Pheran is part of the Kashmiri culture, fashion, and daily life. Men, women, and children, all wear it. Pheran is a traditional long dress that covers the entire body up to the knees. Pherans worn by men are of simple design, made of tweed wool and usually black, brown, or grey in color. Women wear colorful pherans with embroideries like aari, sozni, and tilla work. Women phirans are available in different materials like Cashmilon, Raffal, Count, Velvet, and Tweed.
The pheran is a loose upper garment loosely gathered at the sleeves, which tend to be wide, made of either wool or jamewar, which is a mixture of wool and cotton, with no side slits. A pheran made of wool is called a ‘loch’.Female pheran dresses are designed with colorful flowerlike designed elements and styles. Male pheran dresses are quite simple, without any colourful design.
The traditional pheran falls to the feet like a gown. This style was universally worn by the Kashmiri Hindu and Kashmiri Muslim communities into the later 19th century C.E. However, a modern version worn by Muslim people is of knee-length, loose and stitched at the front side and on the finishes, while Hindu people still wear their pherans long, extending down their legs. Ankle length Pherans are tied at the waist. Intricate embroideries or flower styles are a popular on Kashmiri ladies pherans. The embroideries or flower designs are made of thin metal threads; this kind of embroidery is known as ‘Tille’ in Kashmiri language.