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Embellished undergarment with metallic straw - UAE

Local Name	Sarwal talli badlah
Object Category	Undergarment
Gender	Female
Date of object	1990
Place Of orgin	United Arab Emirates
Region	Dubai
Object Range	UAE, Oman
Dimensions	Length: 99 cm Width: 37 cm
Materials	Cotton Metal
Technique	Machine Stitched Embellished
Color
Motif	Arabesque Geometric
Provenance	Donated, Fakhria Lutfi, Dubai 2021
Location	The Zay Zay: (Arabic: costume, Pl. azyaā’), a set of clothes in a style typical of a particular country or historical period. Initiative
Status	In storage
ZI number	ZI2021.500977.2 UAE

Object Note
This article was donated together with a few more under garments; a similar (, shirwāl), trousers featuring tapering ankles and drawstring closure of Central Asian origin. They disseminated in the Indian subcontinent between c.1st-3rd century BCE. Although exact period of its arrival in the Arab world is disputed their widespread adoption is confirmed from the 12th century.

) (ZI2021.500977.3 UAE), two slips () (ZI2021.500977.1 UAE) & (ZI2021.500977.1a UAE), and prayer foot wrap () (ZI2021.500977.1b UAE).
Fakhria Lutfi, born in Dubai in 1962, holds a bachelor's in graphic design from The American University DC. She was married at the age of 25 and boar 3 children - 2 boys and 1 girl. She declared that this piece of clothing was bequeathed to her () by her mother, who stitched it herself in the 1940s, and was known to do so for her friends as well. Fakhria’s mother Fatmah Mohammad Amin Abdul Ghafar was married at the age of 13 or 14, and almost every 2 years she had a child where Fakhria is the youngest of 12 siblings.

Object History 
Due to the prevailing notions of modesty in Arab cultures, this is one of the rarest undergarments in the UAE. objects like this rarely come to market because of their age, their high value due to the type of adornment, and last but not least, because they are undergarments (, shirwāl), trousers featuring tapering ankles and drawstring closure of Central Asian origin. They disseminated in the Indian subcontinent between c.1st-3rd century BCE. Although exact period of its arrival in the Arab world is disputed their widespread adoption is confirmed from the 12th century.

).
Generally, women felt reserved () over letting go of such an intimate article of dress for they hardly comprehended the documentary value of placing their items within a historical collection, they were encouraged to sell their items to The  Collection following the suggestion that they use the proceeds as (), to help build a mosque or school. Their reserve was multi-layered; it being an undergarment an intimate article of dress. In addition, the act of selling can infer financial need, and even after they were convinced to do so for the sake of charity, they followed the tradition that dictates one does not publicly declare good deeds.
In this case, we have the reverse - Fakhria is an educated woman who fully understood the value of the work carried by The Initiative, thus her donation of intimate clothing adds great value to the collection by shedding light on articles of dress that are not generally handed down from one generation to the other.

Object Features 
These underpants (, shirwāl), trousers featuring tapering ankles and drawstring closure of Central Asian origin. They disseminated in the Indian subcontinent between c.1st-3rd century BCE. Although exact period of its arrival in the Arab world is disputed their widespread adoption is confirmed from the 12th century.

) are made of white calico cotton, which was the norm before oil wealth transformed the Gulf region. Customarily, if more than one fabric was used, the visible lower part of the pants was made from the more expensive material. The hidden top part was generally made from cotton or either lower grade or leftover silk remnants. Cotton was normally the preferred choice as it was more functional. It breathes better and is more durable than silk; especially important for a garment that is in constant contact with the body.
The baggy waistline is gathered and fixed in place with a hidden elasticated cord rather than the traditional cotton (). The garment is opened and closed with the aid of a zipper versus earlier versions that used traditional cotton thread ball buttons (igam) or metal snap studs (), which suggests that the cuffs have been up-cycled from an older garment.
The decorative cuff ( ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.