Thread: Kalleji Thobes?

Anyone know a trustworthy connection for Saudi Kalleji Thobes?
Let me know if so.
I would thank you many times! Shah

You can buy khaleji thobes from Dahlal at www.dahlal.com.

Khaleegy thobes for $27 plus shipping direct from Kuwait at www.thedesertboutique.com

I bought one myself and I was happy for what I got for the price.

Other (more expensive in price) examples of the same dress as the desert boutique sell on ebay..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Belly-Dance-Kh...QQcmdZViewItem

I've given up on finding a good khaliji thobe. All the ones you see now are made in India or China. I wonder if anyone makes them anymore...

That's a good price. I think Dahlal sells her for $135-$175...

Originally Posted by nikkiraqs

Khaleegy thobes for $27 plus shipping direct from Kuwait at www.thedesertboutique.com

I bought one myself and I was happy for what I got for the price.

Other (more expensive in price) examples of the same dress as the desert boutique sell on ebay..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Belly-Dance-Kh...QQcmdZViewItem

Hi Niki, did you get a dance thobe or did you get a traditional dress?

Khaleegy (however its spelled) isnt just Kuwaiti. Thank you for the site link, its interesting.

Also, DeeDee of LittleEgypt.com can get them for you, she just asks for picture of what you want, color and what kind of decorations. I just bought several for our troupe and was having trouble getting them in silver sequin rather than the traditional gold embellishment and DeeDee had them made up with sequins that are the same color as the dress which is a good solution. I'm talking about the Khaleegi dresses for the "hair" dancing that have the ginormous sleeves and very long in back and quite voluminous. They usually run around $120 but if you are buying several you might get a discount from DeeDee. The dresses she got were not silk, they are a kind of semi-sheer guaze material - troupe members will be wearing silver metallic dresses underneath, because troupe is all in silver, black themed costumes and we needed the dresses to not be gold trimmed. DeeDee did a great job for us and it did not take her long at all to get them made up, we had them within a month!

Mine is silk with heavy gold thread embroidery and sequins. As beautiful and floaty as the silk is, it is not terribly sturdy and I have to be very careful where hold it when dancing because of the weight of the decorations.

A poly chiffon would be a lot more practical.

Souzan

Be very careful when purchasing your thobe. Ask if the threading is all one design or not. If it is, DON'T purchase it. Once it starts to unravel the design will be gone. It's best to go with one that has the design in several threads.

Originally Posted by kamilia

I've given up on finding a good khaliji thobe. All the ones you see now are made in India or China. I wonder if anyone makes them anymore...

The ones made in India are just not the same, the quality of the beading is not up to par with the real thing. I did email a online store selling Saudi clothing to see if they would be able to sell me a couple wholesale. I'll keep you posted.

Do you guys think someone will sell them in Vegas this week?
I'm looking for one also.

FYI the ones Dahlal's sells are the same type as sold by the desert boutique for $27. I have purchased them from the desert boutique and have seen the ones at Dahlal. They look pretty on stage but are not that high a quality. Good for troupes though.

Sedonia

Originally Posted by ChristinaRizkallah

You can buy khaleji thobes from Dahlal at www.dahlal.com.

Originally Posted by Mark Balahadia

The ones made in India are just not the same, the quality of the beading is not up to par with the real thing. I did email a online store selling Saudi clothing to see if they would be able to sell me a couple wholesale. I'll keep you posted.

Nice! I hope that works out.

The only real thobe I found from Saudi Arabia recently (silk, heavy embroidery, handmade) sold to a native for $2,000. Ouch!

I'm really tempted to buy one of the $27 ones...even if they don't hold up well under use...hummm...

I got mine from Turquoise International and it is beautiful and very well made. Make sure the one you buy is long enough. There should be about 4 inches of material laying on the floor in front of you when you have it on. Also, many of them tend to be very sheer so I solved that issue by purchasing a long slip and camisole.

Originally Posted by ssipes

FYI the ones Dahlal's sells are the same type as sold by the desert boutique for $27. I have purchased them from the desert boutique and have seen the ones at Dahlal. They look pretty on stage but are not that high a quality. Good for troupes though.

Sedonia

Agreed. I have one from Desert Boutique and it is pretty and nice for stage, but not high quality at all.

XOXO

The only ones that I got when I was in the UAE were the cheap made in India stuff. And I searched on two occasions, the second time with a dancer who has lived on the Gulf for many years, so she would know...

Constructing them is quite easy. Get an original one and then just follow the pattern for the rest.

MEISSOUN

I have seriously considered constructing my own, I just hope I can get the physics of it right so it flows as well as the nice kind...

The important aspects of the thobe seem to be: the weight of the fabric, proper weight of the garment in the correct places (heavy embroidery down the front and on the edges), the decorated stripe parallel to the floor where you can hold it, and those stupid gussets.

Actually, Meissoun, do you construct them with those gussets? Do you use lots of embroidery? Tell tell tell!

There's a website with instructions on how to make one out of a sari! I can't remember where, but I think it was on an Australian or New Zealand site -- anyone?

Originally Posted by rassicahl

Also, many of them tend to be very sheer so I solved that issue by purchasing a long slip and camisole.

I think they're supposed to show the clothes underneath them. You could wear everyday clothing or you could wear a costume underneath. Catsuit would work, too.

I'd LOVE to see that website! I have three long pieces of sari fabric that I used as window treatments for a while, but it was a shame to have them get so dusty and sun damaged. I hadn't thought of turning them into thobes.

Regards
Priscilla

Originally Posted by Lauren_

There's a website with instructions on how to make one out of a sari! I can't remember where, but I think it was on an Australian or New Zealand site -- anyone?

I think this is it:

Making a Khaleegy Thobe

Great! Thanks so much.

Regards
Priscilla

Originally Posted by antimony

I think this is it:

Making a Khaleegy Thobe

Originally Posted by Mark Balahadia

The ones made in India are just not the same, the quality of the beading is not up to par with the real thing. I did email a online store selling Saudi clothing to see if they would be able to sell me a couple wholesale. I'll keep you posted.

I'm late as usual, but I've been on the hunt for a thobe since I signed up for Latifa's workshop this June. I decided on a cheapie from Desert Boutique since I have purchased from them before, but noticed the lack of high quality thobes.

I think writing appropriate companies and asking for what you want is not only a good idea, but our right as consumers. If enough people do it, we are likely to get results.

I have written a few online shops located in the Middle East (mostly Islamic in nature, but some that sell cultural items) and asked them to consider selling well-made thobe nashal. I got a response from desertstore.com already and they said they'd consider it. I also wrote Al-Hediyah but, sadly, Denise decided to close after 10 years of business. *sniff* But I'm sure there are other places out there. I encourage other dancers to do the same. There is strength in numbers!

Khaliji Thobes for Sale ~ Kay Hardy Campbell Writer, Lecturer, Middle East Specialist and other interesting info about khaleeji

Mine is from Turquoise International as well and is well made and beautiful. I did have to add about 5 inches of chiffon to the bottom though so if you're taller be aware that you may have to do the same. There should be several inches pooling on the floor. Also, I wear a cami and long half slip under it because they can be a bit see through.

The thobe instructions are on Kashmir's site, Raqs - Middle Eastern Dance - with Kashmir.

I've made a couple - the first one went Horribly Wrong because I treated the shoulder seam as, you know, a shoulder seam, so I ended up without the nice ballooning sleeve, and also it was a bit small because I was working with one sari and it wasn't quite enough fabric, but the second one, which is made from cheap red and gold CHECKED fabric and some braid, is surprisingly nice. It's getting the fabric right that's the trick. I have a great beaded shawl that would make a lovely front panel but I can't find chiffon or georgette in the same colour and I hate a contrast. Also, getting them nicely ornate is a bit of work.

I'd love a bought one but at 5ft8 I suspect a lot of the ones available online are waaay too short, and it's GOT to be long.

Originally Posted by Midoria

I'm late as usual, but I've been on the hunt for a thobe since I signed up for Latifa's workshop this June. I decided on a cheapie from Desert Boutique since I have purchased from them before, but noticed the lack of high quality thobes.

I think writing appropriate companies and asking for what you want is not only a good idea, but our right as consumers. If enough people do it, we are likely to get results.

I have written a few online shops located in the Middle East (mostly Islamic in nature, but some that sell cultural items) and asked them to consider selling well-made thobe nashal. I got a response from desertstore.com already and they said they'd consider it. I also wrote Al-Hediyah but, sadly, Denise decided to close after 10 years of business. *sniff* But I'm sure there are other places out there. I encourage other dancers to do the same. There is strength in numbers!

Midoria, remember that you can use a veil instead of a thobe at the workshop. This is a trick I learned from Bobby Farrah and it works really well while you're learning. I'll show you at Raqs America.

And responding to BanatSusan's post:

Those thobes from Kay Campbell look wonderful. (And Kay is wonderful, too!) It looks like they have metallic embroidery, which is what you need to give the thobe some weight. The Jewel of India ones have metallic embroidery as well. And it should be "too long" -- i.e. puddle a little on the floor in the front, and even more in the back. (There's a great pre-Islamic poem that I always think of when I see the little train in the back of a thobe. It was about someone stealing into the desert with his habibi, and the train of her dress erasing their footprints so they wouldn't be followed.)

Re the thobes from Turquoise International: they're lovely, and I love dancing with silk, but the one I had was a bit skimpy: too short (and I'm only 5'2"), and just not enough fabric to do some movements, like playing with the sleeve.

I've seen some homemade thobes that worked really well. You can use a sequin-decorated veil for the front panel, or even use fabric glue and lots of glittery sequins and stones. I've always been tempted to try this (Kay gave me a diagram) but I have so many thobes I've never needed to make one.

haha, that's probably why y'all can't find good thobes! I've got them all! ..l;,

Latifa

BanatSusan: I love Kay Hardy Campbell's site. I wish she'd come to the DC area to lecture. The thobes she sells look stunning. The price is a bit high for me, but they are lovely to drool over.

Latifa: If my thobe from Desert Store doesn't come by the time the workshop rolls around, I'll be using a veil. And quit hoggoing all the good thobes!!! ;)

I wonder why the thobes out there seem to be deficient in some way.

Originally Posted by zumarrad

The thobe instructions are on Kashmir's site, Raqs - Middle Eastern Dance - with Kashmir.

In our last show all the thobes were handmade - here's pictures of how they turned out Kashmir's Coffeehouse Photos. Kadja's red and gold one was a work of art in real silk with amazing beading and applique work (Kadja hand beads wedding dresses in her "spare time"). Many were just made from lining fabric with an overlaid commerical "sequined" netting and looked great on stage.

The one lesson learnt was to check what everyone was wearing underneath. It needs to be ankle length to look best (apart from the costume revealed through the arm holes many moves lift the front to mid calf) - and something that tones well is also a plus.