From puberty, girls are expected to dress in the same way as women and you will see much younger girls wearing a headscarf and abaya. We would suggest that girls wear cycling shorts under their dresses to help protect their legs from chaffing in the heat and to prevent any pant-flashing incidents.
A light-weight cardigan is also useful to cover shoulders and to keep little girls warm in the sometimes-arctic temperatures of the air-conditioned malls. If you are visiting religious sites, you will need shoes that are easy to remove but are still comfortable and supportive. Strappy sandals, court shoes and heels might be appropriate for ladies attending weddings, formal gatherings or going on shopping sprees and flip-flops are always handy.
What is important to remember is that footwear is always worn upon entry to any commercial premises. If you are travelling between April and November it is highly unlikely that you will need any sort of jacket. You may like to carry a light-weight fleece or cardigan as sometimes malls and restaurants overcompensate with air conditioning and indoor temperatures can therefore be quite chilly. Men should avoid wearing too much jewellery. A wedding ring and a watch is fine, but anything more than this is considered immodest.
Women can wear jewellery but both men and women should avoid wearing jewellery that contains any religious symbols from any faith other than Islam. If you do feel that you need to wear a symbol of your faith keep it tucked away out of sight. You should wear modest opaque loose-fitting clothing at all times and have a headscarf and abaya at hand if you are female and plan to visit any religious buildings.
Saudi Arabia is an extremely exciting destination with breath taking scenery, interesting archaeological sites and a fascinating culture. We will sure that you will have an amazing trip!
Planning a trip to Saudi? Check out our complete guide to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia here and further information here on how the new tourism visa works , along with top attractions that are ready to take visitors NOW! We also have further dress code guides if you are continuing your journey to other parts of the Middle East region:. Disclosures: This post contains affiliate links that may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you should a purchase be made. Our full website terms of use can be found here.
On this page we will be covering:. What do local women in Saudi Arabia wear? What do local men wear in Saudi Arabia? What should female tourists wear in Saudi Arabia? What should visiting men wear in Saudi Arabia?
Photo credit: Tribes of the World. Shumagh : the Qatari shumagh is typically white and has an African taste to it with two tails on the back, stiff in the front part, it resembles a cobra snake.
The 1. Here are the typical Kuwaiti garments:. It is usually used for weddings, traditional dances and so on. Shumagh : the Kuwaiti shumagh is predominantly white and characterised by a scale shape when observed from the front. Dishdasha : the Kuwaiti dishdasha has a distinguishing one button collar Kuwaiti women waiting to vote in Kuwaitis in a political rally in Photo credit: Kuwaitelections Photo credit: Kuwaitelections Bahrain might not be as big as Saudi Arabia, but it has certainly nothing left to be desired when it comes to history, biodiversity and, of course, clothes.
Their traditional clothes are in line with the other Gulf countries but have some special features which differentiate them. Abaya : lookout for red abayas with golden embroideries because they are only worn on special occasions. Red : is the national colour and it is not unusual to see women wearing accessories of this colour on important days. Shumagh : white is the most widespread colour. Worn loose, it lets the head move freely. Dishdasha : also the Bahraini thobe is very comfortable, loose and witha shirt collar.
The UAE has a complex fashion panorama. While Dubai is the most progressive and up-to-date among the emirates, the other areas are more conservative in terms of clothing. Fashion here has evolved incredibly fast and if in the past sirwal and burqa were a must for women, they have been substituted by the abaya and even the white thobe now comes in a variety of colours.
Abaya : Dubai is the land of fashionable and trendy abayas decorated with sequins, embroideries and ribbons. Shumagh : white or in the Jordanian red and white pattern. Very simply styled and left loose over the shoulders. Kandora : the UAE name for dishdasha. It is collarless and features a long tassel called tarboosh. Emirati women in Dubai airport.
Photo credit: Nicolas Mirguet. In recent years it has become fashionable for men in the UAE to wear an American style baseball hat or trucker hat with their white or brown Kandora. The southern sultanate really cares about the integrity of its national heritage, clothing included. Western-style clothes have no space in the country, with the exception of tourists of course.
Abaya : the black abaya with some colourful details is most common in the capital Masqat. Dishdasha : just like men, also Omani women of rural areas wear this traditional tunic in a great variety of colours and with rich details. They match it with loose-fitting sirwals. Kumma : there is no space for the shumagh in Oman, substituted by the traditional cap which comes in different colours and has holes to keep the head cool. Muzzar : a turban which is wrapped around the head, with or without kumma underneath it.
Dishdasha : it can be white or in earth tones such as brown or grey. It sports a short tassel, too. Omani family in Nizwa. Photo credit: ophiuchus1. This country has preserved an extraordinary heritage in terms of history and traditions. Clothes are just one expression of how much Yemenis still follow their customs and their outfits show the region they come from: the mountainous North, the coastal area of the West and South or a tribal area.
Still, it is not uncommon for men to wear Western clothes in the cities. Nowadays, only elderly women wear this colourful piece of cloth which covers them from head to toes. Shawl : this headscarf, differently from the shumagh, is wrapped around the head just like a turban. It comes in many different colours. The more valuable ones have been used by the same family for generations. There are also cheaper daggers manufactured in China. Yemeni woman wearing a Sitara.
Photo credit:fiat. Photo credit: fiat. The style of Sudan is unique and easily recognisable. Sudanese wear many of the garments which are widespread in the rest of the Middle East, but in a brighter and more colourful version which reminds us of other African countries. While Western clothes are indeed used especially in the cities, some still prefer the loose-fitting traditional items. Thobe : differently from the Gulf, this big piece of cloth is an item for women.
It is wrapped all around the body and the head. It comes in varying patterns and colours, according to the occasion. It is generally donned by older women. Alternatives are: abayas, long skirts, and dresses. Hijab : being a Muslim country, all Sudanese women wear a headscarf, sometimes underneath the thobe. Jalabiya : just like the Egyptians, also Sudanese men like being comfortable wearing this loose-fitting tunic.
They usually add a decorated scarf called an immah. Taqiya : the skullcap is worn without the keffieh to keep the head cool, again just like Egypt. Clothing in the Middle East is an important business, perhaps even more than in the West. Clothes reveal so many things about not only the personality, but also the region and social class of the wearer.
Moreover, the choice of a certain item of clothing assumes a fundamental moral value. For example, some Arabs more or less consciously think that women without hijabs are more open minded, but also have fewer morals, while women with hijab are somewhat more religious and thus respectable. Thus, clothes in the Middle East are a fashion statement, just like they are in the West, but clothing has a stronger social and moral dimension, too.
As we have seen there is an infinite variety of Arab garments and what we have listed represents only a minimum part of it. Clothes remain a fundamental element in the cultural identity of each country in the Middle East.
Some countries have followed Western footsteps in terms of fashion, namely the Levant and North Africa, while others are still holding on tight to their traditional attires like Saudi Arabia or Yemen. While clothing might seem a superficial matter in Europe and America, this really is not the case in the Middle East. Clothes can give us precious info about the person in front of us while we are doing business or making friends and it is a useful key to understand the spirit of each Arab nation.
IstiZada regularly creates resources that are free to the public with the goal of building bridges with the Arab world through education.
Years ago we saw that there was a lack of good information available online about various aspects of Arab culture in English. All images in this post and the quiz are from Flickr and licensed under Creative Commons. Contact Us Facebook. Get Our Newsletter. Updated on: October 17, October 17, Arab Clothing: The Ultimate Guide The Middle East is a variegated and colourful universe when it comes to clothes and attires for both men and women.
This statement is wrong for two main reasons: a. It is also the local custom to wear an Abaya here. Often when we travel we want to dress like the locals and wear traditional clothes, well here in Saudi Arabia, that means wearing a black Abaya and personally, I enjoyed wearing it.
Jeddah is the one city you will feel more comfortable in without an Abaya or by wearing an open Abaya, then Riyadh because people in Riyadh are used to ex-pats and foreign workers.
But legally you do not have to, so you cannot get in trouble for not wearing one. Depending on where you live or travel before Saudi Arabia, you may be able to buy an Abaya before you get here. I visited Kuwait before Saudi. You are completely fine arriving in Riyadh Airport, or Jeddah Airport with no Abaya , but on your first day, you should go to a Mall and buy one.
All Malls in Saudi Arabia will sell Abayas. Some Abaya shops can be expensive, but if you go to a mall with a local looking market inside it, you will get a cheaper one. Has buttons. Some have a zip but again, they will be hotter. The buttons give a breeze! Has buttons all the way down. I have one Abaya with a button just at the top and in the wind, it blows open which is annoying so I prefer my Abaya with buttons all the way down it as I can keep it fully closed or open it more depending on where I am.
Goes all the way to your feet. Is a light material. Alternatively, to be prepared, you could order an Abaya online , so you do not have to spend your first day in Saudi Arabia shopping although visiting the malls is a very local thing to do here!
Of course, this will depend on the temperature and how well you cope with wearing clothes in the heat, I do not cope well with this! Just be careful not too show too much chest skin if you wear less clothes underneath. Click here to have a look at options! This law also changed recently but before the Abaya law. Covering your hair in Saudi Arabia and wearing a Hijab in Saudi Arabia is not needed unless you go inside a Mosque and unlike the Abaya culture and law, you will feel fine with you hair out in public as a tourist and non-Muslim in Saudi Arabia.
The only place I covered my hair in public was in the holy city of Medina. Ellie Quinn is the British blogger and travel addict behind this blog. In she moved to Manchester where she travels from regularly around family life. Thank you so much for your honesty and too the point advice on Riyadh. I am an older lady living in Qatar but from the Uk.
We are on the move to Saudi and have been worrying what to wear on the plane etc. Many website give you no help at all, but yours is awesome. I am now going to look for your YouTube channel.
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