Syrian Goddess dress near Aleppo asymmetric railroad design in red silk embroidery
The significance of the #thobe ie traditional folklore bohemian dress represents art, self expression, and women empowerment. I have devoted most of my life tracking and studying this significant exclusively woman art form that is comparable to American hand made quilt art and identity design.. Mythology and symbolism in women’s clothing has finally come full circle. Perhaps the Me Too movement in American culture gave modern woman a final push towards self expression and style ( not to be confused with commercial fashion). All in all I am so happy all this attention is on this particular dress and hope more women across the world look inward and understand their own power-self expression tools away from fashion catwalks. It is the right time.
Palestine at one point in history had over 800 separate designs of the #Thobe representing individual towns or villages and was influenced by many aspects like affluence and time available to embroider in day light versus working in the fields, talent versus social pressure, or cottage industry embroidery as wage work. Historically women always wear their hometown embroidery motifs even after marriage into a neighboring city.
Palestinian Costume Book by Shelagh Weir is a delightful self empowering study and journey in all things #thobe. I have been collecting folk art and embroidery since I was 17 and after doing so for thirty years I strongly recommend this book :
Embroidered Textiles Traditional Patterns From Five Continents which is on Amazon in hard back for next to nothing.