Saturday, July 20, 2013

Jeddah: Dress Shop Display

Dresses embellished with embroidery, beads, and other details are very popular with women in Saudi Arabia.  When out in public, women wear outer black cloaks called abayas over their normal clothing. 

3 comments:

Dave-CostaRicaDailyPhoto.com said...

Now I am confused. What is the point of wearing fancy clothes like this if they have to cover up with a black robe. Do they get to take their robe off when inside? Can they wear their nice, fancy dresses inside when visiting friends and wear the robe only when going back and forth to home? What if they are visiting friends and there are men around? These rules are a mystery.

Susie of Arabia said...

Hi Dave - Garments like this can be worn at home or if a woman is going to visit another home. Unless she is related (by blood) to a male, she would most likely keep her black cloak on over whatever she is wearing underneath. Generally when there are large parties of visitors, men and women are in separate areas of the home and don't see each other. There are even separate entrances in homes for male and female guests. In the presence of just other women, women can take off their abayas.

Anonymous said...

These are so beautiful! Good for Eid! I love the choices. sf