Dubai is a Mecca for the fashion forward. At Dubai Airport in November, M. and I wandered in a happy daze, absorbing all the upscale consumer goodies available for ogling in the luxury high-end airport stores. Finally, tiring of this spectator sport, we sat and waited at our gate for our connecting flight. Besides the usual clutch of impatient international travelers in their de rigueur sweat pants and/or business attire, Arab families strolled by, men in their traditional garb and women in the black abayas (cloaks) and shaylas (head scarves). Far from looking primitive and barbaric, the dresses struck me as graceful and fluid, both the men's clothing and the women's. I was surprised at my own reactions - the black covering for women always strike me as rather ugly and unbecoming when I see them in India or in New York or other cities. So how did they suddenly look rather attractive now?
Was I becoming an Orientalist in my early middle age? The natives must be dressed suitably native, and all that? On reflection, I decided that it was in fact about aesthetics and visual impressions. My impressions about Middle Eastern clothing have, in fact, much to do with the setting in which I see the garb. In the strong desert light (albeit filtered through airport glass windows) there is a pleasing visual contrast between the black, the white and natural illumination against a predominantly sandy background. The abaya, the shaylas and the men's galabiyyas look attractive in this sort of light. In the sub-tropical light of India, the white galabiyyas are acceptable but the women's black abayas,however, look stifling and funereal. In the muted light of the Northern hemisphere, the abayas, shaylas and niqabs just look jarring and ugly.
So much of beauty in costume, then, has to do with geography and the angle of the sun's rays. I, for one, rarely wear the saturated colors of India that look so beautiful in the South Asian light. I stick to pastels and soft shades here, when I need color and brightness. Occasionally, I'll break out an acid pink or gemstone green to celebrate summer flowers, but then it's back to the somber browns, blacks and greys for winter with whispery pinks, blues, and purples to liven up harsh days. And silver and gold glitter to reflect the sparkling snow - the sparkling snow that has given us the go-by so far this season, for the most part.
