June 2, 2021

Traditional national women's costume in the UAE

The tradition of wearing a veil comes from the Assyrians and dates back to the 15th century BC. In the Middle East, it was believed that a woman should wear a veil and headscarf. In the desert, this was due to the most severe need to protect from sand and exposure to sunlight. The traditional dress in which a woman is shown in public, a black long dress, is called abaya.

For urban women of the coast, abayas are sewn from light fabrics such as silk, satin, for Bedouins living in the desert; the fabric for abaya is denser and coarser.

The black abaya is worn as a top cloak, and is worn only when going out into the street.

Her color, according to Heather Ross, is ideal because it "fits everything." Until recently, Abaya did not have other colors, except for black, which was proposed and approved by Islam as a reliable disguise to hide an attractive female image. Recall that indigo was a common fabric dye in the Middle East in the past. Poor Bedouins could only afford to dip the fabric in the paint once, and therefore, when it dried, it turned blue. Arabs are richer; they did it up to three times, getting the best color - blue-black. It is likely that today's black comes from a preference for a dark color in the past.

Black means the same - the husband's shadow, in addition, at a temperature of 50 degrees, it is not possible to be in the sun for a long time in a black dress, so a woman must stay at home.

There are emirates that do not have fashionable abayas in their wardrobe. They are very pious, religious women, or the wives and daughters of very religious, jealous husbands and fathers. For them, abaya is outerwear, a cape, the function prescribed by Islam is to cover, hide clothes, beauty, a woman from prying eyes. They believe that abaya should not be attractive, beautiful and fashionable. These women often wear niqab and choose all accessories, including bags and shoes in dark colors.

In rare families, women cover their entire face, including their eyes, with a veil called gashva, wear gloves on their hands, and closed shoes, stockings or socks on their feet.

In addition to abaya, some wives have to wear a jellabiya dress in the house, and sometimes even cover their hair in the house, if a woman lives with her husband's relatives - men who are alien to her.

In traditional families on holidays it is customary to wear a dress "muhavar", which is also called "kandura", made of colorful fabric with embroidery and rhinestones on the sleeves and chest. But there are families where Emirati women wear jeans, T-shirts, skirts and dresses from fashion stores both at home and in public under abaya. Much depends on the morals in the family and the views of the husband.

Most Emirates wear simple black abayas with a headscarf or abayas with minor color trim, and smart ones are worn for celebrations and weddings. Many Muslim women themselves tend to dress modestly for work, school or shopping. Muslim culture and traditions also influence the choice of simple abayas because they are practical.

Many women in the UAE today follow fashion and strive to wear expensive, bright abayas, constantly buy the latest models, emphasizing femininity and attractiveness. For them, abaya is a means of self-affirmation, according to it, the status of the hostess, taste and financial capabilities are assessed.

In the past, many city dwellers wore braided abayas. They were without intricate patterns, voluminous, sleeveless and demanding a lot of fabric. The plus was that they made it possible to hide the whole body and even the hands. They were sewn practically without decoration, and any decoration of outer streetwear was considered inappropriate in public. The main decoration was expensive fabric and a thin lace ribbon on the upper edge, which was worn over the head or trimmed with gold cord.

Such abayas were popular 30-40 years ago, for sewing they used thin, soft, flowing, mainly silk fabric. They are still popular with older women, especially in the Gulf countries, Iraq and eastern Syria. Today it is decorated with a black cord along the hem and along the shoulder seams, a frequent decoration is soutache, silk, rhinestones, lace, metal overlays, embroidery, geometric patterns from appliqués, mother-of-pearl buttons, cowries shells, silver, beads and bugles, a variety of lace, rhinestones , beautiful braid, knitted or embroidered flowers, birds, butterflies, bows, beads, sometimes soft leather trimmed with silver is used, a special decoration of the brush.

Abaya fashion trends today are very wide sleeves, sometimes tapering at the wrist, asymmetry, when one sleeve is thin, the other is wide.