Nevertheless, the readiness to follow certain European fashions depends solely upon the personal influence of the Amir, although the custom prevails more generally in Kabul than in many parts of India. European weapons are, of course, acquired by all who can afford them; but the earliest and the most striking change of dress is the replacement of the _cummerbund_ by a belt, with a brass or silver buckle and decorated with two labels--“Made in Germany” and “God Bless the Happy Home.” Upon more serious grounds the wisdom of this innovation may be questioned, since the climate of Afghanistan is subject to such great variations of temperature that the _cummerbund_ affords excellent protection to the abdominal region. The purchase of socks and “foreign style” coat or, better still, a discarded uniform follows, while patent leather button boots are considered to give a nice, dressy appearance to the bareness of the leg. Trousers are not general in any degree, although they are affected among the upper classes and also in Court and military circles. They are made quite loose and are put on over the native pyjamas. In spite of the popularity which foreign dress has achieved, it is always discarded in the privacy of the family. While nothing affords Habib Ullah so much pleasure as showing himself in European costume in public, nothing will induce him to wear Western clothes once the doors of his palace have closed upon him and he can recline at his ease amid well-placed cushions. His disapproval of ostentatious habiliment was revealed at the Nauroz festival in 1903, when he ordained that all good Mahommedans of the upper classes should eschew braid, gold lace and embroidered shoes. He also enjoined them to wear trousers and to keep the feet and ankles bare. Hindus were ordered to wear yellow turbans and to encircle the waist with a cord as a mark of distinction and humility.