Figure 1.--Here we see men and children walking through a village north of Gaza in 1964. Notice the traditional Egyptian clothing. We see modern touches in the buildings, but not in the clothing--except for one boy who looks to be wearing a school sweater. This was not just any village. It was Abu Rawash the site of Egypt's most northerly pyramid, commonly known as the lost pyramid � the largely ruined Pyramid of Djedefre, the son and successor of Khufu.

Some if these trends are mirrored in fashion and clothing. We begin to see Western dress among the affluent in the cities during the early-20th century. As late as the World War I-era, however, very few Egyptians wore Western dress. And we only see European clothing in the cities like Cairo and the more Europeanized Alexandria. We begin to see more European clothing in the cities furing the inter-War era and after World War II. This contuinued during Nasser's period of Arab Socialism, despite the expulsion of Jews and Europeans. Thus for a time we see large numbetrs of Egyptian wearing western dress, especially in the cities. And among the well-to-do this included fashionable Western dress even among the women. And more so than most Arab countries we see girls as well as boys wearing Western dress. It was also notable in the schools. Traditional clothing continues to be very common, especially in rural areas and we also see it in the cities (figure 1). Many areas of Egypt continued to look virtually like the medievil Caliphate untouched by time. Here economics was a factor. Egypt continued to be an agricultural country and using agricultural methods dating back to ancient times. The yields were thus very low and unable to match the country's growing population. Egypt this became an agricultural country unable to feed itself. Europe solved this problem through industrialization and techhnology. The Arab world did not and notably Egypt was the largest and most influential Arab country. Nasser told the Arabs that it was all due to the Europeans. The problem was that after expelling the Europeans, he could report no real progress and used the West and and Jews to effectively distract public opinion. The resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism has changed this trend somewhat, especially for girls. This change is especially notable among university women. Fashionble Western dress is no longer common and Islamic styles are now prevalent. What has not changed measurably is the quality of instruction. And the Islamic resurgence is proving no more effective than Nassar's Arab Socialism.

Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Smocks] [Long pants suits] [Knicker suits] [Short pants suits] [Socks] [Eton suits] [Jacket and trousers]
[Blazer] [School sandals] [School smocks] [Sailor suits] [Pinafores] [Long stockings]

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Created: 5:32 PM 4/17/2016
Last updated: 5:32 PM 4/17/2016