Morocco Time

I often get asked, “Will I have to wear a headscarf when I visit/live in Morocco?” No, you don’t…but here’s a few reasons why I wear one from time to time.

1. They’re not kidding when they call it a “cold country with a hot sun.” It turns my hair the color of the copper pots in the Seffarine Square. In the winter, when it’s bone-chilling freezing (I’d like to use more colorful epithets here, but I won’t) the scarf is a lifesaver.

2. If you visit the sandier regions, all that grit flying around in the air will act like sandpaper on your hair. So if you don’t cover, you end up with a frizzy lightened mess.

3. Like it or not, men are more respectful of women with their heads covered. I had to take the bus from Rabat to Tinerhir a few times, and I always got the royal treatment if I wore my scarf. Primo seat at the front, checking on me from time to time (”Sister, are you fine?”), making sure I got something to eat at the rest stops, etc… If I simply let my sexy sexy hair swing freely, as I did on one occasion, I got all sorts of guys trying to chat me up and women looking at me with suspicion.

4. The best reason of all…if you look cute in a headscarf. I do, so I like to wear them, a la the Audrey Hepburn style. Some women do not look good in them, especially in they tie them in a very babushka way, like Nancy Pelosi here :

You also should not wear a scarf if you have an ugly bulldog face like certain other members of our government:

However, as much as I dislike Laura Bush, the woman knows how to rock a scarf.

I’d like someone to explain to me how they can possibly be charging £130 for a cotton trenchcoat. I’d also like to know what they’re paying the Moroccan women workers, though I suspect it’s a pittance.

“Word reaches Newconsumer.com of another reason to wait for the spring ethical clothing collections - Amana, a fresh new label promising ‘fabulous ethical fashion’.

The debutant and its 11-strong ladies’ range is due to go on sale 1st March, smack in the middle of Fairtrade Fortnight. Ethical credentials include the use of hemp mixes, organic cotton and the employment of women artisans in Morocco’s Middle Atlas Mountains, though the brand doesn’t boast the official Fairtrade Foundation stamp.

From the two garments I’ve seen photos of, the design ethos looks to be bold and clean with a few touches of flair - a £130 organic cotton trench-coat, for example, swirls round in a full circle skirt at the bottom. Other pieces in the collection include hemp-silk mix trousers and an organic cotton voile blouse, with prices ranging from £15 to £130.

Helen Wood and Erin Tabrar, the St Martins’ fashion grads behind Amana, say ‘our goal is to create fashionable, beautiful garments, which are ethical at every point of supply.’ Sounds like a good mission statement to me.

Amana’s site goes live March 1st.

- by Adam Vaughan at the New Consumer

The t-shirt, maybe.

I wonder if all the expat Morocco bloggers aren’t sort of “known” - I remember going to the laundromat in Agdal last year, and I spotted a Western girl sitting there - we started to chat, and she said breezily, “Oh, I know who YOU are, I read your blog about meeting your husband.” Eee, talk about dirty laundry.

Later on that year, I was strolling through Oudaiyas, only to spot Jill from Morocco Report - I called out to her, and I think the poor girl was rather stunned that someone recognized her on the street like that, particularly someone she’d never met!

For those of us who are a bit bottom heavy - it’s dark on the bottom, people, dark on the bottom! Not light! (more…)