Women's Traditional Clothing

Because I love clothing and I've had many questions, here we go: a brief overview of women's traditional clothing.

First, we have the djellaba. Essentially, the djelleba is a Jedi robe. Complete with a hood, it's an everyday garment. Most women wear it out over their pajamas, a concept that we've dubbed as 'llaba life' I love living the llaba life and will (inchallah) continue to wear my djellabas with pride upon my return. Every time I go out, I see a new djellaba that I want! They can be as cheap as 150 DH (less than 20 dollars) but can range into the very expensive. A typical pre made one is probably between 300 and 400 DH (40 dollars), while picking out the fabric and getting it made by a tailor is more costly.

Blue djellaba club

The tuck sheeta is a formal garment, worn for weddings or other celebrations.

Here's me in my host sister's tuck sheeta. 

 It's two pieces of fabric with a belt, as opposed to a kaftan, which is only one piece of fabric. I have visions of wearing a kaftan to my senior prom, we'll see if I can find the right kaftan between now and June.

Moroccan caftan 

I'd also like to mention the abaya, even though this garment originates in the Arabian peninsula, not in Morocco. An abaya is like a robe.Some are simply black and others, bejeweled and color. Some women here do wear the abaya--whether on a daily basis, thrown over pajamas, or to a special occasion. One of my friends gave me an abaya, and it's much lighter than the djellaba, I love wearing it.

I often browse fashion magazines with my host family and on Wednesday mornings, my host mom and I watch kaftan fashion shows.  One day, my host mom pulled out all her old dresses and let me try them on, and on another occasion she showed me the family pictures from weddings in the past. I love the discussions fashion has inspired, and I'm excited for the day I walk down the street in Michigan, wearing my djellaba.