I’ll admit, to help me mentally get through the sweltering conditions of walking through the university campus in my black garb, I would occasionally imagine I was at Hogwarts to make the situation a bit more bearable.
Black is still the main color of choice for most women, but abaya diversity is vast (as you can see from my personal collection 🙈). They can be linen, tie-dyed, silk, lacey, tasseled, bedazzled, you name it. And prices range from $10 – $1000’s. I have a stretchy sports abaya that tapers into pant legs at the bottom which I wear on the rare occasion that I want to run outside.
A year ago, the Crown Prince hinted that abayas aren’t necessary as long as modest dress is practiced, but it seems to be up to the family and what they deem acceptable. It’s still not common to go abaya-less and I’d rather not make myself stand out any more than I do, but I’ve progressed to wearing my abaya open, or donning thin kimonos and long cardigans instead.
I understand how people could view the abaya as a tool of oppression, especially for people who are used to wearing whatever they please, but many women choose to wear it of their own accord and they love doing so.
Clothing has always been my favorite form of self-expression so abayas often feel like a blanket over my creativity, but it’s also been a good challenge to find other ways to express my identity. I’m curious to see what everyone will be wearing here in a few years as tourism ramps up…
