Nearly eight years ago I posted my first manifesto, Why I Wear Skirts. Skirts are still super awesome, but today I forge another countercultural path: the Arabian Thobe. Yet for all the wisdom and perspective gained through skirts, I find myself re-learning some of the same simple lessons all over again.
Like Adam Graham, I too have long admired the thobe for its sensibility. In Arabic, thobe simply means garment. It is the thing which one wears. It’s just one article and it’s easy-on, easy-off. It has no need for belt or suspenders. In my head I yearn for the simplicity of waking, showering, donning a single item, and leaving for my daily tasks. It satisfies every office dress code. It always color coordinates. There are no logos, no labels. It’s egalitarian. It’s simple. It is a single tool for the task.
The thobe is culturally Arab, but not religiously Islam. It was engineered over the millennia for an exceedingly hot climate. Its length and fit work together to circulate air internally without expelling moisture to the desert air. Thobes have no hotspots, no induced sweat zones, not pits, not crotch. As I write this in Jimmy John’s, I am aware that I am uncomfortably cool in my thobe. Outside it is 82°F at 51% relative humidity so I suppose the interior temperature is set for all those folks wearing belted pants and tucked shirts. Would such airconditioning be necessary if everyone were dressed more adequately for this climate? How much collective grid energy could be conserved if everyone dressed smarter?
A few years ago I purchased a black thobe and my first outing was to a medical appointment (for its disrobing practicality). Somewhat perplexed, the physician asked if it was “religious garb.” I had the impression that he wanted to know if it was necessary to modify the exam procedure for religious modesty. I matter-of-factly stated that it was an Arabian thobe. More queries followed. Ugh. Later that afternoon I felt like I received overly courteous attention in a government building for the same perception as religious attire. I don’t think I wore that black thobe again (yeah, it does somewhat conjure thoughts of ecclesiastic vestments and it requires fierce ironing).
I got a new white thobe a few weeks ago and today is the first time in public. I had an eighty-minute drive from my (temporary) backwater locale to see my dentist. I imagined that I would be far more comfortable in my new thobe. The whole drive there, my mind stayed occupied with thoughts of how I would explain myself. Shortly before I arrived, I remembered something I read on Beskirted Man and recaptured in this meme. 
That’s all the raison d’être that I need. Fuck what anybody else opines, imagines, conjures, or fantasizes.
As it happened, I perceived no response from the staff. Some odd looks from the waiting room as I strode by. I noticed an expressionless limber-necked hygienist gawk from another bay during my panoramic x-ray. I think I will go to a bar later for some less-inhibited paces.
I really like what Al-Haq Thobes says about thobes.
It is a myth that Muslim men solely wear thawbs. Rather than being a religious garment, the thobe is essentially cultural attire. It is important in Islamic tradition, but wearers don’t always associate it with religiosity. Therefore, wearing it is not prohibited for non-Muslims.
In other words, westerners associate thobes with Islam because they see Arab men in thobes and associate Arabs with Islam.
Fashion is a potent weapon for promoting inclusion and shattering preconceptions in today’s globalised society. You can break stereotypes and foster harmony despite cultural differences by mindfully adopting a variety of clothing choices. Thobes are a perfect example of this idea because of their ageless appeal.
No explanation or elaboration necessary.
Accepting diversity in fashion promotes a better global society. It deepens your awareness about humanity. Enjoy the splendour of cross-cultural dialogue while donning a thobe!
At the risk of gauchely minimizing and mistreating a cultural touchstone of billions, I will observe that the skirt parallels are unmistakable. The women who first donned bifurcated pants proclaimed their equality to men. But that equality is a myth as long as the skirted man is viewed less masculinely. If gender equality truly existed, there would be no stigma! That there is stigma means that skirts are construed as feminine, that femininity is inferior to masculinity, and that women are inferior to men. That is also probably true of American xenophobes who view Islam as inferior to Christianity and therefore Arabs as inferior to Americans. Fuck that noise too. I will consider it an added honor to confront such prejudices.
I like what another website heralded as the “non-negligible comfort” of a cotton thobe. That’s medical-speak for significantly pleasant. A thobe does require an adjustment period, but yes, it is amazing 100% of the time, and awkward only 8% of the time.
At the bar, a woman did inquire when I returned from the lavatory. Except she asked my occupation, which I dodged and invited her to ask what she really wanted to know. She said that her barmates wanted to know but were too timid to ask. I detest such cowardice and I said so loudly enough for the rebuke to be heard by all. All that is required is a friendly, “I’m curious about your outfit, could you tell me about it?”
For men wishing to explore and/or experience a thobe, I prefer and recommend a shoe-length fit. At 5′ 10″ and an athletic 175 lbs, this 60″ large thobe hits the top of my feet.
I just read a mention-worthy elogium from a Saudi who developed Irritable Bowel Syndrome while living in the United Kingdom. On a home visit he discovered that discontinuing his customary belt improved his IBS discomfort (thobe means no trousers which means no belt). It makes sense, particularly if he had a larger girth (he didn’t say specifically, but other remarks would suggest that to be the case). He also pointed out that it’s quicker to go through airport security: no belt, no button, no zipper, no rivets. Unfortunately, it could also subject one to biases and enhanced screening which offsets the benefits.