Clothing in Morocco
Morocco is a rich country in terms of history, traditions, people, culture, religion, climate, geography and so forth. Every one of these aspects of the country influences how Moroccan people are dressed. Among the variety of clothes in Morocco, we find the djellaba and kaftan, two fine garments that speak of the luxurious clothing style of the country.
If you are walking down the streets of any city of Morocco, you will certainly see some men and women wearing long and loose hooded gowns over their normal clothing. This garment is called the djellaba. It covers the entire body except for the head, the hands and the feet.
The djellaba for women is different than the one for men in style and purpose. Women wear a djellaba for different reasons. First of all, it is a very comfortable and aesthetically appealing. Second, it is a modest garment to wear in a Muslim country. Some women accompany it by wearing a scarf around their neck or head. It is also worn when visiting the family on a religious holiday.
Men usually only wear a djellaba on special occasions, sometimes topped with the famous Moroccan red cap, called a fez or tarbouche, and yellow leather slippers, known as baboush or belgha. The woman’s djellaba is more colorful compared to the man’s, and nowadays djellabas are becoming shorter and slimmer. There are verses of the Koran that mention the djellaba as a garment to be worn by Muslim women. A djellaba is mostly worn outside the house and there are djellabas for every day as well as for special occasions.
The kaftan refers to the Moroccan garment that looks like the djellaba but without a hood. The origins of the kaftan go back to the Ottoman Empire, as it was one of the finest Ottoman clothing worn by the elite. Like other garments, it has gone through changes over the years.
In Morocco, women wear it during special occasions like a wedding. The kaftan is the basic garment of the bride on her wedding day. It is also worn under a takshita, which is another beautifully decorated gown with traditional, hand-made buttons on the front, wide sleeves and a thick belt worn around the waist. As opposed to a djellaba, a kaftan is not worn outside the house.
As a foreigner in Morocco, you can wear any type of traditional Moroccan clothing. It is perfectly acceptable and even well appreciated. In winter, a man can wear a woolen djellaba over his clothes to keep warm. And, if a woman has invited people over to celebrate a holiday, she can put on a kaftan to receive her guests.
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User Comments & Reviews
2010-09-01 04:27:56
hi, really nice to hear about this. can you send pictures and designs of the latest trend in morrocan ladies dresses.. also its a very rich cultured cuntry.. grt to hear ..any one pls send me dis info../rgds/satheesh/india
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2010-08-29 08:19:11
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2010-07-25 12:20:14
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2010-07-08 06:46:52
i'm interest in all of morocco, i have fallen in love with a man there but i'm an american, not sure how the culture is for women there, any help is greatly wanted.
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2010-06-16 15:01:17
hi ! i'm a morroccan girl from the city of fes.well ! i do appreciate morroccan traditional clothes since they are a part of our cultural & rich heritage & a symbol of our identity that we are proud of it.
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2010-06-07 16:42:24
i love there jewerly
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2010-06-04 20:37:03
i love morocco.i spent 2 weeks in morocco last year.i enjoyed my trip there.inshAllah will go again 1 day
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2010-05-30 11:28:19
can give the pictures or photos of marocco style???. I am so interested..
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2010-05-11 21:27:37
I am morrocan and i can help you
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2010-04-26 06:11:27
Hi Carlos!!, Yes I have a few questions for you? : ). -Can you tell me the history of veiling(not to far back)? -The current status for body coverage for moroccan women?is it required not required?Bust through social pressure? -Is there pressure to veil or not to veil? Most importantly are there state regulations to wear any body coverage for moroccan women? Thank you very much, I appreciate it. ~Nancy
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