What should I be wearing??

Hello guys!
:flag:I’m back to this forum after a few months

I’m planning a trip to morroco with my boyfriend from june +/- 21 to beginning of july. I’m planning on landing in Marrakech, then visit Essaouira, Casa, Rabat, Fes, Chefchaouene and finally Ceuta(Sp) or Tanger to take the ferry back to Spain.

I am puzzled about what I should wear… The temparature will be hot, here in Spain I’d be wearing skirts (usually knee-lengh) and sleeveless shirt (and tubes). However, the culture in Morroco is different and I’d like to know what is better abstain to wear. I know Morroco is greating many tourists and people are probably used to see strangers in “small” outfit, but still, I’d like to have your point of view. Am I better to wear long attire, or really, it doesn’t matter? Is it different wether I am in a city or in a village? Also, I guess with the sun it’s better anyway I have a tissue on my skin to avoid sunburn…

Waiting for your opinion!

Thks!

well…according to me ! let’s face the facts ok, in here, not only foreign women, but even Moroccan women epecially young girls are wearing half naked, causing us/me at least the greatest eye-sore! they ain’t ackowledging any culture :unsure: neither religion…

But i appreciate the fact that you wanna respect our traditions & stuff, i personaly see a lot of european girls wearing that Moroccan wear, it’s like a dress, i don’t know what they call it, but its like “Jellaba” but without a hood, its not so heavy so it won’t cause you so much sweat, it’s long enough to cover your feet, & it can cover half of your arms & most of your chest, & you’re free to wear whatever you want under it.
Or you can simply wear a long & large T-Shirt with a large pants (not jeans, well, you wouldn’t wear jeans in summer anyway would you :^^: )

I believe this is women stuff :blush: i just wanted to say what i have :slight_smile:

Take care.

Hello,

Je te réponds en français car je vois que tu viens de Quebec. Dans les grandes villes, tu peux mettre des jupes (surtout si elles vont jusqu’au genou, ca ne choquera pas). Comme tu dis il y a beaucoup de touristes et même les marocaines dans les grandes villes s’habillent un peu comme en Europe. Cependant, cela dépend des quartiers et si ceci est vrai dans les quartiers touristiques et les centres, cela s’avère moins vrai dans les quartiers un peu plus reculés, même des grandes villes, ce sera pas mal vu, c’est surtout que tu risques d’avoir beaucoup de regards masculins mais dans les endroits à visiter, pas de souci.
Pour ce qui est des villages, il vaut mieux éviter les vetements moulants et trop courts.
Pour ce qui est du soleil, si tu le crains, c’est sur que des vetements plutot longs mais légers (en lin par exemple) sont plus appropriés parce que ca peut taper assez fort, si on passe sa journée dehors.
Pour résumer je dirais de prendre les deux types de vetements, et puis d’adapter en fonction des situations.

Thank you both for your answer, it will help me chose what I should bring…

Emy, ça confirme un peu ce que je croyais, que dans les villes c’était un peu plus “libéral”. Donc merci, je crois en effet que je vais amener les deux styles de vêtements, et je vais laisser de côté ce qui est très court :wink:

De rien et bon séjour au Maroc

kdja, like the others have mentioned, its best for you to dress modestly as much as you can, this doesn’t mean walk around with a niqaab, but simply cover up the places that are seen to be too out in the open, for example, covering your legs and chest as much as you can will be useful :slight_smile: here are some beautiful pics of modest wear, made in morocco style :wink:

i’m not asking you to dress like this, just showing off some pics i have on my pc :stuck_out_tongue:

Voila.

Eventhough not 100% like Caftan, but its very nice & beautiful :slight_smile: at least its not like the shooha in Caftan 2009

oops, i remembered, i have to rewrite that in that thread :^^:

Well they aren’t dresses that can be worn on the street anyway, there obviously needs to be a special occasion etc to wear these, but their designs are just fabulous i think.
And thanks for having good taste PB :smiley:

Those dress are very beautiful :ok:

But I can’t afford them :cry::cry::cry:

I’ll try to find “modest” wearing in my wardrobe :unsure:

Of course you can’t afford them, they are not for the average person (ie. you and i) lol, you can go for cheaper stuff or like you said, just dig into your wardrobe :smiley: that’s always the best idea.

Gd luck

I know this is very late for me to respond (I hope the original poster had a fabulous vacation!).
I just think this is a great topic, and very relevant. Many of us on this board are new to Moroccan culture, may be planning our first visits to this beautiful country, and we want to be respectful!

I know that when I went to meet my husband’s family for the first time, last year, I asked my husband many many times “What clothes should I bring?” and “Is it okay for me to wear this?” I think he just wanted me to be comfortable, so he told me to just wear exactly what I wear here in the United States. Actually, that was bad advice!! By US standards, my clothes are quite modest - but not as much by Moroccan standards. I found I was very uncomfortable unless I “fit in” by wearing what the women around me were wearing.

It is different depending on the region and the family you are with. I think in general, jeans are fine (or even 3/4 pants). Shirts are best if they are longer (to cover your bottom), looser, and not cut low over the chest. Short-sleeve is okay, but 3/4 sleeve is better. In the countryside, it is better to be more conservative. In the city, it is okay to be a little more relaxed with your fashion choices (because many other girls are doing so as well).
I think the best rule is to just dress in a similar fashion to the women around you.

Also, if you’re comfortable wearing a djellaba (I know some foreigners feel awkward about it), I think they are the perfect solution. I didn’t wear one often myself but they are great! They are very pretty, modest, and good in hot weather or cold.

Here’s another late answer: I went to visit my family in Morocco (Rabat) last summer and the clothing deal was a BIG problem for me. I wasn’t allowed to wear shorts, tops or anything that I would normally wear in the warmest period of the summer. This was out of respect for my family, they would not have approved or even let me walk outside the house in so “little” clothes. But the thing is that many young women in Rabat dress very revealing, like some outfits would be considered inappropriate even here in Sweden if girls walked the streets in so little clothes. But most adults think it’s shameful of these young women to be wearing so little, and look down on them.

So all in all, I went for 3/4 and full lenght pants, combined with T-shirts (not revealing around the chest, and not tight ones) or dresses that went over the knees (always with some kind of pants under though, never bare legs).