Fitting Rooms – or lack thereof

The first few days here in KSA I (K) was going around a shopping mall trying to find a shop with a fitting room. Shop assistants kept telling me to buy the item and take it to the ladies toilet to try it on. Since I’ve yet to discover a shopping mall with western toilets (squat style seems to be preferred here) and considering that most toilet floors seemed to be flooded I didn’t think that was such a great idea. Add the abaya that almost touches the floor to the flooded floors and squat toilets and you get the picture.

So what do you do then? Well you buy the item, take it home and hold your fingers crossed that it’s the right size. If it’s not, then most shops will let you take the item back within three days and get your money back, or then go and exchange the size to another within seven days. If you exchange it, then you cross your fingers and go home again to try it on, all the while hoping for the best.

But, upon closer inspection, it’s now become apparent that at least in some shopping malls there are separate fitting rooms in the toilets. So you actually don’t have to deal with the flooded floor and squat toilet seat while trying on your Coco Chanel pants (… it pays to dream big right?). You still have to buy the item but you can return or exchange it right away if the size is wrong. Apparently some shops also arrange an unofficial fitting room for you if you ask, all the while keeping an eye out for any approaching muttawa.