前途: A Year in Morocco

I visited the tailor this evening. It was my first experience ever getting something tailored. The more I think about tailoring, the more I am attracted to the idea of clothing that is made to fit my body, rather than buying pre-sized clothing which requires my body to conform to pre-conceived sizes. I also like the fact that jellaba are so customizable. I chose everything from the fabric to the style, general profile and fitted-ness, pockets, sleeve length, sleeve slits, hem length, side slits, hood with tassel, to the embroidery colors and patterns to the buttons.

A jellaba is a North African traditional robe, long and embellished with embroidery, usually with a pointy hood that can be worn against the sun and the rain. Men’s jellaba come in a plain colors or stripes and can look pretty Jedi-esque, but women’s jellaba are often brightly colored and their decoration can be quite elaborate. I saw a zebra print velour jellaba with fur trim once, and its owner was wearing it with some killer high heels; mine will be considerably less loud.

I am getting two jellaba and 1 long shirt. One jellaba will be long sleeved and ankle length, one will be short sleeved and calf length, and the shirt will be 3/4 sleeved and long. Each one has a different layout for the embroidery, which will be fairly traditional with a bit of extra flair. I like the highly embellished fashion jellabas, but they’re much more expensive, unnecessarily flashy [you probably never thought you’d hear me say that], and risk going out of style.

I considered going alone to the tailor, but in the end I asked a Moroccan friend to go with me. The friend already knows/goes to the tailor for her own jellaba needs, and I also realized that I just don’t have the Arabic vocabulary for jellaba fitting. The process was just much easier with her help, both linguistically and style-wise.

So that’s it. I took the fabric in, I gave my instructions, the tailor took the measurements, and I left it all in her hands. I will go back at the end of the month and insha’allah everything will be ready.

In other news, I’ve recently been able to find apple juice!! My nearby grocery store has started stocking soy milk. Fruit is my favorite thing about summer, and fresh cherries, nectarines, apricots, melons, sweet bananas, apples, and peaches are everywhere. Although, so are all kinds of insects, flying AND crawling…