One of the great challenges of living here in the Kingdom for women is the shopping situation. Oh, there are many clothing shops, some of them pretty great, many cheaper than back home. But one thing there is not: dressing rooms. Here in the Kingdom, dressing rooms are strictly for men, there are no facilities for women to try their clothes on before they buy. Can you imagine eyeballing arm loads of clothes trying to decide if they'll fit?! Did I mention the clothing sizes are usually UK and not US? On top of that, the material is rarely prewashed and sizes tends to run small, so shrinkage in the dryer looms largely in any guesstimate you must make?!
It's hard enough for most females to buy pants anyways, we all have different body shapes, but Saudi pants seem to be designed for, well, Saudi men. They're straight, no curves, no allowances in the areas we tend to need most. So how does one successfully buy clothes here? Short answer: You don't always. It's a crap shoot. You eyeball the size, (or in my case, choose the same item in 2-3 sizes) and take it to the register. Then you're off to the alternate Saudi Ladies Dressing Room--the bathroom. That's right.
You have to take your clothes to the bathroom after you've already bought them, to try them on and see how close, (or how horribly off) you were. ( This only works if you're at a mall or shopping center. If it's a stand alone store that doesn't have a bathroom, you're out of luck and must wait til you've gone home to try them on.)
As most residents of the Kingdom are either a) uncertain about what cleanliness constitutes, or B) truly don't care about cleanliness, the bathrooms are often a wreck, beyond anything we have back in the States. Wait, scratch that...think gas station bathroom and you'll be pretty close.
So the stalls contain either the open plan concept ( hole in the ground with an attached spray nozzle) or they're regular western toilets but with an added crud factor that makes brushing against them a possible adventure in Hep B.
So, that leaves the open and very public sink area.
I have (luckily) never encountered anyone as I was changing (AKA: trying on clothes) but all I can do if it happens in the future is apologize and keep truckin'!
Once you've tried them on, A) if they were an epic fail, you're back to the store to return or exchange for another size. Most store give you 3-7 days for a return and up to 14 for an exchange. Not always having a car at our disposal, I prefer to fix my mistakes same day. If B) it was a success, you say a silent prayer of thanks to the sizing gods and make mental notes ( I keep a running written list in my purse) of the size, brand and store of the item that fit for reference the next time.
It's exhausting, it's frustrating (especially when watching my husband whiz into his dressing room with a relaxed smile on his face!) and it's one more little bump in the road here. It does save me from spending a fortune on clothes though, as I'm too wore out after one pair of pants to want to do more.
But I'll tell you one thing, Old Navy better watch out when I come home to the States in December. I'm going to reserve a dressing room, and camp out! If you see a girl with two arm loads of jeans, stacked high above her head, don't worry, that's just me, enjoying the little pleasures of ACTUALLY TRYING CLOTHES ON BEFORE YOU BUY THEM!!:)
