What do Pakistani Women Wear to Work

So i got up in the morning, later than usual and over chai started contemplating what to wear to work. Although i have a significant western clothes wardrobe (yes, we do get western clothes here), it is not acceptable for a Pakistani woman to be dressed in pants and shirts and go to work - or go anywhere for that matter. I do wear pants and a shirt when i go out but not to work. I wear the national dress, which is called Kameez (long shirt) shalwar (baggy pants) and top it off with a dupatta (scarf) around my shoulders. It sounds a bit frumpy and to the western eye it may be, but the Kameez shalwar is ideally suited to the warm weather we have in this part of the world and the dupatta is very useful to protect from the harsh rays of the sun. The material is very light weight and in pretty colours. Methinks geography plays a big role in deciding the nature of clothing. My theory is countries closer to the equator/tropics, where the sun is bright inspires bright and colourful clothing and those away from the equator inspires more sedate clothing. That would fit right in with why African, Meditteranean and South Asian countries wear more loud colours than the Europeans, North Americans and Canadians. Just a theory.......

Coming back to working women clothes in Pakistan, there are some young women who do wear western clothes but too many - especially not the ones who use the public transport system. It is very obvious that the western clothes trend acceptability is only in the large cities of Karachi followed by Islamabad and then Lahore. Amongst other issues like being perceived too western (translation, too forward)coverage is an issue. Pakistani's tend to be conscious of bare arms and even slightly drooping necklines are not .... er.... proper. Even though i myself wear sleeveless tops and sometimes a lower than usual neckline, i know very well that if i wear it to work, everyone will be thinking about my neckline and not what i am saying or doing - which is a shame. So i reserve my western gear only for when i go to places, like a friends house or an exclusive restuarant or private club (yes we also have those).

But today at work i am in my regular Kameez Shalwar. This one is in pastel shades of pale pink and pistachio green, topped off by a rather pretty pasley print dupatta of pink and green. Looking like a giant ice-cream cone :) but getting many compliments, mostly from my female colleagues.... So all's good.