Jacquelyn May in her viral modesty awareness video. Photo: Screengrab/Instagram
Dubai: A viral video of Dubai-based content creator Jacquelyn May promoting modest dressing at Dubai Mall has attracted millions of views and likes — including one from Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Taking to Instagram, Jacquelyn, a Canadian living in the UAE for the past nine years, shared video on May 28 showing herself dressed in a traditional Emirati mukhawar jalabiya while encouraging visitors to dress modestly in public spaces.
In the video, she says, “You see how we show up to Dubai Mall? Very respectful, very put together.”
She adds that the outfit is “not doing the most, just doing it right,” before noting, “This is Dubai Mall, not a Victoria’s Secret fashion show.”
She captioned the video, “PSA to all the girlies — be respectful, be mindful, and leave a little to the imagination.”
The post received widespread support, with many users thanking Jacquelyn for speaking out. One commenter wrote, “As an Emirati: thank you — and thanks to others like you.”
Curious what sparked her to create the video? Jacquelyn told Gulf News that while she was having coffee with a friend at Dubai Mall’s new ‘The District’ area, a woman walked by in revealing clothing that left little to the imagination — drawing stares for all the wrong reasons.
“I kept thinking about it and wanted to address the issue in a light-hearted, humorous way as a reminder that we live in Dubai and must respect its culture and customs,” she added.
This post was last modified on June 4, 2025 6:20 pm