Burgundy abayas with gold scrollwork for Eid, dinners and winter

01

Burgundy, maroon or wine: naming your red

The three names get swapped all the time, and the difference only really shows when you hold them side by side. Burgundy leans purple. Maroon leans brown, like a chestnut, so it looks warmer and earthier. Wine is usually a step brighter than burgundy, with a pinkish glow where the light catches it. Oxblood, darker and browner again, can pass for black at night.

All ten designs here are drawn in burgundy. Any of our abaya designs can be made in any colour, so if your picture is closer to maroon, wine or oxblood, say so and the shade is set in your written quote, together with the scarf. Only the burgundy is shown here, so judge another red from your own description and photo rather than from these previews. Our piece on maroon, burgundy or wine goes into the undertones.

• Say which way it leans: towards brown, towards purple or towards a brighter red
• Look in daylight: warm bulbs push every dark red towards maroon
• Compare it with true red: beside it, maroon looks brown, burgundy looks purple and wine looks pinkish
• Send a photo of a scarf, a bag or a lipstick in the shade you want, taken by a window

02

Gold arabesque scrollwork across the ten shapes

Arabesque scrollwork is a running pattern of curling lines, so it follows an edge well, whether that edge is straight, curved or pleated. On each design the gold traces a different part of the cut.

• Neck to hem: the kimono, bisht and pleated carry it down both front edges. The kimono finishes at the cuffs with a small motif at the back of the neck, the bisht adds gold across the back of the neck and around its sleeve ends, and the pleated stops just above its pleated, flared sleeve ends
• Around the shoulders: the cape, edged in gold along its short cape, down the front and at the cuffs
• At the collar: the tailored, along its narrow shawl collar and around the cuffs, and the lantern, around its stand collar, down the front placket and on its deep cuffs
• At the neckline: the butterfly, where the gold circles the round neck and continues around the back, with more on the sleeves, and the bell, down its neck opening and on the flared sleeves
• As a shoulder spray: the tulip, where the spray runs on down the front and onto the petal sleeves, and the layered, with gold on its layered sleeves

03

Gold thread, scarves and jewellery with burgundy

Its purple note makes burgundy a slightly cool red, and gold thread is warm, so the two contrast without clashing. Gold or brass jewellery repeats the scrollwork and is the simplest match. Silver works if it is what you always wear, though beside the gold it reads cooler and sharper.

Each design comes with a burgundy scarf, which gives one long run of colour from head to hem. For a scarf you already own, blush and dusty pink soften burgundy by day, cream and camel calm it, grey cools it, and black turns it formal for the evening. Keep any pattern small so it does not compete with the gold.

Gold is how these are drawn. If you would like antique gold, rose gold or a thread close to the burgundy itself for a quieter look, ask in your quote request and the thread colour you choose is written into your quote. Our burgundy abaya guide compares the thread colours in more detail.

04

When to wear burgundy: Eid, winter and dinners

Burgundy feels festive without being loud, and all ten Arabesque designs also sit among our Eid abayas. Making takes 5 to 7 working days from approval and full payment of your quote, and shipping time comes on top and varies by country, so order well before Eid. Ideas for the day itself are in Eid abaya ideas.

It is a natural winter colour too. For a cold Eid morning or a December dinner in Manchester, Chicago or Toronto, crepe is a little heavier than nida and a lining adds warmth; winter abayas covers what to wear underneath.

For dinners and evening events, the cape, with gold along its short cape, and the pleated, whose knife pleats swing as you walk, make the most of the colour. For a quieter evening, the Arabesque tailored abaya keeps the gold to the collar and cuffs.