Dress code for Riyadh for expat men

hey .. normal cloth .. i dont think there is Specific things to dress here .. casual setting can be good .. its up to the work in the end .. if they special dresses for that ..

hope i helped ..

For work, it's like business causal in the US.  A pair of dockers, shirt and tie. Shoes. No jeans. You won't need a sports coat or suit here.

Shorts must reach below the knee and short sleeved shirts should come to the elbow.  No 'wife beaters' !

For shopping, etc., jeans, sandals and t-shirt are fine, as are your work clothes. 

In winter, you'll need a sweater or light jacket if you're out at night.

That's about it.  Welcome to the Kingdom!

agree as above. just u not gonna wear stretch pants or shorts in public places - may be considered disrespectful. but jeans and shirt is ok

imraan007 wrote:

just u not gonna wear stretch pants or shorts in public places

I'm sure this won't be an issue since American men don't generally wear stretch pants in public places (they only wear them in private when they're trying to be sexy)

I didn't post the original message but this information is helpful to me as I will be arriving in Riyadh next week.  Any suggestions for my wife?...Thanks

Hi etaylor, and let me extend an early 'welcome to the Kingdom!'

Will your wife be working or a 'trailing spouse'?  Will you be on a western compound?

If she's not working, she can bring/wear anything she wants because when she's in public, she'll have to wear an abaya (long black outer covering).  Abayas are actually very convenient and you can buy some really pretty ones, with different designs (but in Riyadh, all basically black).

If you're arriving at the airport and she doesn't have an abaya, tell her to wear the baggiest clothes she has--if she has an ankle length skirt and a long loose blouse that covers her bum, that will suffice.  But once here, she should get an abaya ASAP to be able to blend in.  The easiest thing is to pick up a cheap one at one of the hyper markets (I got my first one at Euromarche for 100SAR--about $25) and then she has something to wear while she shops for a nicer one, if she wants to.

Thanks for the reply;  My wife will be following in a few months as I will bbe going through a probation period and once we are sure everyting is ok her and my son will follow.  She is an RN and will eventually want to go to work once she gets aclimated.

What you have said goes along with a lot of the information we have researched.  Your in-put has been very helpful.

Thank you