Shirt for boys

2000

This ankle-length body shirt (Arabic: thob) measuring 57cm in length is suitable for a young boy, toddler or preschooler. The garment is in traditional white, which is trimmed with a Burberry check at the neck, shoulder, chest opening, chest pocket and cuffs. A zip is set into the chest opening. The thob includes two side slit pockets. \Long sleeve body shirts have been the traditional basic garment for men and boys in Western Arabia for centuries. The shirt hangs loose around the body, giving the wearer plenty of room for all movements. They generally have a slit pocket on each side. Light colors such as white and beige are favored, but brighter colors used to be worn as well. They are generally made of cotton and silk, sometimes mixed with polyester. Outside the home, a long open-fronted coat is often worn over the body shirt (Colyer Ross (1981), p. 41; Topham (1981), p. 92)‖ Since the first decade of the 21st century, experiments with and adaptations to the traditional thob have become more common. This was first introduced mainly by thob designers of expensive brands. Now it is also followed by retail clothing intended for a wide market. Fabrics that are clearly recognizable as Western products, such as the use of Burberry checks here, are popular additions. Brand names or logos of Western fashion houses are also popular, even if they are fakes.Such shirts are taken home as souvenirs from the Haj. Clothing as a souvenir is popular among pilgrims. The purchase of souvenirs as part of the pilgrimage and Mecca as an important trading centre both go back a long way in history. Even before the arrival of Islam, festivals and pilgrimages took place in and around Mecca where goods were traded. After the arrival of Islam the pilgrimages were continued, and trade was allowed during the Hajj and the Omrah, the small pilgrimage. People were allowed to sell their merchandise after the ritual on Mount Arafat on day two of the pilgrimage rites. Then pilgrims purchased practical items for the return journey and (luxury) products as mementos of the pilgrimage and as gifts for family and friends. (Khan 2013, p. 230) Pilgrims also brought products from the homeland to Mecca to sell at a good price to finance their return trip. Thus, already early in Islamic history, the annual offerings at pilgrimage markets had an international character. This was reinforced by the fact that traders (whether temporarily or not established) in Mecca and the port of Jeddah imported fabrics and other products especially for these pilgrimage markets. The diversity of the offer and the international orientation were also due to the presence of foreign artists and craftsmen in Mecca who produced handmade souvenirs (such as paintings of the Ka'ba by Indian painters), certainly in the nineteenth century but in all probability much earlier. (Porter 2015, pp. 105-107) For pilgrims, the place of production is often of secondary importance: the fact that the purchase took place in Mecca or Medina and the product thus came into contact with the holy cities is decisive. (Mols 2013, p. 76) Although the range of products on offer in the first two decades of the 21st century has expanded to include a variety of electronic devices, digital gadgets and games, some souvenirs such as prayer rugs, prayer beads, gold jewellery and brine water bottles have lost none of their popularity, although their appearance is changing as modern design makes its way into the range of pilgrim items. The international supply of souvenirs has remained, with the proviso that the locally produced souvenirs are often made by foreign craftsmen.