If you were moving to the Middle East from the Midwest in the middle of winter, you might be tempted to ditch all your cold weather togs and bring only shorts and tees and swimsuits. You would fight against this urge, knowing that you were going to arrive in the middle of their winter, too, but it would be hard to imagine needing any of those things while you compared their weather report (balmy mid 60s) to yours (frigid low 20s). On the one hand, if you were me, you would know from your time growing up in Hawaii and then living in South Carolina that even the mid 60s can be chilly if that's what one is used to. On the other hand, even though your kids were born in the South, they had two Ohio winters under their belts and were used to walking to school through the snow, even if only for two blocks. On the third hand (you're going to need more hands), it's still the desert, right? And it's still going to be very warm in comparison to your current locale, right?
With all these hands to consider, you might be very confused about what to pack. Eventually, all your clothes would follow you to the desert, but that would take some time (two months and counting, folks), so you needed to make smart choices now about your mid-winter wardrobe for Qatar. Despite the confusion, I made pretty good choices for myself and the boys, with one crucial mistake. In the end, I brought more pairs of pants for all of us than I really thought necessary, but we have needed every pair. I also brought two fleeces each for the boys as well as one for me, which was an excellent decision, since we have used those as well in the early morning cold here.
What I didn't bring enough of, sadly, were cardigans. You see, the real secret to successful Western attire in Qatar is cardigans, lots and lots of cardigans. I brought two, one black, one navy, and that was not nearly enough. And I had loads of them at home to choose from, but no, many of those were sold or given away (poor choice on my part), and the rest are safely (I hope) stored in our shipping container, doing me no good at the moment.
And why are cardigans the best look for Qatar? For oh so many reasons! One, no matter what the weather outside, everywhere in Doha is VERY well air conditioned, which means that year round, as soon as you go indoors, you are freezing. Enter the cardigan. Two, modesty here is no joke. In fact, immodesty is an offense punishable by fines and imprisonment if someone were inclined to follow the letter of the law. Technically, for Westerners, the rule is that you should have your knees and shoulders covered in public to be safe and said coverings should also not be too revealing. I'd rather not have anyone decide that my shirt is too tight for public decency's stake, so if I am ever concerned, or I don't want to have to give my outfit a second thought throughout the day, I just throw on a demure cardigan and breathe easy. Three, as a general rule, everyone here is a bit more dressed up than folks back home on a day to day basis. No one goes out in yoga pants, you know what I'm saying? I've heard that some in the fashion world say one simple key to looking more put together is wearing at least three items of clothing (not counting shoes and accessories). I think this might be a good rule of thumb, particularly in a place in which most women are dressed to the nines, even if some of their designer clothes are hidden under their abayas. You can still tell that the attire bar is set quite a bit higher here. So cardigans are my go-to third item of clothing. Add a scarf (also a popular piece here) and lose the flip flops (which I only do when I really want to impress--I really love my flip flops!), and I look presentable by the standards of my new home.
Long live the cardigan, queen of the closet!
With all these hands to consider, you might be very confused about what to pack. Eventually, all your clothes would follow you to the desert, but that would take some time (two months and counting, folks), so you needed to make smart choices now about your mid-winter wardrobe for Qatar. Despite the confusion, I made pretty good choices for myself and the boys, with one crucial mistake. In the end, I brought more pairs of pants for all of us than I really thought necessary, but we have needed every pair. I also brought two fleeces each for the boys as well as one for me, which was an excellent decision, since we have used those as well in the early morning cold here.
What I didn't bring enough of, sadly, were cardigans. You see, the real secret to successful Western attire in Qatar is cardigans, lots and lots of cardigans. I brought two, one black, one navy, and that was not nearly enough. And I had loads of them at home to choose from, but no, many of those were sold or given away (poor choice on my part), and the rest are safely (I hope) stored in our shipping container, doing me no good at the moment.
And why are cardigans the best look for Qatar? For oh so many reasons! One, no matter what the weather outside, everywhere in Doha is VERY well air conditioned, which means that year round, as soon as you go indoors, you are freezing. Enter the cardigan. Two, modesty here is no joke. In fact, immodesty is an offense punishable by fines and imprisonment if someone were inclined to follow the letter of the law. Technically, for Westerners, the rule is that you should have your knees and shoulders covered in public to be safe and said coverings should also not be too revealing. I'd rather not have anyone decide that my shirt is too tight for public decency's stake, so if I am ever concerned, or I don't want to have to give my outfit a second thought throughout the day, I just throw on a demure cardigan and breathe easy. Three, as a general rule, everyone here is a bit more dressed up than folks back home on a day to day basis. No one goes out in yoga pants, you know what I'm saying? I've heard that some in the fashion world say one simple key to looking more put together is wearing at least three items of clothing (not counting shoes and accessories). I think this might be a good rule of thumb, particularly in a place in which most women are dressed to the nines, even if some of their designer clothes are hidden under their abayas. You can still tell that the attire bar is set quite a bit higher here. So cardigans are my go-to third item of clothing. Add a scarf (also a popular piece here) and lose the flip flops (which I only do when I really want to impress--I really love my flip flops!), and I look presentable by the standards of my new home.
Long live the cardigan, queen of the closet!
Hmmm, covered shoulders and knees. Sounds similar to another dress code I know...
ReplyDeleteI recently purchased two cardigans (I love the super thin merino wool ones) and wear them all the time.