Sudan's unifying fashion

The national dress of Sudanese women is the thobe - locally known 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 everywhere throughout Sudan.

And 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.