My Abaya

I went with some friends the other night to order my Abaya. It's going to be oh, so, lovely! I ordered it exactly to the specifications that I wanted! I've been waiting to get the perfect one and I think this is going to be it! (when I get it, of course...)

We had some fun at the shop when I tried this one on for size:

My friend said that I looked like "Star Trek" meets the Middle East! HA! Very good description, I think! NO, this is not the one I got. And NO, mine won't actually look anything like this... except mine will be black, duh, and it will have some pleats in the front, although, not like these.

There are just rows and rows, and really the choices for colors and design are endless! I ended up taking the collar/neck design from one and the sleeve design from another and then, of course, making it all yellow and black! YAY!

My Abaya will have sleeves like this, except it will be all yellow and black and this will also be the trim on the shayla (head scarf). Again, YAY!

You may have a few questions about this:

What is an Abaya? Well, it's the black robe-like thing that Mslim women wear.
What is a Shayla? The shayla is the head scarf they cover their hair with.
Why are you getting one? Here in our small, village-like, town, I've been told that I need to wear one when I go to weddings or other parties with lots 'o' ladies. Back in our former, large, modern city, I got to wear fancy dresses called "jalabeeyas" But don't you worry, my abaya will still be very Alison!
When will you wear it? As I said, I'll only wear it when I go to weddings or other parties/large gatherings of ladies.
Will you get funny looks? Probably. But, I get them anyway and hopefully this way, I'll not stand out quite as much! :)
Does this mean you are Mslim, too? NO! It only means that I'm trying to dress appropriately during weddings for their culture. I will not wear it as normal, every day wear.
Will you still wear 'normal' clothes the rest of the time? YES. I wear normal clothes here. It's just that my shirts have to be at least 3/4 length in the sleeves and they have to cover my tushy. Albeit a bit baggy sometimes, the clothes I wear here aren't that much different than what was in style back in the US when we left... WAY back in 2009.

Don't you worry. I'll model it for you when we come back to the US for visits! :)