Overview

In this age when realistic portraiture developed, court dress was vividly recorded.

Key garments and style

Men belted a long robe, wore a tall black lambskin hat and kept a beard. Under Naser al-Din Shah, a short, full skirt (the shaliteh), inspired by European ballet, became fashionable among court women. Painters such as Kamal-ol-Molk record the look.

Transition

With the Pahlavi dynasty, Westernising dress reforms changed this dress sharply.