I’m taking my teenage girls to Morocco for Spring Break. It’s a long way, an exotic destination choice (especially for a middle class Canadian family), and really, we should be putting the money aside for our daughter’s future university tuition, but hey, a trip to several Berber villages in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa is certainly going to be an education for our teenage gals.
And it’s all going to start with their wardrobe!
Even though we live in a small town that’s 99% WASP, the girls are hip enough to embrace cultural diversity and mature enough to accept that they must dress modestly in a Muslim country. However as we dumped boxes of summer clothes out on our beds this weekend, we came to the stunning realization that even though we’ve always eschewed spaghetti straps, halter tops and short-shorts, we still have very few appropriate clothes to wear!
My mother spent years nagging me to dump my baggy free-flowing hippy clothes and to learn to embrace form-fitting clothes. I finally did, and now, like my daughters, I’ve got a wardrobe full of sleeveless blouses, above the knee skirts and snug capris. Yikes. This just will not do. Where is an ankle length crinkle skirt when you need one in March? My 17 year old found one that she made with a narrow elastic waist band in 8th grade. It’s brilliant saffron yellow, long, and not at all flattering… . Much to her chagrin, it will become the foundation piece of her travel wardrobe. Needless to say, she is dreading the family photos of our upcoming journey. The 14 year old who has refused to wear a skirt or dress for over a year has resigned herself to the fate of no-shorts-allowed, and dug out a long flowing wrap-around skirt that her grandma bought in a market years ago.
So, with few suitable clothing items to take, we will obviously be packing light.
The girls are already excited about a shopping trip to buy djellabas in Marrakesh. Clearly, their education has already begun.
Little Fish in a Big Wide World 
Love this post! We have just come back from Marrakesh, packing just over a week ago I had a very big pile of unsuitable clothes and a very little one of suitable to go in my suitcase, I know exactly what you mean. I embraced the fact I could wear baggy patterned fisherman type trousers everyday, which made me feel like a hippy! We could see the Atlas mountains, snow covered in the distance from our hotel, they looked amazing. Happy packing and have a fabulous trip! x
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Reading your observation about the snow on the mountains makes me think that I better throw another sweater into the suitcase! By the way, did you know that you are the first person to respond to my blog?! This has been my first attempt at a blog post; thank you for being so kind:)
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Wonderful blog Jane! I love the description of the Salmon Days parade.
I’m really looking forward to reading about your Moroccan journey and am so sorry I took your long denim dress to the thrift shop last last month.
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Nice blog!! I am all excited to read more about your trip. I am sure that you will have a great time in Morocco. If you have the chance, keep posting your adventures 🙂
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Gracias, José!
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