Has the trusted shalwar kameez seen its day? With people wearing the Arabian style jubbah’s will we see people wearing the traditional shalwar kameez on the streets of Britain in the coming years?

Being a British Asian is many things to many people. But there was always this notion that some things would remain. One of those was the shalwar kameez: the traditional dress worn by many in the South Asian continent.

If you go to many areas now one is more likely to be greeted with young men wearing the jubbah than the shalwar kameez. One of the most apparent changes has been in mosques themselves.

Altaf, 38 used to wear a shalwar kameez but ‘switched’ several years ago. “I have to say I was against jubbahs for many years. I grew up wearing the shalwar kameez and many people in my family did too.

“But then I was bought a jubbah as a present and I really haven’t gone back. For me it has nothing to do with the way you look but how comfortable you are and the jubbah is definitely comfortable.

“Also there are some great designs available and you can wear it anywhere.”

Gulfraz is 43 and has a great love for the shalwar kameez and sees the clothes as a link to his native land. “Let us be honest from the beginning, some people who are wearing jubbah’s are trying to fit in with the Arabic culture more than anything else.

“They want to have this perceived heightened sense of superiority. It is ironic that in a religion that teaches equality you have folk who just want to be seen as a little ‘upmarket.’ I still wear my shalwar kameez even if my wife thinks I should wear a jubbah.

“The shalwar kameez is the national dress of the common man in my native land and why should I not wear it? I actually hate the guys who wear the jubbah as they think it makes them ’feel’ more Muslim.

“I’m not lying I’ve heard this from their mouths.”

Altaf added, “I wouldn’t say it is completely not worn. I think at some mosques you just have more people wearing it than others.

“The big difference is that you will see people wearing the Jubbah in town and on social occasions. The shalwar kameez is just for Eid or funerals and nothing else.”

Ahmed, 33 said he lived in Dubai and wore shalwar kameez to go shopping. “It a was big mistake. They all thought I was some Pakistani immigrant worker.

“I actually didn’t get served once! A week later I wore the jubbah and it was a completely different story.

“I still wear my shalwar kameez and my jubbah in the UK. I think we have the same problem here where the shalwar kameez is associated with being a ‘freshie’ (slang term used to describe a newly arrived immigrant).

“As a British Muslim you want to think you are better than that. Sad, I know but it is a fact: The jubbah is associated with a level of prestige and the shalwar kameez is the common man’s cloth.”

This is highlighted none more than with the Indian ‘kurtha-pajama.’ Riaz is 29 and says he has never worn the clothes of his forefathers. “My dad used to wear it and one of my uncles still does but you won’t see many Gujrati’s wearing these clothes anymore.

“Everyone is wearing the jubbah. I don’t see anything wrong with that – people can dress how they want.

“I think also there has been a reawakening in some people about being Muslim. We want people to see us as Muslims and we are proud to wear clothes that will make us stand out.”

But this wasn’t the view some people took.

“It is the same issue Pakistani’s and Bengali’s have,” says Gulfraz.

“They don’t want to wear the clothes of their immigrant fathers. Their immigrant fathers then got put into these groups associated with their village back home.

“Is it really that demeaning? Is it embarrassing?

“This is how we are evolving as a community. Some don’t want to have an ‘Asian’ identity; they want to have an ‘Arabic’ identity.

“I have nothing against Arabic culture, I love it deeply but I do feel a little aggrieved at how these things are changing.”

And it is not just the male shalwar kameez that is struggling to find its place in modern in modern Britain. Women's fashion is evolving constantly but is the female jilbab now a front runner?

So says 36 year-old Aisha, “Women in our community want to dress modestly but at the same time be fashionable.

“You won’t see many women wearing the traditional shalwar kameez unless they are from abroad. I am trying to think when I drop the kids off at school I will see a handful wearing shalwar kameez and yes they are all born abroad or come from a very traditional family.

“Most of the time I will be wearing a jilbab or if I go to a wedding then an outfit. That is the only time I will come close to wearing a shalwar kameez!”

Nadia is 23 and says it is unlikely she would ever wear a traditional shalwar kameez. “My grandma wears it still but even my mum doesn’t wear it!

“It is just not something that this generation knows too much about.”

She also felt the shalwar kameez man was associated with particular traits, “If you see a guy in a shalwar kameez when you walk into a shop you automatically think he is an ’immigrant or a pervert.’ “I know that might shock some people but that is the reason less and less people are wearing the shalwar kameez.”