Umm Haya, a 25-year-old Qatari secretary, says she has about 20 abayas with different designs, but she says they are all simple in accordance with Islamic tradition.
"If women start making the abaya fashionable, then it will attract men. Then this becomes haram."
Sheikh Abdul Salem al-Basyouni, a Muslim scholar based in Doha, agrees with Umm Haya.
Al-Basyouni encourages women to cover themselves, but thinks the more fashionable ornate abayas are going against the teachings of Islam, as they serve to attract men.
"The Prophet Muhammad told women to cover themselves and to not show their shape. A Muslim woman must cover everything except her hands and face, and this is the best way to do it.
"Women should not show their beauty to male strangers."
Modesty
Women's dress in Islam is based on a principle of modesty.
"In Islam we value women, like jewels and diamonds. They are so precious that they should be covered. They are not like pieces of broken glass lying on the street," Al-Basyouni said.
Nowadays, the abaya is not just for women in the Gulf region.
"In Islam we value women, like jewels and diamonds. They are so precious that they should be covered"
Sheikh Abdul Salem al-Basyouni
Al-Shammari, the US convert, set up an online abaya store - AlHediya.com - in 1998 for women living in the West who want abayas but cannot find them in their communities.
"Most of my customers are plus size. In the Western world, there is so much emphasis on being perfect and wearing skimpy outfits ... the more revealing you are, the more acceptable ... it's degrading. Women shouldn't be judged by what size they are."
The abaya serves as a convenient garment for women. For some the simple cloth adds to their feminine attraction; others wear it to escape the male gaze. But for all, the abaya proves that the way a woman dresses is only one aspect of her identity.