Men’s and women’s Arabic dress in the Middle East comes in a rainbow of designs and colors. It is still a complicated reality in which indigenous practices mix with Western influences. Continue reading if the only images of Middle Eastern clothing that come to mind are black veils and white robes.
Despite the latter’s great impact, traces of traditional Arab attire may be seen all over the globe. In this article, I’ll address some widespread myths regarding what Arabs wear.
Buying in the Middle East
When shopping for apparel and fabric in the Middle East, age and geography are important factors to consider. On the one hand, younger generations prefer Western trends and only dress traditionally for special events like weddings, religious festivities, and pilgrimages.
Furthermore, traditional Arabic attire is significantly more likely to be seen in the elderly. City people, on the other hand, are more up-to-date on fashion and brand names.
Women and men in rural and sparsely populated places continue to choose traditional clothing for the practical advantages it gives against the weather.
The wearer’s socioeconomic position should also be considered. Even while fashionable Western fashion is popular among the upper and middle classes, traditional clothing may still be seen in more conservative neighborhoods and rural areas. While this may be true in certain Levantine and North African nations, in the Gulf, men and women wear the same attire and the norms are different.
In fact, in Gulf nations, the quality and style of one’s ‘abaya might indicate one’s social rank.
Misconceptions about Arabic clothing
To begin, I’ll clarify a few essential phrases from the Arabic fashion language and debunk a few Middle Eastern dress misconceptions.
1. All Arab women wear the hijab
No. There are two flaws with this statement.
- While many Muslim women choose to cover their hair, a considerable number do not.
- Because Arab women include Christians and Jews, they may not all dress the same way.
2. Second, a hijab is a kind of headscarf.
Yes. A hijab, or headscarf, is worn by many Muslim women. Furthermore, the hijab is the word for the head covering used by certain Muslim women.
Hijab is another term for modest clothing that includes a head covering.
No. The phrase “veil” may refer to a wide range of head coverings with varied designs, lengths, and materials. Women wear veils for a variety of reasons, including religious or cultural identification with a particular civilization, as well as to make a bold fashion statement.
Hijabs are mostly designed from cotton fabric or linen fabric as they are comfy and moisture-absorbent.
The most frequent varieties of hijabs are as follows:
- A shayla, a kind of veil that lays comfortably on the shoulders, is made by wrapping a long scarf around the head and securing it under the chin.
Wearing a hat of the same color as the garment beneath helps to keep the hijab in place. Depending on the woman’s preferences, the hat brim may or may not be seen. The ladies of the Gulf nations wear this kind of hijab the most (except for Saudi Arabia).
- This is Al-Amira, the second part of the veil.
It consists of a cap worn over a tubular scarf that may be put on fast and simply. The most obvious differences between Shayla and Al-Amira are their head hats and scarves (rectangular for Shayla and tubular for Al-Amira) (hidden or only slightly visible in the former, while a significant portion is left exposed in the latter). The veil is either made from plain fabric, printed fabric or sometimes made with embellished fabric too.
It may be found in the Middle East, although it is most common among Muslim people in Southeast Asia.
3. The great majority of Arab women dress in a burqa.
As you’ll see, this isn’t totally correct. The burqa, an Islamic head covering that originates in the Middle East, is often worn by Pakistani and Afghan women. Although some nations, such as Yemen, have their own version of the burqa (or burghaa), the veil was imposed by the Taliban and is not widely worn in the Arab world.
They even prefer that the fabric for their burqa is either silk or modal satin as it is smooth and silky in touch.
4. Every Arab male dress in a long white robe and a distinctive colored headscarf.
No. Only males in the Gulf area wear a headscarf and a white robe. A knotted strand of black thread holds the headscarf (known as a ghuthrain in the Gulf and a keffiah in the Levant) in place (aghal). The hair is held in place with a skullcap known as a thagiyah.
Males in the Gulf area often dress in a long or short white robe (also known as a thoub/thobe, dishdasha, or andura) and a pair of loose-fitting sirwal.
Author Bio
Hi, I am moana snow working as a content writer in Fabriclore, writing original, high-quality, engaging content for the company website and blog. I am also responsible for creating and managing social media content.Since our inception, Fabriclore has been working to revive Indian crafts and bring them to the doorstep of the modern consumer. Our range today covers accessories, sarees, and a wide variety of other products, all designed with our 10000+ unique textile prints. Our primary goal is to make fashion sustainable – to turn the tide of disposable quick fashion and help restore equilibrium in the industry. If you’re as excited about this mission as we are, we’d love to hear from you! We are always looking for talented people to collaborate with us and help us grow as a fabric manufacturer.
