Now the thing about Omani women is they can wear anything to work. Legally they are free to don abaya or not. Culturally, you cannot say that is so, but legally yes. Despite, abayas are the major form of fashion especially in Muscat, the capital where I live. Omani women wear all kinds of abayas to work. Sparkly, trashy, too-tight, modest and beyond plain, designer, not designer, tacky, awesome, chic. Ect... I remain somewhat Western in that I hesitate to wear princess sleeves to work. I question the practicality. Case in point, this awtar abaya:
Being that it is plain black it is perfect for a casual day at work. Being that it is designer and made of a nice fabric (ignore the fact that I did not iron it for this mock-photo shoot) it can also be dressed up and suitable for non-casual days at work. So..... I tested it. And yes, I conclude I can happily and safely wear princess sleeves to work in an office setting. I don't recommend though if you are a chef for a living or anything that involves moving machinery.
The best part of this awtar abaya is the lace at the neck (which normally I cover with my shayla so no one even knows it is there). It is a pretty high-quality lace. It look nice though at a ladies-only party with cute earrings and a killer up-do as well though soooo... [And the Western-part in me hates the sewn on name-brand tags---if this wouldn't leave a big gaping hole in the abaya fabric I'd cut it off]:
Yes, that is my actual office pictured above. I can't live without my Omani coffee in the mornings (I drink the whole pot by myself to the chagrin of any Khaleeji in-the-know about this dreadful addiction/habit of mine). Below, I offer my readers a very brief tour of my work:
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