Asalam Alaikum,
In Pakistan, many women don't use the abayas that I have become so used to seeing in the U.A.E., instead they use a Chadar. It is similar to the duppatas that Pakistani women use in their homes but is larger, and usually of a heavier fabric. Some are very plain, only a very large piece of printed fabric, and some are very detailed with fancy embroidery and sometimes tiny mirrors are sewn on.
I have three chadar, and to give you an idea of the size, here are all three(folded in half over the line), with my 2 year old son in front.
The one in the middle is plain only printed fabric, the right one is a little more fancy and the motifs have mirrors. The one on the left is the fanciest of the three, with a heavy border and individual motifs both of which contain mirrors.
Close-up of border design.
Close-up of motif(left side chadar)
Close-up of motif(right hand chadar)
When we go to visit extended family or have guests over to our house, I usually take a chadar along with me. It gives me more coverage in front of non-mahrams(unrelated men) because sometimes the dupattas are just too sheer. On a funny note my SIL tells me that chadar has another meaning- bed sheet.
