The national dress of Sudanese women is the thobe - known locally as "Top" - a traditional form of dress that wraps the body in a long bolt of fabric.
Influenced by the Roman toga and the Indian Sari, "Top", is worn by women throughout Sudan.
With the country confronting a traumatic possible break-up into North and South Sudan, the idea of a unifying national dress is reassuring for many.
Al Jazeera's May Welsh reports from the capital, Khartoum.
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