Arab Dress: A Short History. From the Dawn of Islam to Modern Times.

• Author: Bier, Carol
• Position: Book Review

Arab Dress: A Short History. From the Dawn of Islam to Modern Times. By YEDIDA KALFON STILLMAN. Edited by NORMAN A. STILLMAN. Themes in Islamic Studies, vol. 2. Leiden: BRILL, 2000. Pp. xxxii + 240, plates, figs.

Billowing folds, exquisite pleats, tightly wound turbans, flowing burqas, short square kerchiefs--the dramatic drapery of Islamic fashion fills the quiet spaces of our daily news coverage; yet the garments illustrated and their significance often pass without verbal notice. Little would Yedida Stillman ever have anticipated the widespread presence of the Islamic vestimentary system in Western media a short three years after her death in 1998. Preserving and honoring her memory, her dedicated collaborator-husband, Norman A. Stillman, has edited her most important work, Arab Dress: A Short History. And more is promised to come.

A veritable treasure trove of information about Arab dress, culled from a wide range of textual sources (academic references, as well as manuscripts in Arabic, Hebrew, and Judeo-Arabic), this book also draws upon several visual resources and ethnographic studies in the Arab world. Focusing primarily on the extensive vocabulary in Arabic for items of dress (somewhat akin to the Eskimo's fascination with snow), this book offers much attention to detail, but as its subtitle suggests, the subject is ever more vast and the need for its study is much greater than can be accommodated in a short history. This book is an invaluable contribution; yet, as Yedida Stillman herself critically recognized, it is only a new beginning, building upon a foundation first established by Dozy (Dictionnaire detaille des noms des vetements chez les Arabes) in the middle of the nineteenth century, followed by his Supplement aux dictionnaires arabes. A quick glance at the analytical table of contents of Stillman's work establishes the breadth of the field. Her approach reflects a chronological and geographic framework. The book is divided into nine chapters: pre-Islamic Arabia and the early umma; evolution of the Great Caliphates; the Arab East and Turkish dynasties; the Muslim West; laws of differentiation (ghiyar) and the clothing of non-Muslims; tiraz and precious textiles; veiling; modern times; and an historiographic epilogue to the subject. Each chapter heading encompasses multiple sections in which topics are addressed thematically. One of the most intriguing, and one to which Stillman brings to bear both her doctoral studies...