Ok, so let’s talk about abayas. As mentioned in an earlier post I (K) have not found an abaya unpleasant at all to wear. Now that it’s summer and the heat is on it is starting to get a bit unpleasantly warm to wear an abaya outside. Then on the other hand, you feel unpleasantly warm wearing a bikini outside in these temperatures. When it’s 40C+ outside it doesn’t really matter anymore what you wear or do not wear – you feel hot unless you happen to be submerged in an outdoor pool.
One of the questions that seem to baffle a lot of people is why abayas in Saudi are always black. There’s actually no rule stating that it has to be black. It’s simply a cultural issue. A few weeks ago I saw some blue abayas on sale here in Riyadh. Quite liberal yes…. Here’s a picture:
I’ve once seen a red abaya in a shop as well, but I’ve never seen anyone using any another color than black, other than at the airport. Also, at the FourSeasons Friday brunch we saw a lady wearing an abaya with big colorful patterns all over the back. It didn’t really look black to us because it was so colorful. In any case, sleeves of a different color are acceptable, as are all types of glittery decorations on the back, sleeves or hem.
Now that it’s summer time I’ve noticed that fewer women cover their face with a niqab. One day at the supermarket we were doing our groceries as usual when I noticed something was different - I could see people’s faces. I don’t know if it has something to do with the summer or not, but I have a feeling that less women cover their faces now than during the spring.
One of the questions that seem to baffle a lot of people is why abayas in Saudi are always black. There’s actually no rule stating that it has to be black. It’s simply a cultural issue. A few weeks ago I saw some blue abayas on sale here in Riyadh. Quite liberal yes…. Here’s a picture:
I’ve once seen a red abaya in a shop as well, but I’ve never seen anyone using any another color than black, other than at the airport. Also, at the FourSeasons Friday brunch we saw a lady wearing an abaya with big colorful patterns all over the back. It didn’t really look black to us because it was so colorful. In any case, sleeves of a different color are acceptable, as are all types of glittery decorations on the back, sleeves or hem.
Now that it’s summer time I’ve noticed that fewer women cover their face with a niqab. One day at the supermarket we were doing our groceries as usual when I noticed something was different - I could see people’s faces. I don’t know if it has something to do with the summer or not, but I have a feeling that less women cover their faces now than during the spring.
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