and jerkin women added a softly falling sheer gown, the entary Like the men women wore a heelless slipper in the house or sietch but for dressier occasions they chose a high heeled boot made of soft kidskin All of the clothing of bom sexes, with the exception of the women s boot, made changing into the stillsuit quick and easy Unlike the brightly colored male clothing Fremen women tended to choose clothes in earth tones, sand colored tans or beiges It has been suggested that these muted hues were a protective measure, for the women were the treasures of the tribe-or more FREMEN COOKING 226 FREMEN COOKING precisely, the treasuries of the tnbe, wearing the family's water-rings as jewelry at the waist, braided into the hair or as part of a headdress to which a sheer veil was attached Children dressed like their elders except for an added garment--the tshka-a closely fitting shut, usually knitted, and worn under die jacket All these articles of dress added insulation from the sun and the drying winds of Arrakis The fabrics chiefly used by the Fremen were cotton, almost all of it imported at considerable expense from the factories of Loomar It came in a variety of weights and served both for clothing and decorative hangings The best Loomar cottons, fabulously expensive, were frequently used as part of the bride price in the upper classes, in which water-rings (though still valuable) meant less than they did to the desert Fremen Wool was likewise imported, usually mat woven from the merino sheep of Norstnlia This absorbent fabric served chiefly for outer cloaks, although the bleached but otherwise untreated fleece might grace a couch in the bedroom of a lady of taste and quality Saiucan glassdoth was a spun fabnc of relatively low abrasion resistance which was widely used for the mass produced (and hence inferior) stiflsuits, but only as the outer layers One final fabnc was called Alphamet, an extremely lightweight and finely woven metallic cloth that accentuated the figure and embraced the skin while it ghmmenM and sparkled in me candlelit ballrooms of the rich and mighty J R M Further reference*! Countes* Hem Sinona, Tfa Vn changing Heart of Fashion (dfedan INS Books), Rakia Kef Cat I-F469; Rakjs Ref Cat 52-C982 (Records of textile factors Hceased by CHOAM at Arrakis Potts of Entry) FREMEN COOKING.