New Abaya...

So, many of the British or American ladies I have met since being in Riyadh only have 1 Abaya (or 2 at the most) and they are never very excited by the purchasing of them!

I, on the other hand, have only been living here for less than 2 months and now own SIX! Yes SIX...BUT I have to wear one everytime I leave the compound ( for me this is daily) I decided in order for it not to be a chore to wear I would treat it like an outfit - so I have sparkles, demure ( well almost!) and totally OTT

So here is my latest purchase....

DH thinks I am about to "take off"

There's a LOT of material but the belt that ties up inside helps create some shape...

As you can see the dust plays havoc with long floating BLACK dresses out here!

This one is definetely not "an everyday" Abaya but I think all the swathes of fabric and the embroidered waist 'belt' make it quite glamorous...

My everyday look is more like this - but it was designed in Dubai which has more bling!! It has very tight fitting silk jersey sleeves...

As you can see they all differ hugely - some are fastened with poppers down the front ( this style is great for travelling as quick to remove!), some have a zip diagonally from the neck to the shoulder 

(very high fitting covering everything - great for wearing downtown in the Souk!) Some just pop over your head and have a couple of poppers at the chest/throat area and my very special evening/going out one has one popper at chest level but lots of silk jersey fabric so it hangs beautifully (will do a photo post of this one later!)

When you buy a new Abaya they usually come with a matching chiffon style rectangular scarf that has the same embellishments as the abaya - usually just down one side or on the ends... 

I have to admit that actually I quite like the drama of an abaya and the need to add embellishments! I can see a new company emerging....