What piece of clothing is more iconic than the traditional Arab ghutra? From the dune-swept deserts of yesterday to today’s super cities, the ghutra has remained popular and powerful as a piece of clothing. Part of what makes the ghutra so beloved is its versatility. In this article, we’re going to be looking at a few of the styles that you can wear your ghutra in. The clothing piece comes in a number of different colors and patterns - what each of those patterns and colors mean might be the topic of a different article - for now, we’re going to talk about the different styles and how to wrap them.
- The Teacher
An academic look that’s practical and easy. It’s perfect for a day you need to be working with your hands or that you’ll be pouring over some books. All you have to do is wear your ghutra with both ends down your back. Like I said, it’s easy, practical, and classic.
- Eagle
This is a personal favorite - fancy without being showy and a nice blend of simple and complex. Eagle is done by letting both ends of your ghutra fall forward over your shoulders. You then take one end and wrap it around your front and over the opposite shoulder. To finish the look, take the side that’s still hanging down and swing it over our shoulder on the same side. The Eagle is a great way to show people you know how to make your ghutra work for you.
- Cobra
Cobra is a look that kids from the 90’s will remember fondly. Getting its name from the famous venomous reptiles, cobra is a little more advanced than the styles we’ve seen so far, but it’s worth the effort. This is a starch-heavy look that keeps the points sharp and helps the guthra keep its shape. It also helps to fold your guthra into a triangle and iron it to achieve a nice crisp point at the forehead. Start by placing your guthra on your head with the crease in the middle. Place you Agal onto your head to hold that point in place. Next, hold one end of your guthra from the middle to keep it in place and fold the rest of it over your head to create the first point of your cobra hood. Repeat the same step on the other side to complete your hood. Take your time perfecting this style and make sure you’ve got a mirror nearby to get those points sharp and your guthra looking exactly right.