what women wear

[greenlaurel]

my husband and i are moving to dubai in august, and my biggest concern is actually what to wear! how modest are expat women expected to be on the street? i will be a teacher, so what about in the classroom? i was told by the school director that the dress code is "conservative," but in my experience conservative clothing is still form-fitting. in other words, i'd like someone to give me specifics: length of skirt and sleeves, tightness of shirts, etc.

i could really be displaying my ignorance here, but i do not want to be disrespectful in any way.

[Pasanada]

Hi Greenlaurel,

Firstly, congratulations on your new post!

I've been living here in Dubai for over 2 months now, I've noted how Western women dress and to be honest, I dress the same here as I would in Europe. However, I would not walk around in mini skirts or very low cut blouses/t-shirts. I would say trouser suits/below the knee skirts and a loose fitting blouse would suffice.

With the heat, tight fitting clothing would be very uncomfortable. Also, wear light coloured clothing and preferably cotton for your own comfort. I normally dress conservatively for the office but at weekends, I tend to wear sarongs with a t-shirt that covers my shoulders and upper arms or cargo pants and again, a t-shirt. If staying in hotels, swimming costumes (not sure about bikini's) are acceptable but don't consider walking around your local supermarket dressed in this way!!

In my experience, no matter what you wear, you will find men, especially those from the Indian Sub-Continent, will stare at you simply because you're a woman rather than becaue of your attire.

Dubai is pretty relaxed towards Western dress codes but I would advise to be respectful to the people and their culture.

HTH

[BLM]

You can always tell the tourists here by their bare shoulders and legs

Pasananda is so right - dressing conservatively is a sign of respect but also makes the staring feel less creepy because you know they can't actually see your curvy bits ;-)

You will love Dubai its a beautiful city, very modernised and liberal!

[cairogal]

Dubai is pretty relaxed towards Western dress codes but I would advise to be respectful to the people and their culture.

Good advice, pasanada. I've read expat websites that say shorts are fine, but I would say that shorts have a time and a place (beach/pool). I would bring your sleeveless tops for evenings out (pashminas come in handy for when you're not sure), but they aren't really appropriate for daily wear. That's not to say that you won't see it, though.

I've noted how Western women dress and to be honest, I dress the same here as I would in Europe

I would agree w/ this, but I would emphasize that I wouldn't wear shorts in many parts of Europe (Spain, for example). Your crop-lenght trousers are fine in the UAE, as are skirts that come below the knee or longer.

[dizzyizzy]

I visited a few weeks ago and dressed as your typical tourist sleevless tops and bare shoulders being the main offenders. However I am moving in a few weeks and plan to wear more trousers and also try to cover more my shoulders, I also found the pashminas perfect for this, and a little cardigan to cover my shoulders.

[Pasanada]

Originally Posted by cairogal

I would agree w/ this, but I would emphasize that I wouldn't wear shorts in many parts of Europe (Spain, for example). Your crop-lenght trousers are fine in the UAE, as are skirts that come below the knee or longer.

I wonder why you wouldn't wear shorts in Spain, Cairgol - prior to coming to Dubai 2 months ago, I'd spent 5 years living in Spain and everyone wears shorts/mini skirts!! The Spanish are very tolerant of expats attire and young Spanirds think nothing of wearing skimpy/little clothing themselves.

Apologies for the thread drift.

[cairogal]

Nothing to do w/ modesty or tolerance, pasanada. It's just that grown women don't wear shorts all that often-nothing like in the U.S. The younger kids (teenagers and such) tend to dress more casually-like Americans.

[Pasanada]

I disagree, Cairgol. I have a property on the Costa Blanca which is predominantly full of retiree's. Not many of them go out modestly dressed, everyone tends to wear shorts and t-shirts.

Maybe in big cities you will see people dressed differently but along the Mediterranean coast, everyone dresses down.