Field Notes: Clothing
Alive and swine flu-free. In the clutches of 2 big papers and a handful of finals. But before I leave the country in just over three weeks (!) I want to get in a few entries just documenting my surroundings. To avoid total free association, we're going to try to go vaguely by topic.
Round 1: Clothing
The variety of what Moroccans wear was one of the big surprises when I arrived. Basically, there are lots of permutations. That is, you can find Moroccan women wearing snazzy modern clothes, heels and a headscarf, or women in djellabas with their hair uncovered, as well as the (very) occasional woman all in black with just her eyes showing. My host mother, as one example, wears a djellaba and ballet flats when she goes out, and covers her hair (though sometimes with very filmy fabric).
In Agdal you get the most modern young'uns, which means fourteen year olds in full makeup, heels and handbags - they definitely have their American counterparts. My host sisters, aged 19 and up, make use of a full array of trendy clothing, makeup, shoes and handbags.
As far as young Moroccan men are concerned, it's a peacock culture. They wear fancy jackets, distressed jeans, shiny shoes, belts with big buckles that say Gucci and whatnot, they slick their hair back. (Fashion you rarely see on straight American men.) It reminds me a lot of Italian men, actually. Older Moroccan men, depending mostly on their line of work, will wear European work clothes, or jeans and t-shirts. The grandfather-aged set often wear djellabas and leather slippers (yellow is the standard color for men) on a daily basis, and even the more modern dressers will put on a white djellaba for Friday prayers. What you won't see is a twenty something in a djellaba, unless he's a tour guide.
Some other interesting tidbits: the stagiaires - high school graduates who are getting their licence in business, marketing, computer science - often wear a white or light blue smock over their normal clothing, which I think is a leftover from French school systems.
The one person I've talked to specifically about veiling is my friend Laura's culture partner, Lamiya. She is 21 years old, and didn't start wearing a headscarf until 2 years ago (tradition would have her start at puberty), when she had a religious awakening (sorry, can't think of a better term) and started saying her prayers regularly.
Oh, and Moroccans like to be warm. So even on sixty degree days when I'm walking around in a t-shirt, people are still in sweaters and trenchcoats. Layers are a matter of principle: stockings under jeans, tank tops under whatever else you put on. The thing is, they've got the right idea, because the second you get inside a house or in the shade it will be much cooler, and I end up putting those layers right back on.
That's all for now. Perhaps later I can add pictures to go with the huge block of text.
