The Old Arab Costume

The Arab woman looks at her dress today and finds it an exact copy — or, if you like, an imitation — of what the European woman wears. Every fashion that spreads in Paris, you will see its like among us a week later, or according to the speed of the mails.

But we rarely notice that those fashions are not born of their own day; rather they are inspired by and adapted from the old fashions. And this applies to Arab dress as well. Naturally, our dress today differs from that of the past: it is Western in tendency. But if you went deep into the Arabian Peninsula, you would see that the dress of its women today is still under the influence of the old Arab costume — that loose, flowing costume made of the softest and finest of fabrics. Nor is there anything strange in this, for the nature of the Peninsula's climate obliges her to select the finest and softest of weaves, to make the heat easier to bear.

The woman of our day needs a satin dress and its accessories — shoes, gloves, and handbag — in order to appear elegant; but among the Arabs of old, the costume was not counted complete unless it was composed of seven pieces or more, apart from the accessories.

Here is a description of this "composite" costume. The woman begins first by putting on the ghilala, which is what we today call the skirt; it is made of a transparent fabric. As for the libas, it is large, made of linen or cotton, tied with a drawstring at the waist, and falls to below the knee or even to the ankle. The lady then adds the qamis, the chemise, made of a fine cloth in bright colors. Women vied with one another in the width of its sleeves, until it was said that the breadth of a sleeve exceeded three cubits.

The chemise is of half length, since over it is worn the thawb, or "dress," which is equally ample and is made of silk.

If she wished to leave the house, she put on the jilbab, or izar, over her clothes — a wide wrap woven of linen. She did not place the veil over her face until the late Abbasid ages and the ages of decadence. Then she used the burqu', made of muslin, which covers the face except for the eyes: it begins at the nose and is tied by a ribbon to the hair behind the head. Its colors varied between black and white. The manner of wearing it changed over time, until it came to cover the woman's whole face.

As for the accessories of the costume, they consist of the belt, which the woman fastens about her waist; it is made of silk or muslin, and studded in front with precious stones.

The head was bound first with the 'isaba, which is a brocaded silk kerchief she ties around her head, from which round pieces of gold hang down over her forehead.

Over the 'isaba she wore the tarha, of very fine cloth, which she places on her head, sending its long ends back behind her, so that from beneath it show the braids of her hair, their ends tied with gilded ribbon.

Nor should we forget the handkerchief, the mahrama, on whose ornamentation great art was lavished: it is woven of silk and gold thread, and embroidered with verses of poetry written along its borders in a thread of gold.

As for adornment, the Arab woman of old used it abundantly. She would tint her hair with henna, and her palms as well. And she used aromatic scents in plenty, for they came in from India and the farthest Maghreb: musk, perfume, ambergris, aloeswood, sandalwood, clove, and camphor.

And now, you may say, Madam, that I have exaggerated in describing the old Arab costume; but I assure you that whatever a woman's standard of living, she spends a great deal on her clothes, and the more her wealth increases, the more lavish she grows in adorning her attire — making it ample and well-ordered!