My New Shaylas

This one is from Abu Haleeqa and was waaaay over-priced but I fell for the cute kiwi and ruffles (which didn't photograph well) and splurged.
And this one is from Al Gwatwa (think I am spelling it right) and I love it cuz of the lace. It was affordable.

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.

My UAE look isn't very UAE (unless you are a rockin' Grandma)

I like overhead abayas and I just can't get away with wearing them in Canada (Canadian non-muslims think I look like some alien Beduoin-foreigner LOL, or they just get weirded out by them too much---and since I also think shoulder styles are more than perfectly halal...). So I asked Aalia to help me find one here. What I like best about them is they are airy underneath (so less sticky and hot), and no men follow you in them. I am serrious. We had an unexpected experiment that supported my theory. I have always loved Shaikha Sabeela of Bahrain's shiny satiny overheads. Anyways, women that aren't grandmothers here in UAE don't generally wear them. Foreigners definately don't wear them. Saudi women from the Nejd and near the Rub Al Khali, as well as Saudi grandmothers and teachers, do. Older generation Emiratis do. These two groups wear the open style abaya-raas, with a khaleeji thobe, or Emirati house dress (or party jalibiyia for special occasions) underneath. I wear my maxi dresses (pink and green) and a plain black shayla (with tonnes of chest coverage---down to my mid rib-cage to prevent flashing anyone if my abaya blows open) underneath. To wear my way, first I put on my underclothes (if I was wearing a modest jalbiyia I wouldn't need to style my shayla with as much chest coverage but in a maxi I do), then I put on my half niqab around my head not necessarily pulled up to my mouth yet (I have yet to buy a really nice flip one---I only have Saudi string styles). Then I put on the overhead. I like to pin it on the inside, on the shayla, on both sides of (above) my temple, for extra security, but you totally don't have to. My overhead from Madinat al Zayed is shiny satiny fabric so it can slip. Then I can pin some jewelry on my head for pretty look under the folds of the overhead (but I don't do that for walking around where lots of men are), and pull my half niqab up so it covers my face. I accessorize with a trendy purse and girly shoes. I like this look because it is so simple. And I have the excuse to buy pretty jalibiyias rather than abayas (which my husband would like). And it has the added bonus of being a deterent for men (I don't get mall stalkers while shopping when in an overhead and my face covered.). I intend to add a tassel-close to the collar bone height of the abaya-ras to make carrying my purse easier.

Typically though, the grandmothers either wear a band niqab or a gold birqa, like in the pic above (only no braids and hair sticking out). And only typically beggars (and religious pious Egyptian sisters but more commonly beggars) wear the overhead abayas here that are of a closed style. The open style is more local (though not of my age group). My maxi, stylish purse and shoes, give it a younger air. Somehow, because of all the fabric, I feel very high fashion, rather than dowdy.

Off the runway: abayaat