Simultaneous to our home-furnishings hunt, I have been on a hijab hunt for my friend who has limited access to Islamic clothing. The hijab (a shayla is another style) is the scarf many Muslim women wear, although historically (and contemporaneously) there is much variation in how, when, where, and to what extent this garment is used. Here in Dobby we see a huge range of head-coverings, from the just-barely-there (slipping off half the head) style, to the full head-scarf plus veil, plus gloves, plus mask over the brow-bone style. Many women keep their faces bare, and many also skip on the head-covering completely (sometimes you can see the local teenage girls giggling around the mall sans head-scarf and sans abaya).
The abaya (a-bye-ya) is the floor-length black robe that women wear over their clothes in public. Here too there is much variation, as some women leave their abayas open in the front, so you can see the underlying outfits, some women are so completely wrapped up you can’t see anything, not even a toe, some have it closed just to the waist with a long flowing skirt underneath. Some Muslims (Gujurati Shias – Ismailis for example) don’t wear black robes at all, but richly colorful, embroidered robes. All these variations of both hijab/shayla and abaya (and veiling) are a matter of cultural and religious history in addition to personal choice.
The abaya (a-bye-ya) is the floor-length black robe that women wear over their clothes in public. Here too there is much variation, as some women leave their abayas open in the front, so you can see the underlying outfits, some women are so completely wrapped up you can’t see anything, not even a toe, some have it closed just to the waist with a long flowing skirt underneath. Some Muslims (Gujurati Shias – Ismailis for example) don’t wear black robes at all, but richly colorful, embroidered robes. All these variations of both hijab/shayla and abaya (and veiling) are a matter of cultural and religious history in addition to personal choice.
Despite such variety in the wearing of these garments, there is one unifying factor—these clothes are beautiful. And I mean BEAUTIFUL. And they are quite feminine and alluring, even with the purpose being to preserve modesty. Although most scarves and almost all robes are black, the decorations and embellishments on them are multicolored—with patterns and detailing in embroidery, crystals, beading, gold and silver stitching, ribbons, you name it. The overall effect is not garish, most detailing is on the sleeves and edges of the scarves, but quite grand. Bling—but toned down bling, not frightening rapper-bling.
Which brings me back to the hijab hunt. I read in the paper that the trend right now in abayas and scarves is to have them decorated with crystals—especially for Eid (the time to wear your best duds) and the surrounding celebrations. I decided to get such a scarf as an Eid gift for my friend, thinking here there is probably much more choice than in her present residence. So Harry and I start going into the abaya stores (these are in all the malls, along with dishdasha and ghutra stores for men where guys have their robes tailor-made, and the sexy evening dress stores for the dresses women get to wear to weddings because the genders remain segregated).
As you may imagine, at first we got blank stares, even though the workers are all either Indian or Philippino, but then we settled into looking at scarves with crystals. And here is the point of this posting. These things are expensive! And I mean tres, tres cher. The material is very fine, either poly-blends or silk, the crystals often Swarovski, and most things made by hand. What was the price range? For scarves 500-1000 dirhams (about 120-300 USD). For abayas, who knows? I did not ask, but imagine at least four to five times that if not more. And now I have a whole new perspective: if you calculate the entire abaya/scarf/designer shoe ensemble, excluding underlying outfits, purses, and jewelry, many women are walking around in the equivalent of haut couture /Armani suits—just on the outside. In my opinion, it’s quite a lovely way to display wealth.
PS: We have since learned that prices in Dobby and Aboo are inflated when compared to the other Emirates, so for our gift we will do a little bargain shopping next door.
PPS: Mom, if you are reading this, I think you would love an abaya—it’s a bit like your preferred teaching uniforms and would be rather imposing in front of a room of fifth graders. Plus an opportunity for cross-cultural learning…….
Which brings me back to the hijab hunt. I read in the paper that the trend right now in abayas and scarves is to have them decorated with crystals—especially for Eid (the time to wear your best duds) and the surrounding celebrations. I decided to get such a scarf as an Eid gift for my friend, thinking here there is probably much more choice than in her present residence. So Harry and I start going into the abaya stores (these are in all the malls, along with dishdasha and ghutra stores for men where guys have their robes tailor-made, and the sexy evening dress stores for the dresses women get to wear to weddings because the genders remain segregated).
As you may imagine, at first we got blank stares, even though the workers are all either Indian or Philippino, but then we settled into looking at scarves with crystals. And here is the point of this posting. These things are expensive! And I mean tres, tres cher. The material is very fine, either poly-blends or silk, the crystals often Swarovski, and most things made by hand. What was the price range? For scarves 500-1000 dirhams (about 120-300 USD). For abayas, who knows? I did not ask, but imagine at least four to five times that if not more. And now I have a whole new perspective: if you calculate the entire abaya/scarf/designer shoe ensemble, excluding underlying outfits, purses, and jewelry, many women are walking around in the equivalent of haut couture /Armani suits—just on the outside. In my opinion, it’s quite a lovely way to display wealth.
PS: We have since learned that prices in Dobby and Aboo are inflated when compared to the other Emirates, so for our gift we will do a little bargain shopping next door.
PPS: Mom, if you are reading this, I think you would love an abaya—it’s a bit like your preferred teaching uniforms and would be rather imposing in front of a room of fifth graders. Plus an opportunity for cross-cultural learning…….
2 comments:
I heard that if a female wears a man's outfit (that long-sleeved dress guys wear) she will be arrested for impersonating a man. Is that true?
I'll try to find out! APparantly Michael Jackson wears a shayla and veil with no problem in Baharain.
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