Raj pattern (Thai:ราชปะแตน,RTGS: ratcha pataen,pronounced[râːt.t͡ɕʰā.pā.tɛ̄ːn]) refers either to aThai men'scostume consisting of a whiteNehru-stylejacket with five buttons, achong kraben, knee-lengthsocks anddress shoes, or to the specific form of the jacket itself. It was worn chiefly during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by government officials and the upper class inBangkok, and nowadays is used in select circumstances as anational costume.
Theraj pattern was devised by KingChulalongkorn during his visit toBritish India in 1871, where he hired aCalcutta tailor to make a jacket with a standingcollar and buttoned vertical opening. Previously in 1870, the king had had his entourage dress in a combination ofchong kraben (awrap worn with part of the fabric folded back between the legs and tucked behind the waist) and Westernsuit jacket, socks and shoes during his visit toSingapore andJava. This new jacket replaced the suit jacket, alleviating the need for a separate layer of shirt in the hot climate, and the dress soon became the de facto civil uniform.[1] It was worn both officially and privately and remained popular until thePibulsonggram era, when thechong kraben was banned bycultural mandate. The nameraj pattern, fromPalirājā and Englishpattern and meaningroyal pattern,[2] was coined by Phon Bunnak (later the Chao Phraya Phasakorawong), who was acting as royal secretary during the king's journey.[1]
Nowadays, the fullraj pattern costume is worn only on select occasions as a national costume, and is employed regularly only in the tourism industry. The jacket, however, has found continued use in thedress uniforms of the civil and military services,[2] as well as the formal clothing worn with thesuea khrui as theacademic dress of certain universities, where it is worn with trousers in the Western style. Another Thai garment which is very similar in design is thesuea phraratchathan.