The Thobe Al Nasha'ar or Thobe for short is a dress which is used to perform dances from the gulf region. Another name for the dress and style of dance is Khaleegy which in Arabic means "gulf". Large open sleeves, semi-transparent fabric and heavy embroidery accented with beads or pearl are characteristic of a typical Thobe. The dances and thobes vary a little from county to country, the countries wich typically have Khaleegy dancing are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Oman. A picture of a typical Thobe Al Nasha'ar is to the right.
Beladi
Beladi dresses are long floor length dresses which can be used for both tribal and caberet performances. When used in a tribal/folkloric dance they are usuallymade of a natural fiber such as cotton. When they areused in a caberet setting they are often made out of amore sheer or glittery fabric and may have fringe and paillettes attached along the hipline and neckline. Often people will use a cane when wearing this style dress.
Crocheted Beladi Dresses
These beladi dresses are also good for folkloric and cane dances. They are croceted with beads and sometimes coins and/or fringe. They come in many colors. You generally where them over another dress or a bedlah with a hip wrap or a belt.
Abaya
An abaya is a typical everyday dress from the Mid East. An abaya and a Galabiya are very similar however an abaya has more docorations on it such as the example on the left. It's one of those things that you wear when you go out at night or to a nice restraunt. An abaya is a fairly lose fitting garment which comes down to the floor and has long lose fitting sleeves. The neckline is usually just big enough to fit your head trough. When you buy one it usually comes with a tarha (Islamic Head Scarf).
Galabiya
A galabiya is very similar to an abaya except that it is much more plain. It will not have many decorations on it because it is the everyday house dress in the Mid East. It's what you wear when your doing the dishes, feeding the baby, buying the groceries, etc... It may be lightly decorated with embrodery(like the one to theright) or ribbon trim. Some have shorter sleeve and areonly worn in the house. The one pictured here can beworn to the market or in the home. It would not reallybe worn for going out even if the place your going isn't fancy. This will also come with a tarha (Islamic HeadScarf).
Caberet
These dresses are a nice alternative to a bra and belt set. They usually offer a more covered look, which is perfect for those who are a little more conservative yet,want a glitzy costume. There are various styles of this dress but, most feature a cut-out on the stomach and/or hips, which is filled with a flesh colored mesh (for all you dark skined beauties, beware when buying one of these as the cutouts are usually a very light color and will not blend with your skin). Some dresses will have sleeves attached to them while others have seperate sleeves. They ussually come with a matching headpiece often a crown or headband of some sort, and arm and/or ankle pieces. They have sequin, beadwork, and/or fringe along the hipline and usually the bust area. They are almost always made of a stretch fabric such as Lycra.
Paillette
Pailette dresses are great for doing a more folkloric dance and come in many styles and collors. One common way to wear them is with a bedlah, where the top is under the dress and the belt on top as in the picture. This is another dress comonly used with a cane. They are typically made out of a gauzy fabric with pailettes sewn on them in rows. Some have pailettes on both the front and the back while others have them only on the front (as in the picture). The pailettes may or may not be the same color. You can often find a matching head piece such as the one in the picture.
