Other lands
The Cambodian sampot
The wrapped silk skirt of Cambodia, folded at the front and tucked at the waist, often woven in ikat patterns called hol.
The sampot is the wrapped lower garment of Cambodia. Women wear it as a skirt, often in silk, and for formal occasions the silk may be woven in a weft ikat pattern called hol. It is not a saree, but a wrapped cloth of a related kind, worn with a blouse and sometimes a shoulder cloth.
Wrapped step by step
Each drawing shows the cloth so far, with the newest step outlined in gold. The figure is a front view; the wearer's left is on your right.
Step 1 Put on the fitted blouse. Step 2 Wrap the cloth round the waist so that it covers the legs to the ankle. Step 3 Fold the front edge into a pleat at the centre. Step 4 Tuck the pleat firmly at the waist. Step 5 Tie a belt or sash over it if the cloth needs holding. Step 6 Let the hem fall straight and show the pattern. Finished The Cambodian sampot, seen from the front.
Where it comes from
The sampot is of long standing, shown in the stone carvings of Angkor, where figures wear wrapped lower garments. Cambodian silk weaving uses weft ikat, in which threads are tied and dyed before the cloth is woven, and the result is the patterned silk known as sampot hol. During the 1970s, the weaving was badly damaged, and in later years weavers and groups have worked to revive it. The garment remains a mark of formal dress. The tradition of tying dye before weaving is a skill passed from mother to daughter in the villages where it is practised.
How it looks
In its simplest form it is a rectangle of cloth wrapped round the waist, the front folded and tucked, to the ankle or the calf. Women wear it with a fitted blouse. A related style, the sampot chang kben, passes the cloth between the legs. The patterned silk has small geometric or figure motifs that show a soft edge where the dye blurs at the thread, which is a mark of ikat. Colours are often rich silk shades, and the weave is judged by the evenness of its pattern.
Who wears it and when
Women wear sampot at weddings, temple festivals, state events and in classical dance, and some wear it in offices and schools as part of dress codes. Silk sampot is kept for special days, while cotton and synthetic versions are worn more casually. The garment is a national symbol, so it appears in tourism and ceremonial settings. Practice differs between town and countryside, and by age. Visitors to temples are usually expected to dress modestly, and a sampot meets that custom. This guide gives the general form, and a maker, dresser or family may do it a little differently.
Sarees worn this way
Also part of it, and being written: Sampot (The garment itself.).
Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryPallu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The drawings are simplified diagrams of the order of wrapping, not a lesson: how a drape is worn differs from family to family. If we have something wrong, tell us.