More Random Cell Phone Pics of Jalabiyias

These are jalabiyias from a French label store in Al Marina mall.

Sorry about the glare!

My friend shops at Hanayen in Dubai

One of my old non-muslim friends is an English teacher in Dubai. For a nice but stylish plain black abaya (maybe with a very simple detailing on the sleeves like a silk cord trim or the brand name in swarowski) she says she pays 200 dirhams at Hanayen. Which is a good price I haven't been able to get yet except at the Souqs. The malls are higher and they seem to TRY and rip you off. For example, at "Pearl Cloak" in Abu Dhabi's Al Marina Mall I bought the perfect black string niqab for thirty dirhams. Aalia went back looking for the same niqab and they wanted to charge 100 dirhams! Yikes.

I REALLY DO LOVE ARABESQUE

I really do love the Arabesque store in Abu Dhabi mall. I know, I know, the abayaat cost a fortune. 1000-4000 dirhams!!!! Ahhhhhhhh. But they were the only onces that had REALLY creative cuts and designs. Alot of the other stores kinda disapointed me.

Bad Cell Phone Pics from our Travels

So these are some bad cell phone pics of the jalabiyias in Al Marina Mall. I kinda didn't know how to use the camera covertly (the shop owners glare at you when you take pics of their merchandise) and I got the glare from moving away too quickly. Ooooh, and this is an accessory shop that I liked.Yeah, and in case you haven't noticed, the composition of my posts kinda suck now because I am learning how to use a new computer.

So About Shopping Here IN UAE...

So of course on to the subject of shopping here in UAE... Every hundred Dirhams is worth roughly 30 Canadian dollars so I keep this in mind as I shop.

Our first shopping experience is the Souq, where one can buy lower end quality abayaat and sheila, underscarves, elastic half-niqabs, and Emirati accessories like perfumes, hair clips, and the notorious poufs (small ones should cost 5 dirhams and medium good quality ones 10-15, while large ones can run from 5-20 dirhams depending on quality). For everyday abayaat spend no more than 300-400 dirhams. Party ones---try not to part with more than 600 dirhams. Fancy party jalabiyia are a good deal if they cost 140-300 depending on the design. Don't spend no more than 10 dirhams one house jalibiyia and Emirati lounging dresses. As for abayaat, you are expected to barter. If the swarowski crystals are just glued on (they are not real swarowski crystals then) get a lower price. If the abaya is machine embroidered, get a lower price. If the quality on anything is lacking, get a lower price. DON'T GO ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT, as there is too much chance of being followed, stared at, and rubbed, lol. On Thursay and Friday the workers are banned from the malls by law due (fair or not) to some disturbances, so if you want to, visit the malls.

A warning about the malls, if you want to see a beautiful display of local abayaat and sheila and Arabic make-up but also alot of fitna, the locals (including guys on the hunt for girls, married or not---even with their poor wife in tow) come out in full force in the evenings in the malls. So Aalia prefers to go in the days (before Magraib). Even then, it is best to cover one's face. I was at Al Marina mall with Aalia and Boxie and my cheap souq abaya started to fall apart (I went really really cheap--Boxie's is still in one peice lol) and I ended up having to pin my niqab to my abaya to hold it together (yeah, it looked ugly) and we decided to go skating, and a bunch of locals were so lame as to try and get on the ice to skate to try and flirt. LOL, thankfully Kareem (the Moroccan manager of the ice rink) said their kandooras (aka dishdashes aka thobes) were too long. Our abayas were too, and it is against the rules there to wear abaya or thobe and skate but they let us hike our abayas up and pin them (because Aalia convinced them we were expert Canadian figue skaters). Only one guy kept trying and was actually go to hike his thobe up but a. our skat time finished (awww, I wanted to see him fall), and b. we pretended Abdullah was my son and my husband was upstair (uh, shopping for sandals cuz I couldn't come up with a lie very well, lol). Anyways, their skates were kinda sad in quality, and the ice was worn, so if skating, go in the morning. The ice would be fresh.

Back to shopping, Al Marina mall has alot of the higher end abaya shops. Aalia reccomends First Lady http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidGN_28072009_10335142/Luxury%20abayas%20attract%20high%20prices%20for%20their%20exclusivity/, which has good quality and some unique and pretty shaylas. This is also the place (the mall) to buy niqab and gashwa as you can find light non-see through quality ones here. Also Al Motahajiba http://www.almotahajiba.com/ is in Al Marina mall, Mouzan, and Habayeb abayaat. I have yet to visit a Hanayen store yet but will, inshaAllah. I didn't get a chance to check out the jalibiyias so stay tuned. But if you love maxi dresses and long skirts, this is the mall for you.Yesturday we went to Abu Dhabi mall, home to stores like La Reine http://www.thedubaimall.com/en/shop/la-reine (overpriced for the lack of uniqueness in design---I mean like 3000-4000 dirhams an abaya), Abu Haleeqa http://abuhaleeqa.net/m_s_data/n/m_s_p2.htm (I liked a shayla with a swarowski kiwi on it but they'd sold the matching abaya already and it was very expensive---equivelent to 120$ CAD for one shayla), and Arabesque. Arabesque is the only upscale boutique so far besides First Lady that designs I liked for abaya (and I MAINLY loved the shaylas in First Lady). In Arabesuqe I would wear every third abaya. They are expensive and might be my splurge before I come home. I also found a deal on jalibyias at the bedding store across from a perfume shop whose name I forget and bought a yellow house party dress for 140 dirhams---which is around $46.00 CAD. I liked more of them, but they were 240 dirhams. So I resisted.
That is my review of the shopping in Abu Dhabi for now.