The Khaddar Complex
Khaddar is an organic cotton mostly made in Punjab, Pakistan. It can feel different depending on the refinement it goes through. It’s widely known to be cool in the summer and warm in the winter
Locally its widely known as a fabric worn by rural communities. I have to admit that was why I haven’t tried it until I did sometime ago.
You have to break it in. But it does not take long. 2-3 washes and you already feel it aging into a comfortable veil that moves with you.
Makes one think how much they’re missing out by being pretentious.
My first experience with khaddar was a mistake. I was obsessed with finding linen locally and stumbled across it when a local fabric seller sold me this calling it “irish” (the local word for linen). My linen obsession was more of a mission to check a box off my list. Maybe. Linen is just starting to come into Pakistan and a few years ago it was only something I could hear about on the internet and look at pictures of Luca Faloni’s portofino shirts.
So I wore that khaddar as a shirt for around 2-3 years before someone told me it was actually khaddar. And Khaddar was something only the rural population of Pakistan used to wear and this naturally (or unnaturally) compelled me to stay away from it because of a superiority complex I assume.
Fast forward to this year (early 2025) I discovered a handloom indigo dyed khaddar here in Karachi and I was hooked.