Overview
A chador is a single large half-round of cloth with no fastenings, thrown over the head so it envelops the wearer from crown to foot, its front edges gathered and held shut by the hands or tucked under the arms. It leaves the face open and is worn over ordinary clothes.
How it is worn
It is draped over the head and drawn around the body, held closed at the front by hand, by gripping an edge in the teeth when the hands are busy, or with a small clip. Patterned, coloured chadors are worn indoors and for prayer; the plain black one is usual on the street.
History
The wrapped veil has deep roots in Iran, worn in various colours and cloths through the Safavid and Qajar eras, when it was often patterned. The plain black chador became the standard public form in the twentieth century and a potent symbol during and after the 1979 revolution.