The Fatimid costume was closely documented in light of their ceremonial processions, religious holidays, and festivals. Historians often described them as enrobed in grand and dignified garments when they appeared in public. The Fatimids had about 30 days’ worth of holidays and festivals a year. Muslim and non-Muslim holidays were celebrated under the Fatimids, as well as state-sponsored Shiite holidays that mourn or celebrate important Shiite figures like the day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, the martyrdom of Imam Ali, the birth of Imam Ali, Fatima, Al-Hassan, and Al-Hussein, and other holidays. These different occasions call for different types of clothes. In addition to literary sources, surviving ceramic lustre bowls and wooden carvings or plaques dating to that period depicting dancers, musicians, and laborers shed some light on Fatimid attire.

When comparing the clothing of the Fatimids in Egypt to that of their counterparts in the east, in the Levant and Iraq, or in the west, in Tunisia and the Pan Maghreb region, we find that Arab styles more influenced the Fatimids than Perso-Turkic styles, which were widely present in the clothing of the Arab east, in Iraq and the Levant. The presence of the Turkic sharbush hats, cross-over qaba coats, and fitted jackets, the prerogative of the Abbasid courts and the Seljuks in Baghdad diminished in favor of Arab robes (thawb), matching suits (hulla or badla), body shawls (izar), underpants (sirwal), and large imposing turbans (imama) in the Fatimid court.

B) Outer garments

Men

The Fatimids, who were Arab themselves, didn’t deviate from the principal garments worn by the Arabs in the nations they conquered. However, historians relayed that the Fatimids added some novelty customs into their outwear unknown hitherto their time. The term badla appeared multiple times in Islamic sources as an exclusive Fatimid creation. The badla meaning “suit,” was an ensemble of two or more shirts tailored according to the caliph’s measurements. Generally, the outermost shirt, called the badanah, was made from silk and embroidered with gold. It was worn on top of a thawb wistani or a “middle shirt” of dabiqi linen or silk, on top of a third shirt or a chemise made from silk. These shirts go on top of a sirwal (drawers) and a belt embroidered with gold work.

 Each caliph had a different badla in terms of the number of items and types of garments. Every official and functionary from the caliph down to government clerks, their families, and their household retainers were provided with a ceremonial uniform (badla mawkibiyya) for public occasions.

According to the Mamluk historian Al-Maqrizi, who drew heavily from the lost work of the late Fatimid/early Ayyubid historian Ibn Al-Tuwayr and who is the almost exclusive source of information for Fatimid ceremonial costume, each person was provided with an entire wardrobe “from the turban to the underdrawers’ (min al-‘imama ila ’l-sarawil). A complete costume (badla mukmala) could consist of as many as a dozen articles. Naturally, these ceremonial costumes were made of the most costly fabrics. The most popular were harir (fine silk), sus, dabiqi, sharab, dimyti (all linens), khusrawani (kingly brocade), and siqlaton (siglaton). Most of the ceremonial costumes were white-colored, symbolizing the image of purity and faith, and also embroidered with gold and silver threads.

Another unique novelty introduced by the Fatimids was the overshadowing parasol or maḏallah/madhallah as a complementary element to the overall attire that adds an extra layer of imposing regal air to their look. Just like the badlah, it matched the color of the whole attire. The parasol was held by the eldest heir or an appointed eunuch called Hamil Al-Madhalah (the parasol bearer), giving shade to the caliph during these ceremonial parades. Besides matching the color of the over-garments, it was heavily adorned with jewels and covered with the finest fabrics produced.

This custom was adopted from the Maghrebi royal dynasties that ruled the Arab West during the dynasty’s establishing days, where a lot of Arab-Berber influences and dress came from. It’s worth mentioning that many garments from the Fatimid period still exist in modern-day vestments of the Arab West, like futa, badla, qandura, burnous, and khasi. Al-Maqrizi reports that Al-Zāhir li-iʿzāz Dīn Allāh (r. 1021–1036) was bestowed the ostentatiously bedecked tāj of his predecessor Al-Mu’izz and a parasol of the same caliber of decoration by his aunt Sitt Al-Mulk. Another influence brought by the Fatimids over to Egypt from their western Arab neighbors was the common article of clothing, the hooded cloak (burnous), which the Amazigh ethnic group primarily wears.

1- Badanah بَدَنَه

An overshirt made exclusively for the Fatimid caliph, made solely of silk and embroidered with gold, is said to have cost about a thousand dinars (a gold coin). Another shirt, called “Thawb Wistani” or a “middle shirt,” was worn under this Badanah and embroidered with silk. The Undermost garment, the ghilāla, was made from translucent fabrics and had silk embroidery.

2- Durrāʿa دُرَّاعة

The durrāʿa in the Fatimid era was a buttoned robe slit downward from the upper chest till below the chest, made from brocade and embroidered with gold. Its buttons were made from gold or pearls and were deckedded with jewels and sapphire. The durrāʿa was the court dress of the ministers. 

3- Thawb ثوب

The outer tunic was essential for any Muslim, as it was the outermost visible piece of the whole outfit. People of high income and status wore thawbs made from brocade and silk, embroidered and embellished lavishly, whereas people of low status and income wore simple thawbs made from cotton. The outer gown was wide and long with pleats; under it is the middle gown, called wistani, usually shorter, over another gown or chemise. Most gowns based on the figures in ceramic plates and lustre bowls have a U- or  V-shaped neckline or a triangular-shaped one.

4- Jūkkaniyya جُكَّانِيَة

Under the Fatimids and Ayyubids, the mercantile class indulged itself in many types of garments. The Geniza has revealed the names and considerable data for more than two dozen garments that were hitherto unknown or only mentioned in isolated literary sources without any explanation or description. Among these is the jūkkaniyya, one of the most ubiquitous items in the Geniza trousseaux but not mentioned in any Arabic dictionary. The sole reference found so far to this robe in Arabic literature is from Ibn Al-Jawzī, who, under events for the year 441 (1049-1050 C.E), mentions a woman taking off a brocade jūkkaniyya she was wearing and donating it to help pay for the construction of the gate for the Qallāʾin Quarter in Baghdad. As Goiten elaborates further on this garment in his book:

 “… the jūkkaniyya occurs innumerable times in the Geniza documents but is next to absent from Arabic literature. Thus, one might be tempted to surmise that the jukkaniya was particularly popular with Jewish women.”

This sleeved fine linen, brocade, or silk garment came in simple and lavishly decorated versions. The lavish version would be ornamented with a border of a different color (mushahhar) or with a simple border (muʿalam), tassels (murayyash), or a decorated band (muzannar). The cloth might be gilded or embroidered, spotted, or with patterns, “new” or “washed.” The most common colors were white, blue, and green, but many exotic hues, like pomegranate red and cloud blue, were used.

Its name may be derived from the Persian town of Juwakān. However, Goitein, after initially reading the Judeo-Arabic form of the word as jūkhāniyya and deriving it from jūkh, a type of fabric, later suggested that it may, in fact, be derived from jawkān, the game of polo, and got its name from resembling the cut of a polo jacket, which was a short coat with narrow sleeves.

The clothing handed out by the Jewish community to Fustat to the indignant and to lower officials reveals most tangibly that men and women could wear the same type of garment. In order to preserve equality, only one type of clothing was usually handed out at each distribution, such as a jūkkaniyya, futa (sari-like cloth), or a cover made of felt.

5- Burnous برنس

The Burnous, the ubiquitous hooded cloak worn in pre-Islamic North Africa, was the staple outer garment of Medieval Maghrebi and Andalusian costume. During the Fatimid period, a large wave of migration from Northwestern Africa into Egypt took place. Subsequently, it had a lot of impact on the Egyptian dress. The Burnous became a common article worn by Egyptians, in the same manner as the Berber burnous, to the extent that in Egypt it had a life of its own.

Women

 A lady’s wardrobe in Fatimid and Ayyubid Egypt consisted of several layers of garments worn indoors and several more outside. The basic undergarment items were a sirwāl and a qamiṣ, or more often a dirʿ (shift) or ghilala, a fine, lightweight lounging chemise. Over these, a long thawb, then a robe with or without sleeves, was belted with a khasi or wasat (cummerbund or sash), costing from one to twelve dinars. The final outer layer was a large enveloping wrap such as the milḥafa, ḥibara, and izār, or if the temperature had dropped sharply, a heavier cloak like a burda or barrakān (a black cloak made from coarse fabrics or wool and was popular during the Abbasid period). In Fatimid times, garments illustrated in Fatimid lustre bowls had a distinctive square or angled neckline.

1- Thawb ثوب

Women’s tunics or overgowns came in a multitude of colors and fabrics. In most cases, the thawb was a simple garment, sometimes tailored. We find it made of fine linen or brocade silk in one or two instances. There are also a few instances where the thawb was decorated with embroidery, gilding, or a border. In nineteenth-century Egypt, visited by Lane, the thawb generally came in pink, rose, or violet. In the Middle Ages, on the other hand, the range of colors was far more variegated by the love of color which seemed to typify the period. Thus we find white, yellow, blue, green, pistachio, pearl-colored, ruby, reddish violet, sand-colored, wax-colored, and white-grey.

A woman can wear multiple thawbs on top of each other, each with a different shape and cut.

2- Jūkkaniyya جُكَّانِيَة

The female version of the jūkkaniyya seems to have been a fine dress with sleeves (Ar. akmām). It was worn by women indoors, perhaps like a Moroccan lady would wear a caftan today, even while doing home chores. One trousseaux list includes the clothing items belonging to a certain upper-class Jewish bride called “Sitt al-khassa,” married in 1146 C.E., having a jūkkaniyya of fine white dabiqi linen and a scarf of dabiqi linen, and a jūkkaniyya of cloud-colored dabiqi and a cloud-colored hood. 

3- Jubba جبة

Another garment mentioned in the Karaite ketubbot and frequent in other geniza trousseau lists is the jubba. However, the Jubba might have been more fashionable amongst the ladies in Syria rather than in Egypt. In Geniza documents from Tunisia and Egypt, the jubba is rarely mentioned, while in Syrian geniza, the jubba was mentioned frequently. The jubba was relatively cheap if made from simple materials like wool, but was more expensive if made from costly materials like silk or linen. Jubbas mentioned in the rousseau lists were made from siqlatun damask costing 5 dinars, and in another made from silk and with a ghilala costing 2 dinars.

4- Qabāʾ قَبَاء

It was reported that qabāʾ was worn by women of the higher class, especially the wives of caliphs, ministers, and princes. 

Al-Suyuti (1445–1505) mentions a certain incident in his book “Husn Al-mohadarah fi tarikh Misr wal-Qahirah”  (the sound discourse on the history of Egypt and Cairo) about the wife of El-Ikhsidi complaining to the Fatimid caliph Al-Mu’izz about a Jewish man who refused to give back her costly qabāʾ weaved with goldwork and decorated with pearls that she left in his trust. Al-Mu’izz ordered the qabāʾ to be retrieved, which was buried in the man’s yard. The qabāʾ in the Fatimid period had narrow sleeves, which were only afforded by ladies of high status, probably imitating the court fashions donned by the caliphal ladies in the Abbasid court.

The Geniza trousseau lists make no mention of a qabāʾ. Still, its Mamluk counterpart, bughlutaq, a short-sleeved military coat later turned into a feminine article of clothing, is mentioned several times in the trousseau lists and is mentioned in the 14th-century Jerusemaite documents.

5- Outer warps

The izār, mulā’a, and milḥafa were the most commonly worn outer warps for a Muslim woman in the Fatimid period.

The izār was a common item of female apparel and did not cost much. The average price for a plain izār was between 1-1/4 and 1-1/2 dinars during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, slightly less than a cheap rida.  In one Geniza document, a poor woman whose rida’ had been stolen requests help to buy an izār. In one Geniza trousseau, a Mawsili izār (i.e., from Mosul in Iraq) is listed for the high price of ten dinars. None of the trousseau lists from the Geniza specifically mention the color of an izār. It was probably most often white, although it might be decorated with a border of different colored material or fringes. It might also be adorned with a brooch or some other jewelry.

A woman’s Mulā’a comprised two or more pieces of cloth sewn together. The Geniza trousseau lists at least four cases where a Mulā’a is specifically mentioned as composed of two pieces of fabric. It was usually made of fine Dābiqi linen. It might also be gilded, decorated with silk, or have some border. The only color ever specific­ ally mentioned in the Geniza documents is white. One of the bridal trousseaux of a Jerusalemite Jewish bride betrothed in 1028 C.E. lists a Mulā’a wrap with 2 dinars. Also, a Jewish bride married in Fustat (1128-1153 C.E.) lists a dabiqi Mulāʾa in two pieces and a pearl-colored veil with gold threads. 

Two types of milḥafa are mentioned in the Geniza, i.e., the Alexandrian and the Maghrebi. The latter type seems to have been the more costly of the two, commanding a price of between five and six dinars. Overall, malāḥif (pl. for milḥafa) ranged in price from as low as one-half dinar to six.

The safsāri and the barrakān, both mantles, which have been in attested use in the Maghreb regions from medieval to modern times, are shown to have been worn in Fatimid and Ayyubid Egypt as well. They were undoubtedly brought from the Arab west into the east after the Fatimid conquest in 969/358.

6- Badan بَدَن

The badan, a short, sleeveless tunic worn by both sexes and usually associated with the Arabian Peninsula, is shown to have been a fairly common article of feminine attire in medieval Egypt too. The badan was usually decorated with silk or gilded and might be very colorful. There are several instances of white badans with single or multicolored borders.

7- Durrāʿa دُرَّاعة

This wide-sleeved garment was mentioned in the inventories of whole sets or suits allocated for upper-class royal women titled al-jiha al-‘aliyya. The durra’a was ornamented with gold and had decorated borders (durra’a muwashshah mujawim muthayyal muthahaba).