Okay - YES You will find all types of dress in Morocco. Yes, as long as your knees are covered you will generally be okay. But Morocco is extremely varied. In some places you will find people who are shocked by short sleeves on a woman. In some you could wear spaghetti straps and barely be noticed. (Remember, a lot of Europeans vacation there - they have seen shoulders). I generally wear long pants and long sleeve shirts, although sometimes I wear long skirts or dresses that I purchase in Morocco. Moroccans are people too and will react differently. However, the worst that has ever happened to me was when I was wearing a short sleeve Moroccan dress and I heard a man gasp as I passed by. That's why I said - bring the scarf and decide for yourself after you get there.
Have fun!!!
- Djellabas are NOT only worn by poor people, that's absurd. My upper-class mother-in-law wears one nearly every day. Also, foreigners don't look ridiculous necessarily, but they DO get lots of attention for wearing one (I've worn one for many occasions, as I lived in Morocco, but often got comments from men and women - no outright laughs though!)
2. The headscarf does look ridiculous on foreign women UNLESS THEY ARE MUSLIM. Plus, GoldenOldie is Muslim (right?), which means she has a good explanation. If you cover your head as a tourist people will constantly ask you if you're Muslim, and if you're not, then they will probably laugh at you. On the other hand, there might be rural situations where you'll be happy to have the scarf. Just don't wear it with short sleeves, for the love of God.
3. Western clothes are FINE in Morocco. Most of my Moroccan female friends wear djellabas sometimes and jeans at other times (whether or not they wear hijab - the length of the shirt over the jeans is the only difference).
psst - ainzerka - am indeed back, husband is OBSESSED with pizza, and Homeland Security gave me more trouble over the cat than they did the husband (cat is safe too, but keeps trying to escape).
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<hr> got to stay with a berber family in Ouzarzate for five days,went to the local hammam with a henna lady in Marrakech,
and in Fes got invited to dinner with my guide who, the man in my hotel said, was related to the king's family.
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I wore jeans and tshirts , no scarf and got invited to spend 2 weeks in the Amanouz Valley with a Berber family. I wore jeans and tshirts and taught one of the king's cousins for a couple years, and was chaffuered to/from his house by one of the Princess's chauffuers.
SO wearing a scarf or not makes little difference there.
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<hr>Further - the King ALWAYS wears one....<hr></blockquote>
Not true. He is not as flamboyant as his father but he does dress according to the occasion. Probably for state occasions he wears his formal djellaba, because his claim to the throne is based solely on his family line springing from Mohamed.
King Mohamed
Andonemorefortheroad is correct...the current king usually wears Western clothes but does wear traditional garb for special occasions. He often even drives his own car around! He did that in Marrakech in April when I was there. Quite a modern guy.
I always considered his father pretty conservative, not flamboyant at all.
Alifbaa, Moroccans can assume that you must be a Muslim if you cover your hair but they would be wrong. Plenty of Orthodox and Catholic Christian women still wear scarves. Not as large but same tradition, no? Older Orthodox women in the countryside always have something on their heads. So do men. After all, some Jewish women wear wigs. Perhaps the OP could try that.
Next time I intend to take a dozen straw sombreros, to wear against the sun and extras to give away.
How the heck could you tell if someone is muslim or not by only looking at them? Frankly, looking ridiculous is a matter of opinion. If you're comfortable with that kind of dress then go for it. As to people always being able to spot a foreigner, that's silly... I have dark hair and a dark complexion and whether I go to Central America, Morocco or Turkey, I can easily blend in if I don't open my mouth...
when i wear western clothing in morocco i try to wear loose fitting clothes because i like to interact with families and i think we all feel more comfortable if I am not wearing something that is just too culturally unacceptable. However, I have a few handmade djellabas and I often throw one on over my pajamas and run to the store or on a cooler day or evening wear it out without a headscarf and i get so many compliments from the moroccans in the stores, taxis etc. the djellaba has almost become a renewed fashion item in morocco it seems. I sat in the medina one day in kenitra with a moroccan friend waiting for a belt to be finished and it was like watching a fashion show of djellabas going buy and many young women were wearing them and some of them were incredible fashion pieces. so, i say wear what you feel comfortable wearing. Also, when I am in a smaller town where i often go and am out with older, more conservative women, i will sometimes wear a scarf with my djellaba and everyone seems more comfortable but i don't wear a scarf with western clothes. there is a lot of wiggle room on what you wear in morocco in my opinion.
Good for you, misscouscous. I love my djellabas and don't just keep them for Morocco. Last autumn in Turkey I took a 'mid-season' one that I was given by a woman in the mountains to wear as a lightweight coat cum raincoat, because the fabric is so stong and tight it keeps out the wind and the rain and just shakes off dry.
In the spice market in Istanbul I was surprised by the number of Moroccans working there who made themselves known to me. I got a lot of free samples that day!
But I also have a question for you. Do you know if I can get the front 'braiding' on my hand-made one re-done? Any idea how much it would cost? I managed to wreck it in the washing machine :(
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