I just love the blue lighted sign and single fancy dress in the window of this dress shop. Saudi women wear dresses like these to weddings where only other women are in attendance because of the practise of extreme gender segregation here in Saudi Arabia. Men have their own separate wedding celebrations. Any time Saudi women are in the presence of men outside their own family, they must be covered except for their hands and faces – although the vast majority of Saudi women also wear face veils as well.
About This Blog, and About Me: Susie of Arabia
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is KSA's 2nd largest city and is located on its west coast, right on the Red Sea. I moved here in 2007 with my Saudi hubby. This journal reflects the things that I see here, life through my eyes, my lens.
Please be sure to also visit my other blog, SUSIE OF ARABIA (formerly SUSIE'S BIG ADVENTURE), which relates my experiences, thoughts, and observations about living in Saudi Arabia.
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Do the women try to outdo each other? The fancy clothes are so revealing compared to their public garb. Plus when I see images of the women’s faces they Are beautiful and heavily made up. Always the contradictions.
Hi Gaelyn – If you think about it, physical beauty is the only thing that a woman has to attract a husband here in Saudi Arabia. There is no dating, many marriages are still arranged, and many couples do not really know each other very well before they marry – so it’s all based on that first initial arranged sighting and physical attraction. If you ask any Saudi man what is the most important attribute they look for in a future wife, it is physical beauty. Most will say that intelligence, personality and sense of humor do not matter at all. At women’s weddings (where there are only women in attendance), young women who are looking to get married try to look their best so they can attract the attention of a man’s mother, sister or aunt who might be looking for a mate. As for the overdone makeup that Saudi women seem to prefer here, I don’t get it.