Qatari clothing is similar to other countries in the Arabian Peninsula, typically consisting of a ghutra, agal, and thawb for men, and an abaya and shayla for women. Face veils, usually either a niqāb or gulf burqa, are sometimes worn by women. Depending on the context and setting, men and women will make micro-adjustments to their dress to better suit the situation, such as tilting the agal for men or loosening the abaya for women in informal contexts. Some differences exist between rural (Bedouin) and urban traditional dress, although these variations are mostly minor and superficial.
Men's clothing
Qatari men wear thawbs (a long white shirt) over loose pants. Aside from protecting the wearer against the dangers of the sun, the thawb also serves as a symbol of affiliation. In previous decades, different types of thawbs were used depending on the occasion, though this is seldom the case in present-day. For instance, the thawb al-nashal is considered the grandest and most ornamental type and was used for celebrations such as weddings, birthdays, and family gatherings. Long strips embroidered with beads run down the length of the thawb al-nashal. It is usually black but can come in colors such as blue and red. It is common for men to replace their outfit with a newly tailored one every year, usually during a holiday such as Eid.
The thawb is the piece of garment almost exclusively worn during the summer, but during the cooler months men may opt to wear other traditional dresses such as the al-shadd, al-daqlah, al-sidairi, al-bisht and al-dafa, though these are less common than in previous decades.
They also wear a loose headdress, a ghutra, which comes in white or red, which is secured by a black rope known as an agal. Qatari men typically prefer the white ghutra to the red ghutra. There are different styles of wearing the ghutra, including the cobra style.
Accessories
Traditional accessories worn by Qatari men include sword or dagger sheaths, which may be attached to the belt. Both the belts and sheaths can be decorated with either gold or silver. Firearms owned by men are similarly embellished.
Bisht
The bisht is a flowing cloak worn over a thawb for celebrations and special occasions. The word "bisht" is of Persian origin, derived from "bosht" meaning "behind," referencing the garment's function of covering the back. There are two main types based on thickness and seasonality: the thin, lightweight bisht for summer and the thick bisht for winter. Unlike other forms of traditional men's clothing aside from the thawb, the bisht has remained relatively steady in its popularity in Qatar. Qatari-crafted bishts are known especially for their softness. A bisht can last its wearer up to 30 years.
The craft of bisht-making, performed by the elhayek (bisht maker), is an artistic skill involving the use of various colors such as white, black, red, brown, and off-white. Bishts are traditionally made from various wools, including goat and camel, usually imported from surrounding countries. The embroidery utilizes silk threads, gold and silver plated threads, and other embellishments. The crafting process involves specialized tools like hammers, needles of various sizes, and a measuring instrument known as el'fetya.
The bisht has distinct components like sleeves (el'jem), inner lining (el'qtan), and el'khabena, which is knitting that adjusts the bisht's length. Types of bisht embroidery include: Elhei'la: Triangle- or square-shaped embroidery using zari yarn. El'brouj: Final embroidery along the top sides and back, forming an attractive pattern. Halazuni: Spiral knitting between el'terjeib and el'heila. El'terjeib: Parallel threads of zari yarn and cotton on the bisht's top. Lam'toun: Embroidery along the hand from the shoulder to the palm. Darboujaah: A combination of el'mekser, el'heeli, elbrouj, and el'k'taen. El'mekser: Uses zari yarn and el-breesem in bisht crafting.
Among the most well-known types of bisht are the combed bisht, an haute couture bisht with intricate embroidery resembling comb lines, adorned with gold, silver, and vibrant lines, the Najafi bisht, and the el'baraqa bisht, which is more historically common.
Women's clothing
Qatari women generally wear customary dresses that include the black colored body covering known as the abaya together with the black scarf used for covering their heads known as the shayla. The abaya is seen as essential wear when a woman ventures out into public to preserve her modesty, and is symbolic of a woman's honor and reputation. It is also worn to symbolize both status and culture.
Aside from the abaya, women may wear long dresses with floral designs while at home. In Bedouin society, women wore simple and plain dresses devoid of any designs and usually containing only a limited selection of colors, namely red, black, and indigo. A specific type of dress especially popular among Bedouin women is the daraa. This is a long gown with spacious sleeves. Threads of wool, cotton and apricot were used to embroider this dress. There exists several variants of the daraa, including mahrzanah, Bedouin daraa, hammered daraa, woven daraa, daraa zam, daraa thuraya and daraa makura.
During celebratory occasions and special events, the colorful and embroidered thawb al-nashal is worn by women. It is generally square in shape, made of silk and has vastly oversized sleeves. It comes in many colors, but vibrant shades of orange, red, green and black are common. Gold and silver zari threads are embroidered into the dress to form what are typically floral or geometric patterns. The daraa may be worn under it. Several other types of luxurious and ornate dresses were used on special occasions, including thawb mufahaha, thawb mujarah and thawb kurar.
Face and head veils
The shayla, a black headscarf typically made of cotton, is used to conceal a woman's hair and neck. It is commonly worn even while at home. The ghashwa is a flowing, lightweight cotton fabric that fits over the abaya and shayla, used in public places to cover a woman's head. Al ghero, a silver ornament, may be attached to a woman's head scarf. Another ornament is al meshbas, which may either be silver or gold, and is shaped like a leaf. Besides serving aesthetic purposes, these ornaments also secure the head scarf to the woman's head.
In recent years, the niqāb, a garment which covers the upper body and entire face excluding the eyes, has emerged as the most common way for a woman to shield her face. A burqa, an enveloping outer garment which fully covers the body and the face, is also sometimes worn. Bedouin women use a specific type of burqa known as burqa maqrun. A thin piece of cloth known as the litham is also sometimes used as a face veil, covering the neck, mouth and part of the nose. Other types of face coverings include the milfa and battoulah. It is thought that Qatari women began using face masks in the 19th century amid substantial immigration. As they had no practical ways of concealing their faces from foreigners, they began wearing the same face mask as their Persian counterparts.
Girl's clothing
As Qatari girls transition into puberty, their clothing undergoes significant changes to align with cultural norms of modesty and adulthood. Around the age of twelve, girls begin to wear the al-bukhnaq, a traditional head and chest covering, which serves both as a physical protector and a societal signal that they have reached adulthood. In Bedouin areas, girls often start wearing a burqa around the age of eleven, reinforcing strict cultural expectations of decency. The burqa varies in length and style depending on the tribe but generally serves to conceal the girl's face from public view. The al-bukhnaq is typically made of black cloth, sometimes adorned with gold embroidery, and extends to cover the back down to the knees. The sleeves are typically designed with local motifs and landscapes. It ceases to be worn only after reaching marrying age.
Young girls now enjoy greater freedom in choosing their attire than in the pre-oil era, often incorporating modern dresses and accessories into their wardrobes. While the abaya— a long, flowing black robe— remains a staple of female attire, its designs have been influenced by global fashion trends, incorporating styles and fabrics from international fashion houses.
Alongside changes in clothing, the use of beauty accessories also marks the transition from childhood to adulthood. Traditionally, young girls had limited access to beauty products like perfumes, Kohl eyeliner, which was used at night for its healing properties and during the day for beauty, and henna. These were reserved for special occasions such as religious festivals and were closely monitored by their mothers to ensure compliance with cultural expectations. However, contemporary practices have relaxed these restrictions significantly. Modern Qatari girls now use a variety of beauty products regularly, including European perfumes and a wide range of cosmetics, reflecting modernization within Qatari society.
Jewelry Crafting
Jewelry, typically gold-adorned, is very commonly used by Qatari women during special occasions such as weddings and festivals and, to a lesser extent, for daily use. Most jewelry worn by Qatari women is handmade, even after the rise in popularity of more cost-efficient manufactured jewelry. In modern times, the jewelry pieces worn by women are typically smaller in size than those in the past. Jewelry for daily use is lightweight and thin, and is not as ornately embellished as jewelry for special occasions. In contrast, jewelry used for a wedding can be so plentiful in quantity and heavy enough to cause a bride mobility issues.
The importance placed on gold jewelry in local society can be summed up with the common Qatari proverb "Gold is an adornment and a treasure". In Qatari culture, gold jewelry is not only a form of adornment but also a financial safeguard that can sold in times of financial need. Goldsmithing (al sayegh) is seen as a noble profession passed down through generations. In the distant past, goldsmiths sometimes added a chemical dye to stones to give them the appearance of gold due to the scarcity of authentic gold.
Silver is sometimes used in jewelry, albeit on a much smaller scale than gold. Historically, Bedouin women favored silver jewelry because it was more in line with tradition and more convenient to clean. It would be imported from nearby Arab countries such as Oman, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. It later lost popularity in the late 19th century, with Bedouin women largely turning to gold instead. On the contrary, there remains very little historical evidence of silver being used in urban communities.
Alongside gold, precious stones such as pearls, agate, rubies, turquoise, and precious corals are also incorporated in jewelry. Red and green stones were particularly popular in Qatari jewelry as they were considered symbolic of good luck and prosperity. Decorations featuring precious stones and natural pearls became popular only after the 1950s, coinciding with oil exploitation. Prior to this, pearls were a significant revenue source for the people of Qatar and were predominantly sold abroad. During this period, Qatari jewelry was commonly adorned with glass and coral beads. The advent of cultured pearls and increased local wealth from the oil industry made natural pearls more accessible, leading to their widespread use in Qatari jewelry.
Patterns of engravement on jewelry were either floral patterns, abstract geometric patterns or patterns inspired by local geography and culture, such as those seen in habaat alhil, a type of bracelet named and designed after cardamom pods and worn while visiting friends and family. Another example is al mashmoum, a type of earring named after and engraved with plant designs.
Necklaces