Now I know what the garment is, that’s called thawb.
Neat to know.

Besides

which only make sense in cold winter climates.

Guess where GB and most of west-nothern europe is located climate-wise.
In Germany, the time which could make a skirt useful, are about 1-2.5 months out of 12 months.
Every other day outside of late June to early September are cold, wet and uncomfortable.