They come in beautiful fabrics, with sparkling crystal beads, pearls, flowers or patches. Abayas, the long, black robes worn by women in the Muslim Gulf region, have become trendy.
But add to the abaya what you will, one thing remains sacred: it must be made of black fabric.
"We here must wear abayas ... the only thing we can take pride in is our abayas," said Hana Mohsen, a 26-year-old Emirati broker picking out a new outfit in a Dubai shopping mall.
PHOTO:AFP
"If you go to a wedding, you will see abayas more expensive than the gowns," said Mohsen, adding she would spend up to 3,000 dirhams (NT$26,180) on a wedding abaya and half that amount on one meant for other outings.
Saifullah Nouraei, an Iranian designer and branch manager at one of the leading abaya retailers, said things have changed a great deal since women in the oil-rich region wore only plain abayas that came in a single piece covering them from head to toe.
"They now follow the fashion in everything. You can't be wearing a Giorgio Armani dress with a 100-dirham abaya on top," he argued.
Advocates of fancier versions are convinced they can combine fashion and modesty.
"I cannot have my wife going around in a short dress," said Rashed Mohammad, a Kuwaiti man.
Never mind that his elegant wife, sporting an abaya decorated with gold and matching head cover, could cause more heads to turn than a less attractive woman in a short skirt. (AFP)
美麗的布料搭配閃亮的水晶珠、珍珠、花朵和色塊布，波灣地區域穆斯林婦女們所穿的黑色長袍「阿巴雅」已形成一股時尚潮流。
但是，不論阿巴雅上頭添加多少飾品，有一件事依舊神聖不可侵犯︰它必須以黑色布料製成。
二十六歲的阿拉伯聯合大公國証券交易員哈娜．莫森在杜拜的購物中心挑選新衣時表示︰「我們必須穿阿巴雅，它是我們唯一能自豪的事。」
莫森說︰「你如果去參加婚禮，就會發現阿巴雅比禮服還貴。」她補充，她會花上三千迪拉姆﹙新台幣兩萬六千一百八十元﹚去買一件婚禮用的阿巴雅，而以一半的價格購買一件其他外出用的阿巴雅。
伊朗設計師賽佛拉．諾拉耶在一家阿巴雅零售大廠任分店經理一職，他表示，從前這個盛產石油地區的女性只穿從頭蓋到腳的一片式素色阿巴雅，但此後情況有很大的轉變。
他認為︰「現在她們什麼都要跟著流行走，你沒辦法穿著亞曼尼的衣服，外面卻罩著一百迪拉姆的阿巴雅。」
有人提倡穿較花俏的阿巴雅，而且相信自己能融合時尚和簡樸。
一名科威特男子拉許*莫哈馬說︰「我不能讓老婆穿著短裙到處走。」
但其實，他身穿飾金的阿巴雅搭配相稱頭罩的優雅妻子，可能比穿短裙的平凡女子更引人側目。（法新社／翻譯：鄭湘儀）
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