Abayah trends

What's up with the new Abayah trends? I had to comment about this because .. isn't this getting a teeny tiny bit out of control? You judge for yourself!

Abayah is the lose garment worn by muslim women outside the home (particularly in the arabian gulf), it is commonly black however a jilbab may come in a range of colours from Navy blue, green, beige and the like. Abayah is petty rare here in the west and with all the different cultures and nationalities you rarely see a true khaleeji abayah. Myself I used to like the shami fitted type of jilbab, my aunt used to bring some really nice ones back from her trip to Lebanon.

It wasn't until I travelled to Dubai and then I saw some truly outrageous patterns/colours/designs, some are just hilarious!

I love Abayah, don't get me wrong. Beading and embroidery were always around but in modest colours like black on black and so forth. The new trends now are all about colour, huge patterns, beading, crystal, gold, silver, sequins, fringes, rhinestones, tafeeta, feathers, chiffon, lace, you name it, they got it!!

What happened to modest Islamic plain black Abayas?? They're almost non-existant or extremely rare to find.

While browing on flickr (love that place!) I've discoverd yet the most shocking desing, the sheikh of UAE himself was on an abaya sheylah nicely displayed on the plastic model behind the glass at a shop at Wafi City. The sheikh's entire head was hand-done onto each side of the sheylah using silver sequens !Not to mention the pricey posh designer Abayas by Villa Moda, check out the pictures below, as the photographer exclaimed "abayah or party gown?

Forget the Paris Abayahs with the heavy price tags that will burn a hole in your wallet, even the others can be way over priced. When I was in Yemen, just before heading to Dubai I was off to the STC Mall looking for a descent Abayah that would live up to the Emirati 'standards', the Abayah I wore around yemen was a plain saudi kind I had picked up back in Canada, way too worn out to fit the "Dubai scene". My time was really limited and becuase of my height I began to wonder if I'd ever get my hands on one.
Thankfully, after some searching by the shop keeper he offered me "simpler" design which had a strip of beading running around the hem and cuffs, even around the bottom hem. The length measurement was good and it was fully black, at least lacked colour feathers and what not. I quickly made up my mind and grabbed the garment and handed over the 21,000 YR even though I didn't think it was worth my $100.

The Abayah has now pretty much lost it's purpose, from what I've seen it being used as a lose dragging shawl on top of the trendy tight tops and designer jeans, accessorized with the latest fashions in flashy handbags, sunglasses, makeup, mobile phones, jewellery, heels and accessories with the small sheylah worn on the head. (If you think muslim women aren't stylish then think again!! Believe me, I've seen it, they take only the finest)

Next time I get invited to a party or wedding I won't bother digging around in my closet because I might just consider......... the Abayah. ; )