Color, Glitter Enliven Saudi Women's Black Abayas

A Saudi woman wears an embroidered abaya in the old city of Jiddah, Saudi Arabia on Dec. 20,...

A Saudi woman wears an embroidered abaya in the old city of Jiddah, Saudi Arabia on Dec. 20, 2007.For years, the only thing sold openly in Saudi stores selling women's cloaks were of the all-black, drab covering variety. But now, streaks of vibrant color, bands of glittering crysta and even sheaths of leopard skin prints are showing up on the racks.

(Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)

For years, the only thing sold openly in Saudi stores selling women's cloaks were of the all-black, drab covering variety. Now, streaks of vibrant color, bands of glittering crystal — even sheaths of sexy leopard skin prints — are showing up on the racks.

And that's not all. Women are snapping them up and even sometimes wearing them in public.

For stores to openly stock the new generation of cloaks, or abayas, and for some women to wear them in public are not just fashion statements. They are risky acts of defiance in a nation where the powerful religious police have for years raided stores to confiscate "illegal" abayas as part of their mandate as guardians of the kingdom's rigid interpretation of Islamic teachings.

These days, the "legal" abayas that conform to the strict standards of the religious police have been relegated to the back of many stores in major Saudi cities. In their place are the new ones.

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While salesmen and designers say women are snapping up the new abaya models and feel pressured to produce more styles to meet demand, some Saudis are unhappy that what is supposed to hide women's curves and detract male attention is becoming a fashion statement sure to turn a man's head.

"You look around you and you find abayas that are embroidered, fitted or with wide sleeves. Most abayas now need abayas to cover them," says a religious pamphlet available at malls in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

"When some girls go out they (look) like prostitutes who invite people to carry out lewd acts. How else can you explain how some women adorn themselves with their abayas ... ?" it says.

Girls in Saudi Arabia are required to wear abayas when they hit puberty. And all women expatriates have to wear them in public. The religious police say the abayas should be loose, worn on the head and left to fall down to the ground without outlining the body. They should not be transparent or ornamented, they say.

Things were not always that strict.