In the fourth century BC, the draping of the sari began to reflect the grace of the toga. With Islam came ideas of modesty and the sari was supplemented with a stitched choli or blouse.
Though the sari is an indigenous creation, the Punjabi women's garments, and indeed those worn in the other three provinces, were originally brought to Pakistan by the Aryans from Central Asia in about 1500BC. They brought characteristic baggy pantaloons and long, gathered frocks worn by both men and women.
With the outgoing, fun-loving women of the Punjab, three distinct kinds of clothes are popular - the shalwar-kameez, the lacha and the lehnga.
In the towns, it is the shalwar-kameez, a straight shirt with long sleeves, voluminous cotton or silk trousers, and the dupatta or veil. Colours can be bright or muted.
But it is the peasant who truly embodies the resilience and gaiety of Pakistan.
Clad in a bright chequered lacha, a half-sarong that extends from the waist to the ankles, topped with a loose shirt and embroidered duppata, she is always accompanied by a load balanced on her head.
On long trips, she usually takes her shoes off and carries them. Her pointed-toe khussas of traditional design are made of uncured leather.
The third kind of dress, the richly gathered ghagra, has an air of romance about it. Made of 15 to 20 yards of bright hand-blocked material, it is worn by wandering gypsy-like tribes.
The Baluchis of the isolated, rugged, waterless region bordering Iran are inscrutable individualists.
The Baluchi women wear a black or blue shalwar and coarse, cotton shirts bedecked with embroidery. Their dupattas, or veils, are draped low over the forehead and allowed to float behind like a regal train.
The Baluchi way of life is so close to nature its influence is reflected in all their thoughts and actions.
The endless scrub-dotted Sind desert has nurtured a people who rely on mystical poetry and rich handicrafts to compensate for the harshness of the landscape.
The woman weave and embroider and help to produce lacquered wood furniture. Their bright patterned khes fabrics and fine patchwork rilli or bedcovers, are famous all over the country, as is their hand-blocked maroon and blue cotton, the ajrak.
For their clothes, women turn to the basic colours, red, yellow and black, to counteract the monotony of the desert.
The Sindhi woman's method of brightening her shirts and her husband's caps, is perhaps unique in the world. Tiny mirrors are attached to the material with closely worked embroidery and to enchanting effect.
In other areas of Pakistan, women use shredded mica mixed in starch to add a sparkle to fine cotton saris and dupattas. To create the same effect, the Pathan tribeswoman tacks metal coins on the bodice of her dress and along the edges of her veil.
To further embellish garments, the tie-dye technique is also used.
Jewellery is simple, laced with a primitive flavour. Round earrings are worn right around the outer rim of the ear, giving it the look of chandelier. Necklaces, of several strands of coins and gold beads with a large pendant, called durri, symbolise the wealth of the wearer.
In the snowy hills and lake-dotted valleys of Kashmir, the women's clothes are simple and practical. The long, loose shirt, called perhan, the shalwar and gasaba deserve special notice because of their fantastically fine embroidery.
The Kashmiri kashida, or embroidery, is the most exquisite in the whole country. Patterns are evenly balanced with trailing leafy stems and involuted vines and grapes.
Situated at the southern opening of the historic Khyber Pass, the Frontier region of the Pathans has served as a battlefield time and time again. Hence, the first requirement of clothes in this region was to harmonise with the landscape to provide an element of camouflage.
The Pathan dress is a regional variation of the type of garments that are the basis of most West Pakistani costumes - the trousers, the tunic or shirt and the dupatta or veil. To make the most of the tall active Pathan figure, the swinging tunic has a long, full skirt of heavy hand-woven material. The bodice, sleeve and skirt edges are lined with embroidered geometric patterns, a legacy of the Moghals.
With their genius for getting directly to the heart of the matter, the Moghals adopted and developed ensembles that reflect the essence of womanhood. The most famous of these are the pushwaz and the farshi gharara.
The long clean lanes of the pushwaz suggest the strength and will of the ideal Moghal woman. Tight, ankle-hugging pyjamas are worn with a full-skirted dress of crisp, fine material bordered with heavy silk to add grace to the fall of the skirt. The dupatta is draped softly over the head and bosom.
