Saudi women are giving the abaya a colourful makeover

Almost every tradition in the Arab world has a legend behind it and the abaya is no exception.

Sometime in the eighth century, during the Abbasid Islamic period, the story goes that a merchant selling cloaks ran out of all the colourful ones and was left with only black ones that no one wanted.

Out of despair, he visited a poet friend and asked him for help. The poet then composed a poem praising the beauty of a woman cloaked in the “mysterious” black garment, a colour worn by the rich and noble.

The legend ends with how women descended on this cloak seller and bought all the black garments, leaving him rich, and the women feeling rich.

Growing up wearing all types of black abayas, from those peppered with bright colours and lace, to those embroidered with my initial, “R”, to those sparkling with crystals and colourful gems, the abaya and the shayla (headscarf) become part of your identity when you live in places like Saudi Arabia. There it is obligatory and all women, nationals and expatriates, must wear it.

The abaya helps you stand out and blend in at the same time, and there are certain fashion rules about it, but ultimately it is there to protect a woman’s modesty in line with Islam and culture. On a recent visit to Jeddah, I was greeted by Saudi friends who poked fun at my “traditional” black abaya and shayla, as each one of them wore a completely coloured abaya and matching shayla.

One wore a flowy beige creation with delicate off-white lace, while another wore more fitted grey with navy blue lines cut out in different geometrical designs; a third was wearing a very sporty-looking sky-blue abaya with a leather belt.

Then during trips to malls and restaurants, one would see colourful abayas that stood out from among the black-clad crowds of women. For as long as I remember, Jeddah has always been a trendsetter, not just in clothes, but in innovations and the arts.

Original article by Rym Ghazal

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Saudi women are giving the abaya a colourful makeover