Class-y Dressers

Class-y Dressers

Sure, it’s the case that in any place, that the clothes one wears hints at your station in society.

And it’s definitely the case here.

For example, you often see men dressed in traditional Saudi garb: white robe (thawb), red and white checked headscarf (shumawg), and round rope-like coil (iqal). (More info on Saudi traditional costumes here.) These men, one assumes, are Saudi citizens. Their wives are wearing full nikabs, they are driving their wives and kids about, or walking with them in the mall. They drive fancy cars like Lexus, or big American cars, like Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon. (Big families and cheap oil here, thus, big cars.)

On the other hand, when you see someone wearing more casual Western wear, they tend to be working in the service industry or expats working in positions such as IT or insurance. They’re usually not Saudi.

So, it’s wrong to assume too much by the clothing, but moreso than in other countries, the clothes do say much about the man.