Whether talking to my mom, daughter, accountant, condo board or girlfriends from back home, one of the first questions I’m asked is about couture in the Middle East.  So far I’ve not ventured outside Qatar, but from what I can tell, women are the same everywhere when it comes to fashion!  The stores in Doha are as high or low budget as you would find anywhere else in the world, but the high seems exceptionally available.  I’ve always thought of Naples as being quite fashionable and have been able to find most anything I could imagine wanting there, but the difference here is that instead of a select line of Manolo Blahnik’s at Marrisa’s or Jimmy Choo’s at Saks, the season’s entire lines can be found in the actual designer’s stores.

The first question leads to the concern, “…but do you have to wear a long black robe and cover your hair and face?”  I remember asking Stephen the same question when he asked if I would move to Doha with him!  I have since come to understand that “have” to wear is lesser the question than “who” can wear the abaya (long black over-dress) and sheila (long black rectangular scarf), and perhaps even a bit like asking if foreign women in the U.S. “have” to wear jeans and sweatshirts.  By this I mean that the abaya and sheila are the cultural and societal norm, so not to wear them would indicate you are foreign.  It seems that many Qataris don’t mind foreigners wearing the traditional abaya or thobes (long white mens dress), seeing it as a sign of trying to fit in, but it could also be mistaken for posing or an attempt at special treatment.  Qataris take great pride in being Qatari and respect for their culture.  It is also important to understand that the abaya and sheila are as much a fashion statement as part of the culture and can be found in as many variety of styles, cuts, adornments and fabrics as imaginable, many taylormade.  It doesn’t take long to realize that most of the Qatari women are beautifully manicured and have excellent taste in couture; shoes, handbags and accessories being the first and most obvious.  Watching them shop one quickly realizes what goes on under the abaya as well, from designer dresses to skinny jeans, and that stylishly cut and colored hair may be found under the sheila.  One thing is certain, you will find the young Qataris strutting their traditional couture in the malls on a weekend night, cell phones in hand, the same as young people anywhere!

As for me, most of what I wear is what I brought with me.  There are hotels and restaurants that are exclusively visited by expats where you would find most patrons clad in western attire and anything goes.  Almost everywhere that I’ve been there will be some people dressed in traditional western attire.  When I go out I try to remember where I am and cultural sensitivities, covering shoulders and knees being no great difficulty considering that the air conditioning everywhere indoors is kept quite cold.  I don’t find there to be any pressure one way or another about attire, other than my own comfort.  It seems that couture is a societal driven phenomena, and since Doha hosts such a diverse blend of cultures, it often appears to be a couture smorgasbord!