The Islamic religion restricts the self-expression of women through clothing. At the same time, their canons correspond to traditional Ukrainian clothing. This year, after opening a direct flight from Saudi Arabia to Kyiv, Muslim tourists began to actively buy our ethnic embroidery and dresses.
This is reported by obozrevatel.com whose journalist talked to representatives of Lviv stores that sell Ukrainian national clothing.
In the Halychanka store, salesperson Halyna confirmed the popularity of Ukrainian clothing among Muslim women: "they are most attracted to dresses. They can take 6-7 outfits at once without trying them on. They don't even look at the price. They only ask for the size. There must be long clothes of white or bright color with long sleeves. Of the patterns, floral is the most attractive. I've heard that they only wear these clothes at home. They are forbidden by the tradition of wearing things with bright elements on the street."
Artem, a salesperson at Art-Lev store, also claims that the national clothing of Ukraine appeals to women who profess Islam: "Ukrainian women who have married a Muslim and adopted a different faith often come to us. They buy clothes for the whole family (for their husband, for themselves and children) or as a gift. More often choose cotton or linen shirts with long sleeves, as well as with machine or hand embroidery. If this is a gift for the Egyptians, they take short sleeve shirts. Dark items were never ordered at all. Only light ones. We also sometimes deliver goods to the United Arab Emirates, because they order from us in an online store."
Both Ukrainian and Muslim women prefer traditional clothing made of natural fabrics (cotton or linen): such things allow air to pass through and allow the body to breathe, so there is no discomfort.
In the boutique" Gallery of Embroidery" shop assistant, Tatiana commented on the information about Muslim women as follows:" these girls are fond of natural clothes with hand embroidery. After all, in such outfits, it is not hot, comfortable and there is no hard contact with the body. Machine embroidery is tougher, so they choose softer products. Muslim women buy long dresses or shirts with long sleeves and no cleavage. Basically, these are clothes of monochrome shades. It is interesting that girls who profess Islam buy vyshyvankas more often than Ukrainian women."
The style should be practical – do not restrict movement. Both Ukrainian and Muslim women prefer traditional clothing made of natural fabrics (cotton or linen): such things allow air to pass through and allow the body to breathe, so there is no discomfort. Each of the ethnic styles has a monochrome oversized outfit covering the feet and shins.
And although traditional Ukrainian clothing is a marker of national identity, this does not prevent Muslim women from updating their own wardrobe with vyshyvankas.