FOLLOWING fashion and dressing up is something that continues to grow in the hearts of people one generation after another. Fashion is not a trivial matter for many people, especially Saudis who take clothes shopping very seriously. Many people continuously try different clothes to see if they match and fit to ensure they stand out when they wear them.
Some people like do dress simple, while others prefer dressing in a fancy manner. As the month of Ramadan is close to ending and Eid Al-Fitr is fast approaching, people of all ages are preparing outfits specially for the occasion.
Muslims were encouraged to wear new clothes to grace the occasion of Eid 1427 years ago by the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him). However buying something new does not necessarily mean buying something expensive. Ramadan shoppers may have traveled far and wide and gone to the extreme of buying costly clothes, however, they should remember that the pleasant feeling of searching for matching clothes is the same regardless of whether one pays SR10 or SR1,000.
The traditional plain and embroidered long dresses with long sleeves that women of bygone days used to wear have drawn the interests of today’s youth. Even teenagers, who prefer wearing casual clothes all year long, tend to get special traditional-style thobes for Eid.
Thobe is the name given to the loose long-sleeved ankle-length men’s garment that varies in color from white and beige (which are worn in summer) and navy, brown and darker colors (which are worn in winter). Along with a thobe, people have an option of wearing a ghutra that is either white (a square scarf made of silk and cotton) or red and white, which is called a shumagh. The headdress is then kept firmly in place with a thick, black ring called the igaal. Sometimes men tend to wear an outer cloak on top of the thobe for additional warmth or just to look more elegant.
The long dresses worn by women are also called thobes — although some people call them Ramadan thobes, because most women tend to don them during Ramadan and on the two Eids.
All of the men and women of various ages that spoke to Arab News agree that Ramadan had a special flavor of its own that is enhanced by traditional attire.
“We were raised this way. My father used to take me and my brother to a tailor to get our new thobes embroidered in Ramadan so that we would have something fresh and new to wear on Eid. We’d continue wearing the same clothes during the year also. I have always liked it and I bet I’ll continue this tradition with my children,” said 33-year-old Hossam Abdulmajeed.
Ahmed Abdullah, 21, added, “Mens’ thobes, and even women’s as well, never go out of fashion. That is why sometimes I may get an expensive one because I know I’ll be wearing it a lot,” he said.
Even young female friends find thobes exciting and wait for the holy month to get specially stitched and designed thobes. Reham Abdulaziz, 23, said she couldn’t feel Ramadan or Eid until she goes shopping with her friends to buy new thobes. “The thobe feels really different. It’s more comfy, feminine and simple yet very elegant. I love wearing it at gatherings in Ramadan and on the first days of the Eid holiday,” she said.
The spirituality of Ramadan is something that has encouraged women to wear thobes as Islamically they are advised to wear clothes that are descent, modest and unrevealing.
Somaya Abdulanabi, 38, said, “Thobes are long and normally come in thick fabrics and so they tend to be very modest and unrevealing.” With a sense of humor she added, “It doesn’t even show the over weight gained so we always look good in it.”
Wearing thobes have furthermore become a trend among all ages — mothers and young daughters tend to buy the same designs and fathers and their sons are doing the same. “It is so easy and we look good in Eid pictures. The little children look cute and adorable in thobes. It creates a kind of intimacy and a sense of bondage among family members,” said Abdulnabi’s sister Khadeja, aged 55.
There are very few books about Saudi thobes in particular. However, there are some books on traditional Saudi attire published in the Arabic language; there are even fewer in the English language. The most noteworthy is “The Art of Arabian Costume” by Heather Colyer Ross.
According to Ross, a delightful event which attracted a lot of attention took place in 1987 when Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar ibn Sultan, and his wife, Princess Haifa bint Faisal, were invited guests at a fashion show in Washington. Models pranced up and down a catwalk exhibiting some 64 dresses peculiar to Saudi Arabia. “That increased awareness of Saudi cultural legacy,” said Ross in one of his published articles.
Thobes are no longer a style particular to the Bedouin. Rather thobes are popular among all sections of Saudi society. The essence is still there and a sense of creativity has led many designers to try attracting customers by incorporating Japanese and Indian styles and fabric in men’s thobes.
Not many Saudis travel abroad wearing traditional outfits, yet foreigners who visit the Kingdom find the local dress very pleasing and tend to purchase them as gifts and souvenirs for friends back home.
Moreover, according to some people, the decoration and embroidery in women’s thobes that many find unique and attractive have originated in India and Persia.
Thobes are part of the cultural heritage of the Kingdom. With the world having become a global village and cultural dresses overlapping, nevertheless thobes continue to be worn and are firmly standing their ground in spite of the test of time.
