Traditional Inuit clothing () is a complex system of cold-weather garments historically made from animal hide and fur, worn by Inuit, a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic areas of Canada, Greenland, and the United States. The basic outfit consisted of a parka, pants, mittens, inner footwear, and outer boots. The most common sources of hide were caribou, seals, and seabirds, although other animals were used when available. The production of warm, durable clothing was an essential survival skill which was passed down from women to girls, and which could take years to master. Preparation of clothing was an intensive, weeks-long process that occurred on a yearly cycle following established hunting seasons. The creation and use of skin clothing was strongly intertwined with Inuit religious beliefs.

Despite the wide geographical distribution of Inuit across the Arctic, historically, these garments were consistent in both design and material due to the common need for protection against the extreme weather and the limited range of materials suitable for the purpose. The appearance of individual garments varied according to gender roles and seasonal needs, as well as the specific dress customs of each tribe or group. The Inuit decorated their clothing with fringes, pendants, and insets of contrasting colours, and later adopted techniques such as beadwork when trade made new materials available.

The Inuit clothing system bears strong similarities to the skin clothing systems of other circumpolar peoples such as the Indigenous peoples of Alaska, Siberia and the Russian Far East. Archaeological evidence indicates that the history of circumpolar clothing may have begun in Siberia as early as 22,000BCE, and in northern Canada and Greenland as early as 2500BCE. After Europeans began to explore the North American Arctic in the late 1500s, seeking the Northwest Passage, Inuit began to adopt European clothing for convenience. Around the same time, Europeans began to conduct research on Inuit clothing, including the creation of visual depictions, academic writing, studies of effectiveness, and museum collections.

In the modern era, changes to the Inuit lifestyle led to a loss of traditional skills and a reduced demand for full outfits of skin clothing. Since the 1990s, efforts by Inuit organizations to revive historical cultural skills and combine them with modern clothing-making techniques have led to a resurgence of traditional Inuit clothing, particularly for special occasions, and the development of contemporary Inuit fashion as its own style within the larger Indigenous American fashion movement.

Traditional outfit

The most basic version of the traditional Inuit outfit consisted of a hooded parka, pants, mittens, inner footwear, and outer boots, all made of animal hide and fur. These garments were fairly lightweight despite their insulating properties: a complete outfit weighed no more than around depending on the number of layers and the size of the wearer. Extra layers could be added as required for the weather or activity, which generally cycled with the changing of the seasons.

Although the basic outfit framework was largely the same across Inuit groups (as well as other Indigenous Arctic peoples, including the Alaska Natives and those of Siberia and the Russian Far East), their wide geographic range gave rise to a broad variety of styles for basic garments, often specific to the place of origin. The range of distinguishing features on the parka alone was significant, as described by Inuit clothing expert Betty Kobayashi Issenman in her comprehensive study on Inuit clothing Sinews of Survival: "a hood or lack thereof, and hood shape; width and configuration of shoulders; presence of flaps front and back, and their shape; in women's clothing the size and shape of the baby pouch; length and outline of the lower edge; and fringes, ruffs, and decorative inserts."

Group or familial affinity was indicated by aesthetic features such as variations in the patterns made by different colours of fur, the cut of the garment, and the length of fur. In some cases, the styling of a garment could indicate biographical details such as the individual's age, marital status, and specific kin group. The vocabulary for describing individual garments in the Inuit languages is correspondingly extensive, which Issenman noted in Sinews of Survival:

The concept of Inuit clothing encompasses the traditional wear of a geographically broad range of Inuit cultures from Alaska to Greenland. For the sake of consistency, this article uses Canadian Inuktitut terminology, unless otherwise noted.

+ Main components of traditional outfit Body position Garment name Inuktitut syllabics Description NotesTorsoClosed hooded parka, fur facing outMen's parka, outer layerClosed hooded parka, fur facing inMen's parka, inner layerClosed parka with pouch for infantsWomen's parkaHandsMittsUnisex, double layered if necessaryLegsTrousersDouble layered for men, single for womenStockingsUnisex, double layeredFeetBootsUnisex, length dependent on functionOvershoesUnisex, worn when needed

Upper body garments Traditional Inuit culture divided labour by gender, and men and women wore garments tailored to accommodate their distinct roles. The outer layer worn by men was called the , and the inner layer was called the . These garments had no front opening, and were donned by pulling them over the head. Men's parkas usually had straight-cut bottom hems with slits and loose shoulders to enhance mobility when hunting. The loose shoulders also permitted a hunter to pull their arms out of the sleeves and into the coat against the body for warmth without removing the coat. The closely fitted hood provided protection to the head without obstructing vision. The hem of the outer coat would be left long in the back so the hunter could sit on the back flap and remain insulated from the snowy ground while watching an ice hole while seal hunting, or while waiting out an unexpected storm. A traditional parka had no pockets; articles were carried in bags or pouches. Some parkas had toggles called on which a pouch could be hung.

Parkas for women are called and have large pouches called for carrying infants. Textile scholar Dorothy Burnham described the construction of the as an "engineering feat." Numerous regional variations of the exist, but the hem is typically left longer and cut into rounded apron-like flaps, which are called in the front and in the back. The infant rests against the mother's bare back inside the pouch, providing intimate skin to skin contact. A belt called a is cinched around the mother's waist on the outside of the , supporting the infant without restraining it. At rest, the infant usually sits upright with legs bent, although standing up inside the is possible. The roomy garment can accommodate the child being moved to the front to breastfeed or eliminate urine and faeces, and can be reversed to allow the child to sit facing the mother to play. In the past, the would be made smaller and narrower for widows or women past their childbearing years, who no longer needed to carry children.

In the western Arctic, particularly among the Inuvialuit and the Copper Inuit, there is another style of women's parka called the "Mother Hubbard", adapted from the European Mother Hubbard dress. The Inuit version is a full-length, long-sleeved cotton dress with a ruffled hem and a fur-trimmed hood. A layer of insulation – either wool duffel cloth or animal fur – is sewn inside for warmth, allowing it to function as winterwear. Although the Mother Hubbard parka only arrived in the late 19th century, it largely eclipsed historical styles of clothing to the point where it is now seen as the traditional women's garment in those areas.

The modern hooded overcoat known generically as a parka or anorak in English is descended from the Inuit garment. The terms parka and anorak were adopted into English as loanwords from Aleut and Greenlandic, respectively.

Trousers and leggings

Both men and women wore trousers called . During the winter, men typically wore two pairs of fur trousers to provide warmth on lengthy hunting trips. were waist-high and held on loosely by a drawstring. The shape and length depended on the material being used, caribou trousers having a bell shape to capture warm air rising from the boot, and seal or polar bear trousers being generally straight-legged. In some regions, particularly the Western Arctic, men, women, and children sometimes wore leggings with attached feet similar to hose, although these are no longer common. In East Greenland, women's trousers, or , were quite short, leaving a gap between the thigh-length boots and the bottom of the trousers.

Women's were generally shaped the same as men's, but adjusted for women's needs. Women wore fewer layers overall, as they usually did not go outdoors for long periods during winter. During menstruation, women would wear a pair of old trousers supplemented inside with small pieces of hide, so as to not soil their daily outfit. In some areas, women historically wore thigh-length trousers known as with leggings called rather than full-length pants. The Igluulingmiut of Foxe Basin and some of the Caribou Inuit wore a style of baggy leggings or stockings sewn to boots for long journeys. The wide leggings provided space that could be used to warm food and store small items. These leggings were much-noted by non-Inuit who encountered them, although they ceased to be made in the 1940s due to lack of materials.

Footwear

The footwear of the traditional outfit could include up to five layers of socks, boots, and overboots, depending on the weather and terrain. Traditionally, these garments were almost always made of caribou or sealskin, although today boots are sometimes made with heavy fabric like canvas or denim. The traditional first layer was a set of stockings called , which had the fur facing inwards. The second was a pair of short socks called , and third was another set of stockings, called ; both had outward-facing fur. The fourth layer was the boots, called or mukluks. The most distinguishing feature of are the soles, which are made of a single piece of skin that wraps up the side of the foot, where it is sewn to the upper. They are loose-fitting to allow for more layers, and may be secured at the top or the ankles with a drawstring or straps. could be covered with the , a kind of short, thick-soled overshoe that provided additional insulation to the feet. These overshoes could be worn indoors as slippers while the were drying out. Historically, men usually rotated between multiple pairs of boots to allow them to sufficiently dry out between uses, preventing rot and extending the useful life of the boot.

During the wet season of summer, waterproof boots were worn instead of insulating fur boots. These were usually made of sealskin with the fur removed. To provide grip on icy ground, boot soles could be sewn with pleats, strips of dehaired seal skin, or forward-pointing fur. Boot height varied depending on the task – sealskin boots could be made thigh-high or chest-high if they were to be used for wading into water, similar to modern hip boots or waders. Boots intended for use in wet conditions sometimes included drawstring closures at the top to keep water out. In modern times, boot tops made of skin may be sewn to mass-produced rubber boot bottoms to create a boot that combines the warmth of skin clothing with the waterproofing and grip of artificial materials.

Accessory garments