Colorful abayas become the new fashion statementSaudi Gazette One of the first things that women coming to Saudi Arabia do is go abaya shopping. The abaya is the long cloak that all women in Saudi Arabia have to wear by law when out in public and is black in color. Or rather it used to be black. Young women in Jeddah are jazzing up their abayas, breaking the traditional barrier of wearing black ones. In the past few years, women have been experimenting with all kinds of bright colors on their black abayas and have also been using shiny fabrics and crystal accessories to decorate their traditional cloaks. However, recently, several young women have been seen wearing abayas that are not even black anymore. “I was bored wearing black and I needed a change,” said a young Saudi woman. “I wanted an abaya that would look feminine and classy and at the same time would be different. So I bought a beige abaya with bright pink embroidery on it. My friends loved it and bought colorful ones too,” she said. Most women strongly believe that an abaya reflects a woman's fashion sense and personality and view colorful abayas as a refreshing change from black. “When I go out in public, it's my abaya that depicts my personality,” said a young businesswoman. “I want my abaya to be different from others to portray my unique personality and that is why I bought a brown abaya because it looks elegant and at the same time its different from the usual black ones,” she said. For some women, colorful abayas, especially light colored ones, provide relief from the scorching heat. “When I go out for my daily walk, I prefer wearing my pink abaya made of light cotton. It makes me feel less hot because unlike black, it doesn't absorb heat and is much more comfortable,” said a housewife. Maha Qurashi, a young Saudi designer, loves the idea of using different colors in her abayas and has designed a range of stylish and colorful abayas using a perfect combination of soft colorful fabrics and unique designs. “Wearing black abayas is not a necessity in Islam. As long as a woman is properly covered, she can wear abayas with decent colors,” she said. Maha added that most of her designs and colors are inspired from international trends, and the demand for her range of colorful abayas is increasing rapidly throughout the Kingdom. __
