middle eastern garb

[Lady L]

I am working on making our middle eastern garb for opening weekend at MNRF and I wondered if anyone else has made that? I don't recall seeing much about it in here.
The linen I bought at joann the other day, has been cut for R's Middle eastern garb. He's going to be an Arab sheik.
I have some skirts cut out and the blouse I didn't finish last year. I also cut out a black faux suede underbust waist cincher for myself. I have been doing a lot of research online and find it very interesting, especially the Afghanistan nomads (kuchi) tribal people. So, any discussion on that?

[isabelladangelo]

For period Middle Eastern garb:
http://www.freewebs.com/isabelladangelo/turkishcoat.htm

I've made that style coat a couple of times now.  It's really comfortable and looks pretty good on.  Feel free to ask any questions regarding it.

Also, check out this discussion over in the Garbing area:
http://www.renaissancefestival.com/forums/index.php?topic=1190.0

[Lady L]

Thanks. 
I was thinking more along the lines of Arabic, such as Lawrence of Arabia and Afghanistan. Someone on the other board gave me some tips, but I don't know if he's over here or not.
I have seen a pattern at Folkwear, that's a nice dress, but I won't have time for that this year.

[isabelladangelo]

Well, a burka is modern but easy and from Afghnastan.      Just get a strip of plastic canvas about the size of your head, cover it with fabric and then get a piece of 72" square blue cotton and you have a burka. 

[Lady L]

I ordered a kuchi headdress, from ebay. I don't know if it is supposed to be worn over or under a veil? I have been searching for photos for 3 nights. Oh well.

I finished sewing R's kaffiyah and the agal I ordered came today, as well. Also, my velvet/coin hip scarf arrived today.  I have the zills from last year too.

With all the gypsy/bellydancing and Arabian horse show people at our faire, I thought there would be more discussion about that type of garb.

[Cobaltblu]

I don't know if a burka is period for the middle east however it has in modern times become a symbol for the oppression of women and women's rights.  Of course I am not a woman but I bet a lot of people would see someone in a burka and think it was a modern muslim woman who's husband made her wear it and react negatively towards it.

That being said I actually think the muslim headscarf can be quite attractive and middle eastern garb could add an exotic flair to a faire.

Regards,

CB

[Taffy Saltwater]

I lived in Jordan for a couple of years and this kind of cloak was very common:

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLACK-BISHT-CLOAK-ARAB-DRESS-THOBE-ISLAM-MENS-ROBE-EID_W0QQitemZ220245489175QQihZ012QQcategoryZ1059QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It's traditionally worn over a thobe, which is basically a long-sleeved, western (as in European, not cowboy) shirt that is ankle length, cut up to the knee on the sides.

This is the traditional headgear, can be either red or black check.  As I recall, the black check was worn by older men:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Palestine-SCARF-arab-hat-cap-head-dress-AGAL-ROPE_W0QQitemZ150258012302QQihZ005QQcategoryZ268QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Although these are shown on a woman, they were quite commonly worn by men:

http://www.castlegardencreations.com/store.php?crn=70&rn=299&action=show_detail

Hope this helps.

Women also wear thobes, made in a light weight cotton they are extremely comfortable & cool in hot weather.  I had a wool one for winter.

Footwear can be simple sandals.

[Lady L]

Yes, thanks for the replies!
I didn't want to sound negative about the burqas, but I do agree with cobaltblu on that. In my 37 years of attending ren faires, I have never yet seen anyone wearing one of them. How much fun can one have while wearing that, I can not imagine.    I also thought it was when the taliban imposed that on women, so maybe it was much later than the middle ages. Not sure.

I would also like to make it clear that middle eastern weekend is something MNRF does every year, since I can remember. We are just trying to dress the part, as shopkeepers, we have no say in what the weekly themes are. That is determined by Marketing.

Taffy, we are thinking along the same lines. Thanks for the links! It has been an interesting journey, for me to research more about this culture, through garb. I made the thobe from natural linen, just have the hems left to do. I made the kaffiyah from the same fabric. Today, I went into joanns and they had some black linen still on sale for $2.79 yd, so I bought 3 yds to make the rest. The woman working there asked me what I was making and I said "a bisht" she looked at me like "what on earth is she talking about?"
I said "It's for Arabian clothing." They should know I make garb, but that's another story.
Last night, I looked around and found a site for the MN Half Arabian Horse Show, they had photos of  the 2007 Arabian Horse show they did at MNRF. Some good examples on there and the guy was wearing a bisht in brown. I wonder if the gold trim is too modern though? I don't think I will put any trim on the one I am making. I had R try it all on tonight and I think it's coming along quite good. I will try to get some pics in a few days.

I also looked at some movie posters from Lawrence of Arabia and he was wearing a light (no check) headpiece and agal like the one I am doing, so I think that's going in the right direction. I want it to look somewhat accurate, although 100% is probably not possible. The agal I have is the older style, but it is made of poly, not goat hair. I also had no idea that so many of our words have Arabic origins, such as sofa, alfalfa, pajamas, and orange.

Thanks!

[Taffy Saltwater]

Instead of gold trim, you might want to do a braid or rope trim or geometric flat trim.

[Lady L]

Well, here's how it looks so far. I still need to sew the bisht, but I thought you could get a better idea of what I am talking about.







So, what do you think? Does it look believable to you? Thanks. 

[isabelladangelo]

To me, it looks "biblical" and I'm not quite sure if that's what you are going for.  However, I'm use to seeing authentic 16th c Turkish/Arabian/Egyptian cuts so it may just be that. 

[sealion]

You've done a nice job with the "Lawrence of Arabia" look.

[LadyStitch]

It looks like what my friend's parents brought back from Saudi. 

[Lady L]

Thank you for the feedback. 
Yes, it is exactly what I am "going for", as I have been researching National Geographic, Islamic websites, posters for "Lawrence of Arabia" and photos from the 2007 MNRF Arabian horse show.