JEDDAH: Saudi women have been employed making thobes — the ubiquitous white floor-length items of clothing worn by Arab men — at Jeddah’s Surtaj Sanad Home for Men’s Clothing.
“I am proud to be the first to open the door for Saudi women to tailor the Saudi thobe,” said the well-known Saudi fashion designer and owner of the company, Surtaj Sanad.
Twenty-five women launched the project about three months ago, and Sanad said he plans to double his work force “soon.”
“I have personally supervised the training of these Saudi women tailors by assigning a number of our tailors to do that,” he added.
The success of the project may lead Sanad to found a training institute for women to learn how to tailor Saudi men’s fashion.
Some thobe designers have adopted modern styles, like sporty zippers and stripes, as well as the fold-down “Western” dress-shirt collars rather than the more traditional Nehru necklines.
Sanad said the women employed to stitch thobes are paid better than foreign workers and receive other incentives. As citizens, these workers are also covered by Saudi social and medical insurance, which lowers costs to the business owner who by law must provide health insurance to foreign workers.
With the advent of Eid comes the tradition of buying new clothing for the family, and with that comes a spike in the demand for new thobes. “This is the high season for us,” said Ayman Al-Hutami, an owner of a thobe-stitching shop in Jeddah.
The prices of thobe ranges from SR100 to SR600 depending on the style and quality of material. Cloth made in Japan, with costs as high as SR10,000 (over $2,600) for a 20-meter roll, is currently in vogue.
According to unofficial estimates, the thobe market is valued at SR900 million ($240 million) in Saudi Arabia, with 30 to 40 new companies entering the market each year.
