Gulf Fashion: From Black to Ack!

Three of my students at the museum, (I call this pic "Three Sheets to the Wind").

Back in Canada, when I told most people we were off to the gulf to teach again, we were really surprised at the reactions we'd get. Generally, only two people asked us to come see them when we returned and answer some questions they had about the area. 

A lot of other people decided to tell us "what it's like over there". And what they always focused on was the abaya, that black cover women wear over their clothes when they go out in public. 

"It's horrible! They're forced to wear it!" 

Well for the one millionth time, I'm here to say - it's NOT horrible and they are NOT forced to wear it. They love it. It's the national dress, and they want to wear it. (And trust me, the abaya is seriously the LEAST of their problems.) 

Gulf ladies are very fashion conscious. Our student mona unpacked her closet for us this week and it was jammed with clothes; bright traditional Omani dresses, western jeans and t-shirts splashed with Disneyland across the front and beautiful handmade indian Punjabis. She also has about a dozen black abayas, all different and very stylish.

An Abaya Store

Abayas are not all the same here. When buying a generic abaya, you go to just a shop in a mall, but many ladies prefer to go to a more traditional shop. There you first choose the body shape, fitted or loose and flowing. Then you add the sleeves, they will have hundreds of styles of sleeves to choose from and finally the trim or decoration. It's safe to say that in my classes, no two abayas were ever alike.

Many of the more conservative clerics complain about the way the abaya has gone in the Gulf, many of them don't cover your curves, in fact, the abaya can actually accentuate them. Those shaylas (headscarves) they wear can be very glamourous looking a la Audrey Hepburn, especially when paired with big Jackie-O sunglasses!

In class, I sometimes catch a glimpse of my reflection in the window, surrounded by my students and I'm struck by how stately they look compared to me. A 15 year old girl can look so womanly, it really as the opposite effect of what it's supposed to.

Gorgeous Gold Gowns for Weddings

It's safe to say, that because of the lack of colour in abayas, girls make up for it in their regular wardrobe. Pink and orange! Yellow and red! Orange and green! 

Sequins are pretty standard, followed by beads, tassels, trim, fringe, dingleballs and brick-a-brack. Sometimes it works and sometimes....ugh.

But the standards are here to, Mexx, Gap, Esprit. There is even a Le Chateau in Dubai. The malls are filled with luxury brand name products that get knocked off in China. One student has a Chanel bag, another a Gucci watch. 

Here are some of the more interesting examples from the mall.... enjoy! 

Pink and yellow!

Skin tight and over the top!

Purple, pink and green! 

The outfit on the far left is my favorite, check out those sleeves!

Commercial Break: Talismania!!

The sisters are working on a new project!

Mel and I recently took a trip to the Topkapi Palace and spent a lot of time looking at the talismanic healing shirts made by holy men and worn by the Sultan. Inscribed with Quranic verse, the “healing shirts” were believed to be able to cure disease and protect the wearer from evil and harm. The Ottoman sultans believed their shirts would protect them like armor, and often wore them into battle. Since there wasn't any blood on them, they may have actually worked!

From Topkapi Palace (A must-see in Istanbul!)

Modern day talismanic scarves made with love in Istanbul: maroon 'peace' in five languages,

purple and red Turkish flower scarves designed and printed in our living room.

After leaving the Topkapi palace, we grabbed a coffee and talked about the shirts, our eyes rested on two women at the next table. One was wearing a Turkish evil eye bracelet, the other, a funky scarf that is the height of fashion in Istanbul these days. The inspirational discussion began, and before we knew it, we were embarking on our mission of creating good luck-infused and fashionable (and practical) lucky charms: The talismanic scarf!

Off to a good start!

Combining all of these good luck symbols and the idea of the inscriptions of the healing shirts, we came up with funky talismanic scarves - block-printed in Turkish inspired designs. Some have Rumi quotes, and all have their own evil eye hand sewn into the corner.

The evil eye army. We feel the power radiating off these little jewels, I swear.

The project has just begun, we are up to our elbows in carving block prints, printing scarves with fabric paint and sewing the evil eyes in a prominent place of protection. We'll post more pictures here as we go, but we wanted to share this special project with you before Christmas, as these work-of art-scarves are perfect for sending in the post.

The block Mel carved reversed in the mirror so you can read it:

"When I am with you we stay up all night. When we are apart I cannot sleep. Praise these two insomnias and the difference between them." `Rumi

"We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust." ~Rumi

The scarves will be sold in Istanbul in our Sultanahmet living room or at your place of convenience until the end of November,(at 25 lira each) and we'll be in Canada after that, at the Naramata Craft Faire on December 6th, and during a side trip to Vancouver and Victoria just before Christmas. (25 CDN including taxes.)

Contact me or Mel for details!

We really hope you enjoy wearing them as much as we enjoy making them!

Rene and Melanie

Oh yeah!

This picture is being used in an ad for John Robshaw Textiles, but the taxi, the dirt road, the driver, the textiles reminds me of a day, long ago, when my sister and I begged a poor Mumbai taxi driver to take us to the suburbs in search of Fabindia.  

Although  we actually found it, (after hours of driving around and asking directions), when we arrived it was closed! We asked if he would take us back the next day since he already knew where it was and he agreed. Soon he was whisking us all over Mumbai to temples, Dhobi Ghats, and markets and finally, he took each of us in turn to the airport. 

If I had scanned my India journal, I could have figured out his name. I do remember he told a touching story about his wife. 

When it was time to get married, his mother and father went out looking for a suitable match. Like every Indian boy, he envisioned his future wife would be a beautiful girl with good cooking skills and super-model good looks. He was horrified when his mother introduced him to a short, round, plain girl. He rejected her on looks alone. (Although he himself was no Shahrukh Khan!)

But his mother insisted this was her choice for him and he was pushed hard into the union. He finally gave in and married her -- only to make his mother happy. But he was unhappy and made the first few years of their life together unpleasant for his new wife. He admitted he criticized everything she did and cooked and never had a kind word for her. 

Over time, she gave birth to a son.  He softened and they began to talk more. He grew to appreciate her cooking, maybe even more than his mother's, (gasp!) and then one day he realized that he had grown to love her. Not just love her, but ADORE her.  

He explained that his mother had been right all along, that although she wasn't thin and willowy with "wheat-ish" skin, her personality and temperament were an exact match for him. In his eyes, she was perfect, and he gushed when he spoke about her.

Looking back on the early days of his marriage, he said he felt ashamed he had treated such a wonderful woman so badly, but that she endured it all without holding a grudge, and for that, he loved her even more. 

It was a nice story. You hear so many negative arranged marriage stories, it was refreshing to hear about one that actually worked out. 

Suzani Rescue Operation!

This chair is covered in a material you can find all over Istanbul called Suzani, which actually means "embroidery" in  Uzbekistan where they come from. They can also be very pricey.

I've always really liked the fine silk pieces like this....

....and when I arrived home from Canada I saw that Bulent had bought me a red one not unlike the one on the chair up top. 

It only had 2 problems:

1. It had some crazy hot pink and lime green on it. Not my first choice of colours, and...

2. It really stank like mildew. (He bought it off a guy who was trying to sell a few items for money on the street - I can see why he got such a good deal.)

So, I hung it off my washing line for 3 days, but the smell did not budge. I had no choice but to wash it, knowing full well the colours were going to do crazy things - but it was unusable the way it was! 

So I got out  bucket and filled it with a generous amount of salt and vinegar to try to set the dyes. I soaked the whole thing overnight. In the morning I found that despite my efforts, the colours ran anyway.

Nothing to lose, I put it in the washing machine. I always wash everything on cold. Halfway through the wash cycle, I decided to check it and found that during my time in Canada, someone re-set our washing cycle to use hot water! The whole Suzani was really dark. Almost black. I looked it over, and actually didn't mind it. I set it to cold and let the wash cycle finish. 

End result? Most of that black came out in the rinse cycle. It's still red, but darker. The hot pink and lime green are gone, replaced with a deeper purple pink and the lime became pale sage green. Much better. And the best part, it doesn't smell like a barn anymore. 

I wish I had a "before" picture. Here is the "after". 

The colours are slightly off in this pic, the pink should be a bit more purple, and the the big white flowers have a bit of green to them. But it's miles better than it was!