The use of the salwar in the Punjab region has been the result of influences from the Middle East, Central Asian Turks[12] and finally, the Afghans.

During the medieval period, people adopted the Iraqi style of salwar in Multan and neighbouring Sindh.

[24][25] The Punjabi Kameez is a traditional outfit worn by both men and women in the Punjab region of South Asia, which includes parts of India and Pakistan.

The Punjabi Kameez is known for its vibrant colors, intricate embroidery, and rich fabrics, which vary depending on the occasion and the wearer's social status.

The jhagga (kameez) is made up of two rectangular pieces sewn together with side slits, similar to a tunic.

The salwar is similar to pajamas or pants, wide at the top and tightened loosely around the ankles with hard material, called paunchay.

The upper garment is made of the straight cut kurta/kameez and the salwar resembles a slim fit pajama.

In the past, the suthan was also commonly worn by men,[27][28] a trend which can still be seen in some parts of the region (especially Jammu and Himachal Pradesh).

People in Jammu have changed the traditional attire from the peshwaj (flowing to the ankles) [31] to the kurta and Dogri suthan.

Kashyap Bandhu is regarded as the person responsible for spreading the use of the suthan with the phiran amongst the communities that resisted to adopt its use, eventually leading to the use of the salwar.

Traditional Sindhi women Suthan and Pajamo are made of bright colors and rich fabrics like soosi, silk, satin, velvets and brocades which are heavily embroidered at ankles (Pācha).

The Salwars are worn with the Cholo (kameez) or Ghagho (frock) which are also heavily intricately embroidered with Sindhi bhart and other embellishments called Gaj, Aggoti, Gichi, back in time the Salwars were sometimes used to be hidden under a wide Paro/Peshgeer (Skirt), specially when a woman went outside and over the head women wore a wide and long veils called Rawo/Gandhi/Pothi/Chuni/Salur.

[44][45] The suthan are trousers cut straight and tight, as opposed to the salwar, which is baggy and can be full of folds.

[55] Evidence of the use of svasthana amongst the ruling classes has also been observed in North India during the Kushan Empire between the 1st and 3rd centuries C.E.

[59] A version of the svasthana has been noted in ancient India which sticks to the calves with narrow circumferences of the lower opening.

Ultimately, however, the svasthana could have been introduced to ancient India from Central Asia,[62] but its use became popular amongst the general people in the local area during the medieval period,[63] particularly, the 7th century C.E.

[65] The National Review (1925) notes that the suthan was in much use in the Punjab, generally in white washable cloth but on feast days of rich material such as Lahore silk.

[68] female kurtaka worn in parts of north India and was a short shirt, with sleeves extending from the shoulders, to the middle of the body, and had slashes on the left and the right sides.

However, traditionally, the kurti is a short cotton coat [71][72](without side slits) and is believed to have descended from the tunic of the Shunga period (2nd century B.C.).

A variation of the kurti, known as a bandi, is sleeveless and is worn as a pullover with no side slits and front opening.

[91][92] The loose suthan was also worn by men in Bannu (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)[93] which has historical and cultural connections with the rest of the Punjab region.

[94][95] The tight Punjabi suthan is a variation of the ancient svasthana, and was still popular in the Punjab region in the 19th century.

[99] The Gaddi[100] community wear the garment, especially in Pathankot[101] and Nurpur (Gurdaspur District).Its variation known as the churidar suthan is worn in the Punjab mountainous region[102] especially by the Gujjar community in the foothills of Punjab, India,[100][103] and Himachal Pradesh[104] whereby the upper part is loose but below the knees, the tight part is sewn in folds to create a bangles look.

This is the basis of the churidar pyjama, which in the Punjab region is also known as the (full length) ghuttana[106] which was adopted in Lucknow during the 19th century.

[110] Since the creation of India and Pakistan, women of the meo community of Rajasthan have adopted the salwar called khusni which, like the Punjabi suthan, is tight below the knees and loose above and is worn with a long kameez.

The kurti could be straight cut ending at the waist or be a mini version of the anga,[74] which is a gown flowing to below the knees and even to the ankles (akin to the anarkali) also known as an angarkha[113][114] and peshwaj[115] which is similar to a loose coat and wadded with cotton.

[116] Sometimes women replaced the suthan with a churidar pajama, (a tradition noted by Baden-Powell in 1872 in his book Hand-book of the Manufactures and Arts of the Punjab)[117] which would then be covered with a Punjabi Ghagra when going outdoors.

The Punjabi ghagra has its origins in the candataka which continued as a popular female dress in the seventh century.

However, the candataka ended at the thighs and the svasthana may have been used to cover the lower legs thus giving rise to the tradition of wearing the ghagra and the suthan together.

[121] Although the use of the Suthan subsequently spread to the Jammu area of the Punjab region,[121] Sindh[122] (where it was not traditionally worn) and Kashmir, in the plains of the Punjab region, the suthan was replaced with the Punjabi version of the salwar and the Punjabi kameez which gained more and more popularity during the 1960s.