Modern outfits leave traditional attire behind

11 Mar '08

2 min read

Yemen civilization is one of the oldest in entire world. The rich culture and deep tribal tradition has brought people from diverse cultures here to get mesmerized by it. However, now things are getting little bleak, traditional garments are disappearing and modern outfits have started capturing local markets.

Yemeni conventional apparels have a huge range of patterns and fabric usage depending on the region they belong. A typical attire of grooms for example consists of a long garment which has buttons in front and wide open ended sleeves sometimes getting below knees. Even headgears are extremely attractive, men wear a turban and women a silk scarf.

Clothes are generally considered to be reflection of region, which can be seen from the fact that, inhabitants living near coastal regions wear garments mostly manufactured out of cotton due to high temperature.

One thing which is common in all regional clothing is huge amount of yarn or metal embroidery with different density. Although, people wear customary garments on festivals and marriage, they are loosing their identity.

Modern and imported garments are slowly getting into the wardrobes of young generation, leaving little space for age old clothes.

One of the reasons for this is that, artisans are not getting enough support from Government and there is less demand from customers in local market. There is hardly any participation in local as well as international exhibitions to promote handicraft industry. As a result artisans are now shifting to other fields for earning wages.