The
religion and customs of Saudi Arabia dictate conservative dress for both
men and women.
Men
Dress
Saudi men wear the traditional thobe
which is a white dress made out of cotton or, wool. These thobes are
usually white coloured in summer to keep the men cool. In winter the men
wear different coloured thobes to keep them warm. But for men who don’t
want to wear thobes all the time wear the normal pants and a t-shirt.
Sometimes in formal occasions men wear the bisht which is a gold-edged
cloak over their thobes. This bisht is mostly worn on wedding days.
Head dress
A man's headdress consists of three things:
1. The
tagia which is a small white cap that is made of cotton that keeps the
ghutra from slipping off the head.
2. The
gutra which is a large square of cloth that is either white or red and
white checker shaped made of cotton or silk.
3. The
egal, a doubled black cord that holds the ghutra in place. Some men may
choose not to wear the egal.
The men
in Saudi Arabia usually wear the thobe and the head covers when they go
out of on formal occasions.
Footwear
Foot wear for men is also a matter of
choice. They could wear sandals made out of leather. When the men go
out, they wear black or brown shoes which could not be worn in any other
colours because the Saudis believe that the only colours for men are
white, black, and brown because they say that no man should wear bright
colours and that all bright colours are just for women. When men go to
the mosque to pray, they have to wear footwear called shibshib al shargy.
It is identical to a flip flop but is made out of leather. It has Arabic
words written all over it but sometimes it’s plain. This is very
critical for men because they are not allowed to enter a mosque without
wearing it.
Restrictions
There are fewer restrictions for men than for
women and some restrictions are: no shorts, bare-chests and singlets in
public. The only jewellery that could be worn is a watch and a wedding
ring. Men could not have piercings on their faces or bodies. Men cannot
wear earrings. They can have long hair but they are not allowed to put
it in a ponytail.
Women
Covers
In public, Saudi women always wear the abaya. The
abaya is a huge long length dress like a cloak that covers the whole
body including arms and legs. They are made out of silk and worn over
there normal dresses. There are many types of head dresses available
and they are generally black and made out of wool, cotton, silk, or
polyester. There are four different type of covers and those are:
1. The shayla/tarha is a scarf that covers only the hair.
2. The nekab has the tarha, and a face veil that leaves only the eyes
out.
3. The ghotwa has the tarha and a full veil over the face.
4. Hijab is exactly like a nekab but it covers the eyes also.
Dress
Beneath the black cloak, Saudi women enjoy fashionable clothing and take
great pride in their appearance. They enjoy bright colours and soft
material such as silk, cotton, wool and, polyester. Non-Muslim women
living in Saudi Arabia often wear the abaya as a sign of respect for
local customs.
Jewellery
Women in Saudi Arabia are restricted to wear
earrings watches and rings. They are only allowed to wear earrings
because there ears are covered with the abaya. They are also not allowed
to wear more than one one pair only. Other jewellery are banned
especially body piercing.
Footwear
In Saudi Arabia women always wear comfortable
shoes such as flip flops, slippers sandals, shoes or any footwear that
they are comfortable in since the abaya is covering there feet. On
special occasions they wear high heels. Many wealthy families buy all
sorts of fashionable footwear and bags such as Fendi, Channel, Gucci and
so on.
Restrictions
There is a dress code in Saudi Arabia for women.
Some restrictions include: clothes should cover the knees, dresses or
skirts with slits will not be worn, blouses and dresses should be
properly buttoned, long loose trousers should be worn with hip-covering
blouses, leggings and shorts should not be worn, t-shirts with slogans
or phrases are to be considered disrespectful. One-piece swimming suits
should be worn but if a woman wears a two piece ones they will be
punished severely by there parents.
