For many Westerners, Iranian dress is made up of black chadors for women and shirts with no ties for men. Yet there is much more, very much more in fact, to Iranian dress than this image may give.

Iran is a large and ancient country that lies at the crossroads between Central Asia and the Middle East. Over the centuries numerous different peoples have crossed the country and settled down. As a result there are currently about 100 different ethnic and religious groups (both Muslim and non-Muslim) living in Iran. The country’s diversity is reflected in many aspects of Iranian culture, notably its literature, architecture, as well as its traditional dress, especially that worn by women.

This online exhibition is based on an onsite exhibition that was displayed at the Textile Research Centre in Leiden in 2013. It includes outfits for men, women and children, in addition to individual garments. It presents regional outfits from all four corners of the country, including garments for Arabs, Bakhtiaris, Bandaris, Baluchis, Gilanis, Kurds, Luris, Qashqai, Shahsavan, Sistanis, various Turkmen groups, Zoroastrians, as well as for people from the picturesque and traditional village of Abyane in Central Iran.

The majority of these garments were collected during research in Iran by Gillian and Willem Vogelang between 1999-2003 and they are now housed in the TRC collection.

For this online exhibition:

• Author: Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood
• Web-design: Joost Koopman
• Exhibition design: Willem Vogelsang
• Publisher: TRC Leiden.
• Year of publication: 2021
• Copyright: All illustrations of objects housed in the TRC collection can be used free of charge for non-commercial purposes, but please add to the caption: "Courtesy Textile Research Centre, Leiden" and the pertinent accession number of the object. For commercial purposes, pleaase contact the TRC at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..