Khaliji Women's 'Thobes' - Scroll down to see what's for sale now!

Please check back regularly as I am expecting a shipment of new thobes any day now.

Arabian women's costumes are colorful, surprising in their variety, and distinguished by their complex, admirable embroidery and handwork. Women in many parts of the Gulf will don a colorful embroidered 'overdress', known as a thobe when attending special occasions such as women's wedding party. Women wear them over their party dresses for dancing.  

In Arabic, the term thobe means 'long garment'. It is used to describe both the women's dancing gown as well as the long white garment worn by Saudi men. Specialized terms for the women's party thobe include thobe nashaal, thobe mukhattam, thobe mugassab (brocade), and thobe tulli (made of tulle). 

When I teach classes in Gulf women's folk dance (Khaliji style), I'm often asked how long a thobe should be. Although the back panels are meant to drag on the floor, the front panel should fall just above floor length. The sleeves should be long enough to reach your wrist. Longer sleeves are fine, since they are typically bunched up on your arm. Shorter sleeves are less than ideal, but can work since you should be wearing long-sleeves under your thobe. To learn more about traditional Arabian women's costume, I recommend Heather Colyer Ross's book The Art of Arabian Costume: A Saudi Arabian Profile. Players Press, 1993.

At the moment, I have the following thobes for sale with more on order. All were made in India. If you have any questions or would like a size and color I don't have in stock, click here.

 

Forest Green with Gold Embroidery
Low Density Embroidery Full Size:      Vertical Length* 58"      Horizontal Width** 54" The fabric of this thobe is sturdy, yet soft, polyester. It is opaque, but lightweight. If you favor 'Earth tones' this thobe is for you! Price: $130.00

 

Turquoise Blue with Gold Butterfly Pattern Embroidery
High Density Embroidery Smaller Size:     Vertical Length* 47"     Horizontal Width** 49" This is the right size for someone who is approximately 5 feet tall. Price: $160.00

 

Sky Blue with Gold Butterfly Pattern Embroidery
High Density Embroidery Small Size:     Vertical Length* 45"     Horizonal Width** 46" This is my smallest thobe and would work well for someone under 5 feet tall. The color is robin's egg, turquoise blue.   Price: $160.00

 

*	Vertical Length: the distance from the middle of the neck opening (approximately where your shoulder would fall) to the bottom of the front panel. This measurement will tell you whether the thobe is too long for you. Generally, you want the vertical length to be approximately 10 to 12 inches less than your height.
**	Horizontal Width: the distance from the outer edge of one sleeve to the other. You might think of this as the thobe's wing span.