Thobe and Shemagh

I love arab and asian clothing for men! I love the traditional Chinese clothing, the North Indian ( kurta pajama) , the Pakistani ( kurta shalwar) and of course the amazing Saudi Thobe and Shemagh. Except for the chinese, I have worn all of the above clothes. With Arab roots ( Makkah), and a family that migrated from North India to Pakistan in 1947, and then to KSA in 1964, I have had the priviledge of enjoying all these cultures. Though I have been wearing thobe since I was 3, I have worn others too.
All these traditional/ national dresses have one thing in common: comfort.
You wear them and your body starts to live! No press and pull. You walk easy and you are very well “ventilated”.
The Shemagh( pic) is a vital thing in Riyadh. Dust storms can start any time, the sun can actually BURN your head and the cap makes your head warm since it is made of thick fabric. So, the Shemagh does a great job of not only protecting your head, it looks great too!
I also admire one thing about Saudis and Pakistanis, they never gave up on their national clothing. If Levis makes money in our countries, our tailors make loads of money too! Most other countries, including the Chinese ,have given up their clothing to adopt western clothing. I never felt that to be right. The top priority in clothing should be comfort and keeping the good clothing of your culture alive.
I was in Islamabad once. Next to my room were two guys who wore  Pakistani kurta shalwar, always. One day, I heard them talking in Saudi arabic. So, I asked them if they are Saudis. They were. I told them that I would not know they are Saudis if I never overheard them talking. I asked them if they liked what they were wearing. One of them told me that its not much different from thoub. The thobe is a longer kurta, that’s all. He told me something which is even better. He said that when we live in or visit a “friendly” country, we should wear their clothing to honor them, plus it is very comfortable.
Try out Saudi clothing, its very nice.