An arkhalig is part of both male and female traditional dress of the peoples of the Caucasus and Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

. The arkhalig originated from the beshmet, a Turkic

Turkic peoples

The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...

 outer clothing later worn by Cossack

Cossack

Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...

s.

An arkhalig is a long tight-waist jacket made of various kinds of fabric, such as silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

, satin

Satin

Satin is a weave that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back. It is a warp-dominated weaving technique that forms a minimum number of interlacings in a fabric. If a fabric is formed with a satin weave using filament fibres such as silk, nylon, or polyester, the corresponding fabric is...

, cloth, cashmere

Cashmere wool

Cashmere wool, usually simply known as cashmere, is a fiber obtained from Cashmere and other types of goats. The word cashmere derives from an old spelling of Kashmir. Cashmere is fine in texture, and strong, light, and soft. Garments made from it provide excellent...

 and velvet

Velvet

Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed,with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctive feel.The word 'velvety' is used as an adjective to mean -"smooth like velvet".-Composition:...

, traditionally depending on the social status of its owner. Male arkhaligs can be both single-breasted (done up with hooks

Hook-and-eye closure

A hook-and-eye closure is a very simple and secure method of fastening garments together. It consists of a metal hook, commonly made of flattened wire bent to the required shape, and a eye of the same material into which the hook fits....

) and double-breasted (done up with buttons). In cold weather, a chokha

Chokha

A chokha is part of the traditional male dress of the peoples of the Caucasus. It has been in wide use among Georgians from the 9th century until 1920s, The trend of Chokha in Georgians still continue to occur as they see it as their proud cultural heritage they inherit till this day...

 is put on above an arkhalig. Female arkhaligs are often ornamented and have tight long sleeves widening on the wrists. A female arkhalig can also include a fur list along the edges, patterned laces and braids, or be decorated with gold embroidery.

In the arkhalıq, there are true sleeves, either cut plain, or plain to the elbow and then slit as far as the wrist, or, in the type called lelufar (Persian language, nīlūfar that means lily), flared from the elbow like the bell of a lily and trimmed with an extra 4 cm of lining from the inside.

Arkhaligs were in wide use until the 1920s.