leenstra

I will be accompanying my husband on a business trip to Dubai in March. I will be meeting his colleagues a few times and they will be taking us to dinner and possibly a day sight seeing. Please advise what the correct dress code would be. For the rest of our stay we will be on holiday. Will just casual shorts and t-shirts be suitable. Please also advise what the weather will be like.
Thanks

Neil_Oz

My guess is that shorts and t-shirt would be highly insensitive, but you really should post this on the Africa/Middle East board. You can find weather stats at weatherbase.com.

elina

No shorts outside the hotel pool area or beach.

lawchick

Dress conservatively.

Keep shorts for the pool.

Don't show off too much skin.

Wear a skirt covering the knees and not too much cleavage or shoulders.

If visitng a Mosque etc wear long trousers/skirt and long sleeves.

Ag3046

Casual shorts and T-shirts would be very inappropriate, and his business colleagues would think you were very poor or at least poorly dressed. A woman should NOT wear shorts, period. A long skirt with corrdinating blouse preferably long sleeves will be acceptable most anywhere. It is not that difficult. There are any number of longish lightweight dresses with tops or short sleeves that would be acceptable. Nothing too transparent.

sunshine007

Have you seen clothes by Eileen Fisher? She has her own boutiques & some larger stores (Nordstrom's for example) stock them. They are really great for the mid-east. Easy to pack, easy to wash & dry. They're made to layer and usually are solid colors. You can dress them up with jewelry for dinner with your husband's collegues, wear them between your hotel room & the pool, and out shopping. Eileen makes petites, regulars & large sizes. She has a web site. Eileenfisher.com I think.

winniep

In March the weather is good. For the holiday-casual shorts and t-shirt will be OK in Dubai. People wear all sorts of clothes in Dubai. Sometimes the malls look like Miami Beach (sans the thongs).

For the business part of your trip, what would you wear at home in this situation? What would you be comfortable in?

As long as its loose, covers most of your body, you should be OK.

I usually wear linen pants and a linen blazer (hip length) with a t-shirt underneath to work at university. When I'm not teaching, I usually wear capri pants and a t-shirt out and about in Dubai and carry shawal/ light sweater b/c of the AC.

Eileen Fisher seems to be the clothes of choice with my American colleagues.

sunshine007

WinnieP,

Can you buy Eileen Fisher clothes in Dubai?

Sunshine

matnikstym

Can men wear shorts t-shirts while walking around Dubai?

Naplo999

Wear a tight fitting shirt and revealing shorts. Make sure your shirt has a picture of Mohammed on it.

Matnikstym - Of course - men can do whatever they want.

winniep

Unfortunately, there isn't an Eileen Fisher here at the moment. Maybe in the future-inshallah.

Men and women can wear what ever they like. We have seen it all in Dubai.

If you wanted to wear a tight t-shirt and tiny shorts, you could and you would look like many of the European women here. I should say, as long as you're in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

sunshine007

Remember there's a difference between "can" and "should," in mid-eastern clothing. Or as leenstra put it "what is the correct dress code?" and will something "be suitable?"

matnikstym

anything to know about going during Ramadan?

santharamhari

Dennis- shouldnt be any problems....they are as cosmopolitian as any western city....

Elainee

When with business people, wear business clothes even tho you are the wife. A little more color in your clothes would be fine, but be conservative. Better be safe than sorry.

HorizonBound

I also wanted to know what is appropriate to wear, so this thread was very helpful

As an aside, what is the typical dinner hour in Dubai? Does everything close in the afternoon for a few hours?

Thanks!