We have a school full of female employees this cycle. First time I have taught Arab women, it has been interesting.
We are now waiting for test results and doing little. One of the ladies from another class was sitting on a low wall, calling on her phone. The sleeves of her black abyah were pulled up to her shoulders. Under the gown she had on a black long-sleeve shirt.
On each shoulder was a military-style patch reading “Anarchy!”
I thought you would like to know.
In what language?
It guess depends on personal preferences and what they can afford. I’ve heard that wealthy Saudi women often wear Western designer clothes underneath their abayas. They dress to impress other women.
I heard the same thing. I worked at a company that did aircraft maintenance in the Middle East and my in-the-know coworkers said they would sometimes even wear a high-fashion bikini under it.
She had the same getup on today. I looked more closely. On the shoulders of the abyah itself she has the “anacrchy” patch was supported on each side by a hand cards, eights and aces, the “dead man’s hand.” Other ladies have the white-and-red Ghuttrah head-cloth pattern inside their sleeves (looks sharp).
Lots of gold lace and flowers too. This is not Saudi Arabia.
Under the robe they tend to be in jeans with high-heels and some sort of blouse. They are very careful to keep their hair covered.
A couple of the girls I work with wear leggings and a T-shirt under their abbayas - comfortable! My MIL always wears a jalabiya (aka caftan) under hers. When I used to go to Saudi for business, I would just wear yoga pants and a long-sleeve T-shirt under my abbaya. Some girls wear designer jeans, etc.
A girl came in this morning in jeans and shirt with her gown in a bag. She went into our lady’s lounge and came out ready for class.