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We are preparing a series of pages on national clothing styles. We now have over 60 countries listed in our country section. Most have a linked page with at least some basic information on clothing in that country. We have developed detailed information for several mostly European counties and the United States. Many of the country pages, however, are just being sketched out at this time. So don't expect too much yet. We have a lot of other pages to do, so it will be a while before we can focus on all the countries on our list. Of corse here we need your assisatnce. HBC does not have the capability to visit or even reserach all of these countries. Do let us know if you have any text or images to contribute about your country. We are interested in adding information about every different countries around the world. The current Euro-centric focus of HBC is because European readers have been the most willing to contribute information. We have tried to create a page for each country, even if only limited information is available. This provides a location for collecting information. We hope that our readers will contribute insights into fashion trends in their own countries. HBC has collected information on more than individual countries. The information on most of these countries still sketchy. The Middle Eastern countries are the arc of Islamic countries from Morocco west to Iran. They encompass both North African and south western Asian countries. We have relatively few impages from these countuies. Interestingly, traditional dress styles persist there more than any other region. In fact traditional styles seem
more popular in the 21st century than in the mid-20th century. This is especially true in the Arab countries. This appeas to be a reflection of the strength of Islam
and the rejection of Western culture.
Egypt and the Nile are of course an important foundation of Western
civilization. We have done some work on Ancient Egypt, but have virtually no
information about modern Egypt. Egypt was conquered by the Arabs in the 7th
century. Egypt is the most populace country in the Arab world. Traditional
clothes appear to be still widely worn in Egypt, especially in rural areas. We
hope that Egyptian readers will help provide some information on Egyptian
clothing styles. As far as we know, traditional clothing are generalized Arab
and not specificlly Egyptian styles.
Iran was formerly called Persia. We have some information on Ancient Persia. We have very little information on modern Iran and do not yet have an individual country page. We do have a page on Zoriastrianism. It is one of the world's great relgious traditions and was the religion of the Persian Empire. We have very little information about Iranian schoolwear at this time. We have on image of schoolboys in Yzed about 1908. We believe that smocks have
commonly been worn, primarily by girls. We have a biography on Vartan Gregorian, an Arminian Christian.
Iraq is perhaps the most westernized Arab country. Until Saddam seized power it was making considerable progress in building the infrastructure of a modern country. This was reflected somewhat in fashion trends. HBC has not acquired information about Iraqi boys' clothing. This is part because of Saddam's horific regime, few Iraqis have had access to the internet. We note almost note Iraqi visitors to HBC. Hopefully that is about to change. While we have received relatively little information from Arab and other Islamic countries, we have noted a good bit of internet traffic from those countries, including Iran, Pakistan, abd Saudi Arabia. Pakistani garment countries in particular are actively seeking business opportunities. From Iraq, however, we note virtually no activity on the internet.
A Jewish nation was the goal of the Zionist movement which was founded in Europe during the 19th century. Israel was formed out of the British mandate of Palestine. The United Nations oversaw the partition of Palestine into an Arab and Jewish state with a small international zone that included Jerusalem. This was not acceptable to the Palestinians and neighboring Arab states. When Israel declared independence (1948), the armoes of the Arabn states attacked, launching the Arb-Israeli conflict wjhich continues to this day. HBC has emcountered difficulties assessing Isreali boys' clothing. Much of the population of Israel was either born in other countries or have parents that were born in other countries. We have relatively limited information about boys who have actually grown up in Israel.
Jordan was conquered by the Ottmans (16th century) and remained a part of the Ottoman Empire until the end of World War I when it was occupied by the British and Arab Army organized by Colonel T.E. Lawrence. Jordan was briefly part of a unified Arab Kingdom centered at Damascus, but became part of the British League of Nation Mandate of Palestine. Then Abdullah established a partially indepdendent emirate in the eastern section of Palestine (1923). A treaty was signed with the British which gave the British the right to garison troops(1928). After World War II, the British mandate ended and Abdullah declared an independent kingdom (1946).
Kuwait is an Arab shiekdom at the head of the Persian Gulf, wedged between Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south. The ruling dynasty was founded in 1756. Kuwait souught British protection in 1896. Significant oil production began after World War II in 1946. Kuwait became independent in 1961. It was claimed by Sadam Husein as Iraq's 16 province and he invaded Kuwait (1980), resulting in the First Gulf War which liberated the country (1981). Both traditional Arab and Western clothing styles are worn. Arab clothing styles are prominent, especially among adults. We do not know of any destinctive Kuwati styles, but rather note genetal Arab styles. Many men an boys wear traditional garments like the disdash. There are no specifically boys' garments in Arab clothing. Rather the boys simply wear smller versions. A reader in Kuwait tells us about a celebration called " Guirgian ".
The Kurds are a people without a country. Her we have created a page on Kurdistan, even though we have little information on Kurdish clothing. A basic knowledge of the Kurds and their lack of a country is important in understanding both Iraq and the Middle East in general.
Lebanon is the Middle-Eastern country wedged between larger Syria and the Mediterrean Sea. Since the dawn of civilization, Lebanon has been a battleground for the larger more powerful nations which surround it. This began with the rise of powerful cultures in Mesopotamia and the Nile Valley. Lebanon was after World War I a French protectorate and French culture was of some importance for many years, including boys wear. This however is little in evidence in the chaotic current situation.
We do not yet have a Libyan page. We do have a Libyan history page.
We do not yet have much information on Morocco. We have some information about the French living in Morocco during the protectorate period of the early- and mid-20th century. We note French boys wearing rompers. We also have some information on schools. We have also prepared a Moroccan history page.
Oman is located along the southeast Aabian Peninsula and occupies a narrow coastal plain along the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Hills and a plateau are found inland. Portugal controlled the coast in the 16-17th centuries (1508-1659). Ahmed ibn Said in Yemen foujded the current royal line. Oman was the ,most powerful Arab state on the Arabian Peninsula in the early 19th centuries and controlled the wealthy trading state of Zanzibar off East Africa as well as coastal areas of Persia (Iran) and Baluchistan (Pakistan). Oman ceeded its last overseas possession, Gwadar, to Pakistan (1958). Traditional Arab style clothing are widely worn in Oman.
Palestine is located along eastern coast of the Mediterannean Sea. It is located south of Lebanon and north of the Siani between the Jordon River and the Mediterannean. It is first referred to as Caanan in the Bible. Palestine is especially interesting to historians because the Bible has proven to include considerable historical information. Palestine is perhaps the most fought-over territory in history. This is somewhat surprising given the fact that Palestine is not rich in natural resources or a particularly fertile land. Even so the number of great empires which conqured Palestine is extrodinary. The importance of Palestine to a large extent is due to its religious importance. Two of the world's great relgions (Judiasim and Christianity) were founded there and the region has a major Islamic site. This would be amazing enough in such a small land, but all three religions focus their attention on a small area of Jeruselum--explaining why the status of that city is such a difficult political issue. The most recent empires occupying Palestine have been the Ottomons and British which influence clothing trends as wll as the largely European Zionist immigration. The Palestinians are an Arab people and thus Arab clothing styles are very important.
We do not yet have a Saudi page. We do have a page on a Saudi birthday party. We also have a Saudi history page.
We do not yet have a main page on Syria. We have done some work on Syrian history.
Sudan is located in northeast Africa. It staddles North and Central Africa and thus has a mixed Aran-African population as well as a Muslim north and Christian south. It is a huge coutry--the largest country in Africa, It borders Chad and the Central African Republic in the west, Egypt and Libya in the north, Ethiopia and Eritrea in the east, and Kenya, Uganda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo in the south. There is also 500 mile Red Sea coast in the east. The principal river is the Nile which traverses the country from north to south by the Nile. All of the Nile tributaries are located at leaast in part within the Sudan. The country includes a huge swith of te Sahara and large areas are very arid. We have little information about the Sudan at this time. The ethnic and religious diversity has resuted in terrible civil strife since independence. The sitiation has been exacerbted by the stern, fundamentalist outlook by the Arab-dominated Sudanese central government. For years the Arabs conducted a brutal war in the south to supress the Christian Arabs. In more recent years the Arabs have conducted a genocidal war against the people of Darfur who are Muslims, but ethnically African. The narrow-minded Islamic outlook was demonstrated by the 2007 teddy incident.
We do not yet have a Tunisian country page, but we do have a Tunisian history page.
We have only limited information on Turkish boys' clothes at this time, but we have developed some historical information because the Ottoman Empire played a major role in Greece, the Balkans, Anatolia, and the near East. Thus an understanding of the Ottomans is important to understanding historical and cultural trends in these countries.
We have little information on the clothes worn in the United Arab Emirates. We note boys commonly wearung traditiinal styles. We do have one image of a Dubai boy wearing destinctive headgear, which I assume is called a turban. Here I am not sure as we have not yet done much work on Arab garments.
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