Egyptian fashion has evolved throughout the years and more specifically, woman's fashion. Women in Egypt made bold statements with their style from the very start. Clothing in Ancient Egyptian was all about comfort and most of it was made from linen. However, they still had a strong appreciation of beauty. Their clothes were embellished with a variety of colors and precious jewelry, gems and makeup. Jumping forward to the 20th century, we examine a completely different take on women's style. Egyptian beauty in the 20th century went from being very simplistic and clean to audacious and strong. With each decade, the fashion inspiration came from what was going on in the country at that time. In this blog post, the focus will specifically be on the evolution of fashion from 1910- 2010 in Egypt. Politics, economy, television, and music played a major role in the transformation of women's style. Each look was influenced by either a political or feminist stance and it is interesting to see this advancement through these photos.
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| Picture taken by Manar Ibrahim, Sara Aldaghady modeling Egypt in 1910s |
Egypt has been under British influence and rule since the 19th century and in the beginning of World War I (1914), Egypt became a British protectorate. During this time period women mostly wore an abaya ( a long black dress) and a version of a niqab, which was a kind of veil. In the 1910s, everything in their body was covered except their hands and eyes. They wore a see through garment to cover their face so that the focus was concentrated on their eyes. This particular style of clothing was a way for women to remain private while in public. It was how they were able to fit in and go out into the streets and be part of their community.The veil was used to protect or conceal their face so that they remained slightly unrecognizable and modest while out of the house.
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| Picture taken by Manar Ibrahim, Sara Aldaghady modeling Egypt in 1920s |
The 1920s was a very rousing time for women in Egypt. One very influential women during that time was Huda Sha'arawi. She was a pioneering feminist leader and founder of the Egyptian Feminist Union. Sha'arawi resented restrictions on women's movements and started organizing lectures for women on topics that they are interested in. After WWI many women participated in political protests against British rule. Huda Sha'arawi was also apart of this as she organized the largest women's anti-British demonstration. Returning to Egypt from a conference in Europe, Sha'arawi made a decision that she is famous for till this day. Coming off the train in the Ramses train station, she took off her veil in front of the crowd and shocked everyone. After a few moments people burst into cheers and many women joined her and took off their veils as well.
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| Picture taken by Manar Ibrahim, Rawan Ibrahim modeling Egypt in 1930s |
At this time Egyptian theatre and TV was blossoming. People throughout the 1930s began to have a greater interest in television,actors, and singers. The most well known singer at this particular time period was Umm Kulthum, she was known as (كوكب الشرق ) meaning Planet of the East because of how influential she was. She was a form of dominant entertainment and women's style was based off of her. Women did their hair wavy like her and wore red lipstick.
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| Picture taken by Manar Ibrahim, Rawan Ibrahim modeling Egypt in 1940s |
This 1940s look was inspired by Fawzia Fuad. This Egyptian princess was a prominent figure at this time as she was daughter of Fuad I, king of Egypt and Sudan in 1920s-30s. Fawzia is also a descendent from the Muhammed Ali dynasty. Muhammed Ali was the founder of Modern Egypt. Princess Fawzia who later became queen of Iran was huge influencer to Egyptian beauty at that time. Her look was much more modern than previous ones and this is where you can start to see the change that Egypt went through, from being contemporary to modern. This change was not only political but it was also shown through fashion as well. Many women recreated her style and her perfectly lined red lip. Her style was bold, vibrant and sophisticated and her accessories were prestigious. Her elegance was definitely fitting for a queen.
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| Picture taken by Manar Ibrahim, Rawan Ibrahim modeling Egypt in 1950s |
This time period in Egyptian History was a great success. Women were granted the right to vote thankfully due to Doria Shafik during the 1950s. She was an Egyptian woman who didn’t stop fighting for women’s right to vote until she was finally granted it under the Constitution of 1956. This step forward opened many doors of opportunities for Egyptian Women. Being so proud of Doria Shafik's perseverance and dedication, Egyptian women's fashion sense was similar to hers. It was basically a victory roll kind of look with bold red lipstick as a way of representing her.
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| Picture taken by Manar Ibrahim, Rawan Ibrahim modeling Egypt in 1960s |
The 60s in Egypt were the Golden Ages. It was a period of innovation and change. There were major upheavals of culture and political discussion. The 1960s brought a wave of art, fashion and entertainment like no other. During this time, Egypt began its dominance over the Arab cinema. Many new Egyptian actors became famous internationally and owned the silver-screen. Additionally, during this time, there was a huge boom in Egypt's local economy. Under the rule of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt was able to unite the Arab world as they shared the same history and were eager to detach themselves from western rule. After expelling the British from Egypt in the early 1950s, Nasser focused on local manufacturing and restoring the economy. Egypt became a center of many business opportunities and it also had a democracy that was never seen before in the Arab world. At the same time, since Egypt was finally liberated from being a British protectorate, many Egyptians adopted western trends and recreated them so they were more conservative and more fitting with Egyptian customs and norms. The 60s was a joyful time in Egypt and this was reflected through woman's clothing. A lot of woman in the 60s rocked a high up-do that was called "the beehive" and matched it with a baby pink lip.
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| Picture taken by Manar Ibrahim, Rawan Ibrahim modeling Egypt in 1970s |
Women during this time period started to have a strong appreciation of beauty, they started being more concerned and caring about their beauty. Their clothes were embodied with a variety of bright colors and light makeup. Egyptian beauty went from being very plain to outgoing. Souad Hosni, an Egyptian actress, became a prominent role in Egyptian television.Egyptian women during the 1970s started curling their hair and wearing bright pink lipstick just like her to replicate her look.
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| Picture taken by Manar Ibrahim, Sara Aldaghady modeling Egypt in 1980s |
The Islamic Movement grew during the 1980s. People started to realize that their ways have changed and become more modernized so they wanted to change that and become more conservative. This affected how women dressed at this time. The scarf was reincorporated into women’s fashion. However, it was not forced upon women to wear it. It was their choice to do so. The scarf represented the shift of bringing back modesty into fashion with light face makeup
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| Picture taken by Manar Ibrahim, Sara Aldaghady modeling Egypt in 1990s |
During the 1990s Pop music was the hype at this time. We can see a great shift in women's style at this time as they shifted from wearing dresses and skirts to wearing pants (mostly jeans) since denim was in style. Women's fashion started to fit in the norms of society similar to that of what women wear today. People became more open minded. Their fashion sense was stylish and at the same time still conservative.
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| Picture taken by Manar Ibrahim, Sara Aldaghady modeling Egypt in 2010s |
This is when the Egyptian Revolution occurred and people were proud of their accomplishments. Egypt was under President Mubarak's rule for more than 30 years so protesting until he finally stepped down from his presidency was a great triumph. Everyone throughout the 2010s had a lot of Egyptian spirit, a lot of music came out including Boshret Kheir (بشرة خير) by Hussain Al Jassmi, T-shirts and a lot of clothing had saying inlcuing "I Love Egypt" and images of the Egyptian flag to represent their love for their country and their immense accomplishments.
http://www.nytimes.com/news/the-lives-they-lived/2013/12/21/queen-fawzia/
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/news/the-lives-they-lived/2013/12/21/queen-fawzia/
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