Turkish şalvar (pronounced shalvar, Turkish: ), Turkish trousers or dimiye are traditional baggy trousers gathered in tightly at the ankle. They are part of Turkish folk dress.
Men may wear the traditional loose coat, called jubba, over the şalvar. Other upper garments are also worn over or under the şalvar.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Westernized the dress code in Turkey in the 1920s as part of his reforms. However, men and women still wear the şalvar in many areas of Turkey, indifferent to social status.Miller, Louise R (1998), Turkey: Between East and West
Similar pants in other cultures include the tshalvar, schalwar, salwar kameez, patiala salwar, shintijan, sirwal, sharovary, aladdin pants, balloon pants, drop crotch pants, pantaloons, zouave, tobi trousers, pluderhose and pumphose.
Origins The etymology comes from the Greek word saravara (), which is in turn a borrowing from the Scythian *šarabāra, both meaning "Scythian trousers," possibly indicating to it having been introduced with the nomadic culture of the Turkic peoples, being rooted in heavy Turco-Scythic syncretism.Johnny Cheung, On the (Middle) Iranian borrowings in Qur’ānic (and pre-Islamic) Arabic, Leiden University. p. 25.Kock, Theodor (1884), Comicorum atticorum fragmenta, volume 2, Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, p. 97.
In female dress The traditional clothing for women of Turkey includes the şalvar which is usually worn with upper garments of varying styles and lengths. The traditional şalvar suits are a part of Turkey's culture back to the Ottoman era.The Report: Turkey 2008. The Oxford Business Group The şalvars are of varying degrees of bagginess and are gathered at the ankle.Schneider, Dux (1975) Turkey Bright colours and flowered prints are favoured by rural women.Gale Group (1999) Reference Library of Arab America: Countries & ethnic groups, Kuwait to United Arab Emirates The total female ensemble includes the gömlek (chemise), şalvar and entari (robe).Scarce, Jennifer M (2014) Women's Costume of the Near and Middle East
In male dress The traditional male dress includes the şalvar, yelek (vest) and cebken (jacket).Quataert, Donald Consumption Studies and the History of the Ottoman Empire, 1550-1922: An Introduction The men's salvar is popular in southern Turkey, especially in the villages of Cilicia, and the districts of Urfa and Diyarbakir.Sinclair, T.A. (1989) Eastern Turkey: An Architectural & Archaeological Survey, Volume I, Volume 1
See also Knickerbockers Bloomers Harem pants
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