knee-length, hand-stitched garment with a fitted bodice and a slightly flared skirt. The front of the angarkha has overlapping panels which are usually tied (not buttoned) together on one side. Angarkhas are made of fine cotton, and in Lucknow they are embellished with cikan work and kāmdāni. They are usually worn on formal occasions.

Back of angarkha with chikan work, Unknown, 1800/1899, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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Chikan work on angarkha neck front, Unknown, 1800/1899, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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Muslin angarkha in the finest cikankāri.

Chikan work on kurta neck-front (1900/1935) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

Kurta

A commonly worn upper garment, a kurta is loose fitting. Fine muslin kurtas are hand-stitched. A kurta may be knee length, even longer or shorter, depending on the choice of the wearer. The front of the kurta has a single wide panel with two narrower panels on either side and a similar construction at the back. There may be cikan work along the neck, down the taveez in the front and along the seams. Kurtas are made of fine cotton or silk.

They are worn as an everyday garment and the more elaborate ones are for formal occasions. Fine cotton kurtas, with cikan embroidery and crinkled sleeves exemplify the sartorial elegance of men’s wear in Lucknow. Plain coloured or printed cotton kurtas are becoming increasingly popular.

Chikan work on kurta neck-front, Unknown, 1900/1935, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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Kurta with a side neck opening and chikan work, Unknown, 1900/1935, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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Cikan embroidered kurtas in different neck styles.

Pyjāma: It is a loose fitting, trouser like garment, made of heavy white cotton. Pyjāmas may be worn as night wear, as part of day clothing or as formal wear. Some pyjāmas  are slightly narrow and the typical Lucknow ones have very broad pāinchās.

Cūrīdār:  As the name indicates, this is a tight-fitting pyjāma with excessive length which is then bunched up like bangles or cūṛīs along the lower end of the calf.  Cūrīdārs  are made of cotton or silk and are usually considered formal wear. A  cūrīdār  is cut on the cross, fits snugly along the leg, and is very comfortable to wear. It can be paired with an angarkha, ackan, shervāni, or kurta.

Panchgoshia and dopalli topis by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

Tōpī

The most commonly worn ṭōpī (cap) in Lucknow is the dōpallī. As the name suggests, it has two sides which are stitched together to form a cap. Topis are made of fine cotton, worn plain or embroidered with cikan work. Older versions of the dōpallī are the more elaborate four-sided or five-sided caps which are rarely to be seen now.

Tōpīs of three different styles...

Velvet cap with intricate zardozi, Unknown, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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Dopalli (two-panelled) topi with chikan embroidery, Unknown, 1900/1935, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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Panchgoshia (five-panelled) topi with corded quilting embroidery., Unknown, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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Shyamji Srivastava and Venkatesh Srivastava wearing a fine cotton dhoti (2023) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

Dhōti

This is a running length of fine cotton or silk, wrapped around the lower body and tied at the waist. It has a fall that partially covers each leg. There are two styles of tying a dhoti, the tāmrapatrak [palm leaf] or the hastishaundik [elephant’s trunk]. Dhotis are paired with kurtas and worn at festivals and most often for Hindu religious rituals.

Venkatesh Srivastava wearing a fine cotton dhoti, Unknown, 2023, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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Dhoti is wrapped around the waist and legs, and secured with a knot, Unknown, 2023, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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Traditional dhōti worn with a short kurta.

Some old photographs of men and children of Lucknow in different costumes...

A Kashmiri Pandit gentleman in an angarkha, Unknown, 1875/1900, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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Members of a family from Firangi Mahal, Unknown, 1930, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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Children in zardozi embroidered angrakha and waistcoat, Unknown, 1930, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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Lucknow continues to be the place of choice for men wanting to get finely embroidered kurtas and elegantly tailored ackans and shervānis.

Credits: Story

Curation: Noor Khan & Saman Habib
Photography: Ayan Bose, Tasveer Hasan, Najeeb Aziz
Team: Nagma Ehtesham, Nasreen Khan, Nimra Rizvi, Mariyam Imran, Saman Habib, Noor Khan
Text, Editing and Translation: Saman Habib, Noor Khan, Sabiha Anwar, Isha Priya Singh, Waseem Ahmed, Stuti Mishra,Divya Joshi
Gracious Contribution by:
Amir Jamal 
Amir Naqi Khan 
Arif Ansari
Bhavna Singh & Digvijay N Singh
Faraz Ali Zaidi
Sanjay Muttoo
Venkatash & Shyamji Srivastava
Zainab Hussain

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.