Fashion in Saudi Arabia

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About KSA

My personal comments and papers about living in KSA

These personal views about living in Saudi are all mine,
any wrong information is due to my ignorance, please correct me!!!

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Playing: Sawwah

All my personal comments/ notes are in maroon italic type. / Pictures to open: 8

Evolution of the Abaya

The purpose of the abaya is to cover a woman's shape, supposedly to keep her modest, not calling any attention to herself.
It has slowly undergone big changes, the original abaya was simply a huge rectangle of black material with an opening down the front, the hands being used through this opening.

Until around 50 years ago, women wore the abaya from over the head letting it fall down over their shoulders, there were no fasteners or ties so that a woman had to always hold it closed. The over the head style was more regional and has since changed, the abaya is now worn on the shoulders but some of the older ladies refuse to change.

Openings for the hands was the first change, with a larger front opening.

Then lace or trim was added to the abaya to enhance the openings, some even had exquisite embroidery (in black) down the front opening and perhaps on the cuff edges. Then partial arms were added to lessen the amount of hanging side material.

The abaya has always been made with the lightest fabrics, meaning that there was always an amount of some sort of nylon in the material, the softer the material the more nylon in it. Imagine wearing a black cover with nylon in it, out in the hot sun of the day!!! It adds to the heat that a woman must bear when out in public... If you're going through menopause and going out, you think twice about it or decide to stay home, such is life........

The embroidery designs began to get bolder, brightly colored embroidery replaced the conservative black embroidery, designs varied from flowers (in all sizes) in bright colors to an eagle, wings spread and done in it's actual colors on the back of an abaya.

Then rhinestones replaced the embroidery in some designs, I stood behind a young girl in a mall and on the back of her abaya, spelled out in clear rhinestones were the words, I love you, circled around a heart of red rhinestones! Ah, where is the intention of not calling attention to ones self while wearing this???

Now the abaya can be bought in colors other than black, the color is still conservative but it's a start! One design has an under abaya in a different color with all open edges showing the second color. The arm shape became more
emphasized.

Some women wear a coat type of abaya, available in several drab colors, but they are bulky and for me, too hot to wear. My daughter wears this coat abaya because it's more flexible while trying to hold her babies and it will stay closed because it has snaps all down the front.
I search for the thinnest material (with the least nylon content) in a simple black embroidered edging and then 'fix' it to suite me. I add wide elastic to the wrists so I can pull it up and not have the sleeves catch on things, I also add Velcro fasteners all down the front.
I am wishing that for just one full day, the men would wear the abaya AND head scarf and we women would get to wear all white, let them feel what it is like!!

My sister's daughter trying on a abaya.