Clothing in the Middle East

[evewithanapple]

First time poster after being directed here by a helpful friend

Comments

[kutsuwamushi]

Middle Eastern Muslim women where?

[sushidog]

And also, what sort of Middle Eastern women? Social rank/status/class? Are we talking slave girls, members of the harem of a Sultan, ordinary woman? Young, old, married, unmarried?

[evewithanapple]

Born in Egypt, moved with her family to Jerusalem after it was re-captured by Saladin. Middle class (merchant father), unmarried, in her late teens.

[hangcoatcliff]

A single shift, long sleeves, high collar, is particularly popular among Egyptian women. Try googling 'galabiya'--they're sort of unisex, but have a fairly long tradition of wear.

[gwendolen]

Maybe the problem is the term Middle East as it's too unspecific, for example Saladin ruled over Egypt and Syria (also Iraq and Yemen I think) and attacked the Crusaders' Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Clothing often had far more to do with the tribe one belonged to than with the religion. An Arabic woman might dress differently than a Kurdish woman or a Palestine woman. Also, a woman of status also dressed differently than a peasant woman and so on.

As for the soldiers, it depends on where they come from (country), if they belong to an order and/or what their status is.

[evewithanapple]

Well she was born in Egypt, and I'm pretty sure that's Arabic. She's middle-class- I'm not sure what level of status that gives her.

The soldiers I'm not really sure about, as they only appear in an extremely brief flashback. For the purpose of costuming, let's say soldiers fighting directly under Saladin- his personal guard maybe.

[gwendolen]

Here's a picture of a modernized historical statue of Saladin, showing Saladin and some soldiers in Damascus. You might try researching Saladin, I'm sure that there are numerous websites about him and they should give you a start.

Well she was born in Egypt, and I'm pretty sure that's Arabic.Is she Arabic or is she not? Just because she's been born in Egypt doesn't mean that she's Arabic. Best example, Saladin ruled Egypt, but was originally born in Iraq and was Kurdish. I mean you created the character, so you should know. Sorry, I'm not trying to be cruel or harsh here, but you are very vague and maybe undecided? I think first you need to figure out what exactly she is. Where she and her family comes from and get a good grasp of her family's background because that will influence her as a character and then you can start worrying about what she wears. If her father's a merchant (as you've said above) that also might influence her decisions. I think you'll find most of the information you need if you start researching your

[evewithanapple]

No, no- harsh is good. I've got a bead on her personality, but not as much on her background. Her ancestors (great-great-grandparents) were from Jerusalem, and fled for Egypt when it was captured by the Crusaders in 1099, then she and her family moved back when Saladin took the city in 1187. She ended up as a slave (not entirely sure how yet- I think her uncle sold her after her parents and brother died) and was taken to England, which is where the story starts. The reason I'm especially worried about the costume is because it's a script rather than a novel or short story, so her origin will be shown in her dress rather than told at first- the audience needs a visual cue as to who she is/where she's from.

[reconditarmonia]

For the latter, googling contemporary pictures of the battles (I don't know if many or any are extant, but worth a try) could help. Also image-google names of people from the period, say, Saladin.

[syntinen_laulu]

The trouble with contemporary pictures of battles (of which there are not many) is that they were often painted by people in another country altogether who had no idea what the combatants looked like, and just used their imaginations, or lack of same - cf. the routine depiction of Saladin in mediaeval Western art dressed as a European knight!

For what combatants in the Crusades looked like, you need to invest in one or more "Osprey" books. They're produced precisely for that purpose; they're beautifully illustrated, well explained and documented, and cheap.
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/section.aspx?SectionID=30

[reconditarmonia]

Well, I was thinking non-European pictures, but point.

[sucrelefey]

Try sites like costumes.org
When you google historical clothing you enter the time period, then the name of the region, nationality or population group.
12th c crusader costume, 12c French costume or 12thc Saracen...

[sucrelefey]

Also watch Kingdom of Heaven it is the correct time period.

[corvideye]

Haven't seen that one, but in general movies don't tend to be good costume references if one's after accuracy.

[sucrelefey]

Costume and armour is one of the things that one is reasonably accurate about. Characters and events are another matter though the fine gentleman doing Saladin is awesome.

[rodlox]

>Also, what kind of head covering would she have worn?
well, for Christian Greeks in the Ottoman Empire*, you can let your hair flow out from a cap or bandana - but you have to keep your scalp covered.
(even Christian countries did likewise until recently)

* = not what you asked for, but as close as I know with any certainty.