# What Do they Wear under the Abyah? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 3, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-wear-under-the-abyah/495184 "2009-05-03T16:08:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-wear-under-the-abyah/495184/1 "2009-05-03T16:08:14Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-wear-under-the-abyah/495184/2 "2009-05-03T17:16:20Z")
In what language? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-wear-under-the-abyah/495184/3 "2009-05-03T20:31:10Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-wear-under-the-abyah/495184/4 "2009-05-03T22:59:24Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-wear-under-the-abyah/495184/5 "2009-05-04T14:51:44Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Dottygumdrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Dottygumdrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dottygumdrop)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-wear-under-the-abyah/495184/6 "2009-05-04T17:03:15Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-wear-under-the-abyah/495184/7 "2009-05-05T16:26:24Z")
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.