A full-length wrap-around garment worn by Bhutanese women, the kira comprises a large rectangular piece of wool, silk or cotton featuring woven patterns. Popular since before the seventeenth century, it was brought into greater prominence with the unification of the Bhutanese kingdom, and today forms the national dress for women, worn with a long-sleeved blouse, a jacket, a belt and a shoulder-cloth. Girls and women are required to wear the kira in ceremonies, public spaces, workplaces and educational institutions, though in some contexts, variations like the half-kira are permitted.

Little is known about the origins and early development of the kira. By the time the Tibetan cleric Ngawang Namgyal arrived in western Bhutan in 1616 and began the process of unifying the region’s distinct principalities into a Buddhist nation state, the kira was already dominant here. His subsequent focus on creating a distinct national cultural identity — codified in the Driglam Namzha — is thought to have led to the kira’s wider adoption even in the eastern and north-central territories. Here it replaced the native Tibetan-style tunics such as the kushung and shingkha.

Until the early twentieth century kira fabrics were largely restricted to warp-striped textiles — most commonly the white cotton thara featuring red, black and yellow stripes. Others included montha or rigpa thara, a type of aikapur with a white ground, rainbow stripes and red and blue bands; yutham, a colourful striped wild silk or cotton textile; shabthrawo, a wild silk textile with red and white stripes; and tarichem, a woollen fabric with red and blue stripes on a black ground. 

After the Wangchuck dynasty rose to power in 1907, the women of the family influenced nationwide trends by appearing in kiras of the ornately brocaded silk kushuthara textile woven in their native Kurtoe. However, Bhutan’s steady modernisation and opening up during the twentieth century also led to the increasing influence of Western dressing styles in the country. This prompted the government, in 1989, to make the gho and kira mandatory, for men and women respectively — to be worn in schools, colleges, workplaces and public spaces, with specific stipulations. Whilst rules for the gho are rigid, the kira offers greater scope for individual preferences in the fabric, colours and patterns, and to some extent, length. 

The design and draping of the kira has remained largely unchanged over centuries. It is between 2.15 and 2.70 metres long and 1.5 to 1.7 metres wide, depending on the size of the wearer. It is made out of three panels (bjang) of cloth — traditionally woven on a backstrap loom — which are sewn together in the warp-direction (lengthwise). A fringe is plied from the warp threads on the two narrow edges of the kira, and cut short — between 1 and 3 centimetres in length; while it is left uncut, the kira is considered new even if it is worn, and can be resold as such. When woven in wool, it is made up of a total of six panels of fabric, joined width-wise instead. The edges of woollen kiras are finished with a wide cotton or silk hem.

Besides the common warp-wise stripes, the fabric is also densely patterned with colourful geometric motifs such as the Tree of Life (shinglo), multi-coloured triangles (tenkhep metho), double thunderbolts (dorji jadram), swastikas (yurung), flowers, as well as shapes resembling sun rays, the wings of a fly (jam gi shogdro), and birds’ eyes (jagi mikto). 

The kira is worn over a loose open-front blouse (wonju) with elongated sleeves and a wide collar and lapel, traditionally with a full-length petticoat (gutsum) or underskirt (meyo) underneath. It is wrapped lengthwise around the body so that the stripes are horizontal; this is in contrast with the men’s gho, where the stripes are vertical. When wrapped, the back section comprises two layers of fabric and covers the shoulders; in the front, a section of the length is doubled so that there are three layers of fabric, which pass just below the armpits. Front and back are fastened together with a brooch (koma) at each shoulder. Until the mid-twentieth century, long sturdy pins called thinkhab were used instead, which often served to hold together the multiple kiras that women would wear layered, and were connected to each other with a metal chain. The koma, thinkhab and khab thinkhab (a brooch paired with a small pin) tend to be intricately worked, often using gold, silver and stones like turquoise, and serve as functional ornaments. 

The kira must be precisely draped, so that the stripes of the front and back layers line up exactly; the bottom hem is parallel to the ground; and the narrower edge of the kira is vertical rather than at an angle to the hem. The dress is then cinched tightly at the waist with the kera — a colourful, patterned cloth belt, which is wrapped twice around and fastened by tucking its fringed ends into itself. This creates a deep pouch in the front of the kira, which can serve as a pocket. A light, long-sleeved jacket known as the toego (not to be confused with the men’s undershirt of the same name) is worn over the kira. The long sleeves and the collar of the inner wonju are folded back over the toego’s cuffs and collar — in this way the colours of the two garments often create a striking contrast. 

For formal occasions the ensemble is completed with a patterned shawl or shoulder cloth (kabne or rachu), which is draped over one shoulder and sometimes fastened with a brooch or tucked into the kera. In colder regions members of the elite would also wear the traditional embroidered leather boots lham or tshoglham, which are no longer common.

Historically the length of the kira was prescribed by social rank: floor-length for the royal family, ankle-length for nobility, and just above the ankle for others. While members of the royal family continue to wear the kira long, it is otherwise based largely on practical and aesthetic concerns — while younger women favour long kiras, older women prefer to wear their kiras shorter to avoid tripping over them. Preferences of colours, patterns and materials also vary by age, ranging from bright colours and delicate patterning among the youth, to bolder colours and patterns among middle-aged women, and deeper, more subdued fabric among older women — choices aligned with broader cultural and spiritual outlooks within Bhutanese society. Today, the kira is available in cotton and synthetic fabrics, for everyday wear, as well as mathra, a checked woollen fabric from Bumthang. Silk kushuthara kiras, luxurious and expensive, are less commonly worn. 

Towards the end of the twentieth century, the half-kira was developed as a more comfortable alternative to the full kira. Tied at the hip rather than the shoulders, it covers only the legs but looks identical to the full kira when worn with the wonju and toego. While it has become widely popular among young women, who often pair it with t-shirts or sweatshirts, women employed in or visiting government institutions are still mandated to wear the full kira. Recently the half-kira has been adapted into a readymade form much like a skirt, with the kira’s distinctive fold sewn in, and offering a slimmer profile popular with younger women. Requiring less fabric, these newer versions of the garment are generally lighter and more affordable.