A Photographic Diary of My Trip: Morocco

To make a long story short, here are the last few pictures of my week in Morocco:

The process of making argan oil at a women's cooperative - they say that argan oil is a great beauty treatment for hair and skin, and argan butter is a tasty alternative to peanut butter.

The town of Essaouira, where Hendrix reportedly vacationed in the late 60's

Essaouira's harbor

A majestic beginning of a 3-Day "guided" tour - and I put guided in quotation marks because that's a joke. Our "guide" was more of a driver than a guide, and he didn't speak English so good luck figuring out where they heck you are and what you're looking at. Thankfully, the van was full of international tourists who were able to translate our guide's French into English, Italian, and Portuguese.

Where Gladiator was filmed?

I got to ride a camel into the Sahara Desert! Here is a picture of the group heading toward the tents with our Berber guides. The desert trek was a magical experience. Some of the highlights - sharing a jumbo plate of chicken tagine with complete strangers and no utensils after having ridden camels and hiding behind a bush to pee. Liberating.

Everyone woke up bright and early the next day for the sunrise.

Back in Marrakech, we visited the Bahia Palace. The architecture is beautiful but the palace is in an obvious state of disrepair, with lots of taped off areas and overgrown gardens.

A view from a rooftop restaurant of Djemaa el Fna

Goodbye Marrakech!

Morocco was definitely an experience I'll never forget. Of all the countries and cities I visited, the people here are the most inviting and vibrant. I witnessed both good and bad, but in the end I found myself feeling settled in just when it was time to go.

Some words of advice for future travelers on clothing (this is a fashion blog after all):

It is a Muslim culture and women there usually dress conservatively, but many of the younger generation do not. I was told that women have the freedom to wear what they want, but many of them choose to wear the traditional jellaba. Most of the female tourists I saw dressed modestly. I did see one female tourist wear the most outrageous outfit - a see-through top, extremely short miniskirt, and sky-high heels - and heads were turning. I highly recommend dressing more modestly because you will get a lot of unwanted attention if you wear something low-cut, short, or skin-tight.

Anyway, I hope my photographic diary has inspired some of you to travel to far-flung destinations and live the nomadic life. Thanks for reading!

A Photographic Diary of My Trip: A peek inside a typical shop

Here is a peek inside a typical shop in Marrakech:

My friend and I wandered into this shop to get away from a man who was trying to "guide" us to another place (see the previous post for my take on these "guides"). My friend was interested in buying a tea pot and tea glasses, so she haggled the price down and then realized that she didn't have enough cash on her. The shop owner offered to take her to the ATM on his moped, leaving me to watch his shop. I saw this as my chance to take as many pictures as I could!

A Photographic Diary of My Trip: Marrakech

I'm notoriously bad at not finishing things, but I'm committed to getting this photographic diary done - Morocco is the last one, so I'm close to the end.

Here are a few photos around the city of Marrakech:

The main square, Djemaa el Fna

The day and night transformation is amazing. During the day, the square is empty. At night, there are so many people milling about. There are street performers, snake charmers, dancers, and storytellers. The energy is inspiring - I've never seen anything like it anywhere else.

I wish I had pictures to show you of the square at night, but I refrained from taking pictures at night because it seemed like you had to pay for any pictures you took of anyone.

A typical street in Marrakech

Walking around the city can be very confusing. It doesn't help that all the streets look the same and the street signs are nonexistent. I learned to rely on landmarks to get back home.

The famous Koutoubia Mosque

As non-Muslims, my friend and I were only able to appreciate this tall beauty from the outside. It is so tall that you are able to see it from far away - which very helpful for finding your way to the square. ;)

A park by the mosque



Marrakech houses some of the most lovely gardens and parks. They are always immaculately manicured.

A typical shop

These shops are everywhere, and many of them sell similar trinkets and souvenirs. This is one of my favorite pictures.

A government-run carpet shop

Yes, my friend and I got sucked into one of these shops. Neither of us were planning to buy a Moroccan rug - both of us ended with one.

How we got to the shop is an amusing story. We were wandering around the city lost. While I was talking to a street vendor about getting minutes on my cell phone, an older man walking his bike came up to my friend and asked if she remembered him. From the riad? Apparently he works there?

Um... yes?

So he offers to take us to a nice shop that's close by. It's government-run so you won't have to haggle so much. Don't worry - he'll take us there for free. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking this could have ended badly...

Yes, we followed him. I mean, he wasn't taking any shady streets or anything. AND it was in the daytime - nothing bad ever happens in the daytime! Don't shake your head, it could have happened to anyone! As we're walking, I asked my friend, "Do you know him?" "No." Neither did I. Insert nervous laughter.

Thankfully, he took us to some kind of carpet and furniture mega-emporium.

Let me start by saying that Moroccan salesmen are good at their job. And I am a sucker for deals. And I am a sucker in general, because I know I'm not getting a good deal but I just can't say no. We've spent all this time getting to know each other, now I can't just leave you hanging! I walked away from the emporium with a rug, a colorfully painted tagine and matching plate, and several pairs of leather slippers - and right into the spice shop next door.

The lady shows us traditional Moroccan beauty treatments and products - like the famous Argan oil-based soaps and black scrub treatments. On the shelves, there are stacks of neatly packaged loose tea, herbs and spices - one for curries, one for barbecue rubs, here's a 5-spice rub, or would I like her favorite, the 9-spice rub? And you can't say you've been to Morocco and didn't get a pack of mint tea! If you buy two, you get one free!

Yes, siree! I'd like all of them, please!

Then, she starts loading us up with free goodies and then lowers her voice to tell us not to tell our neighbors over at the emporium that we bought all this stuff. Just a few packs, so it doesn't look suspicious - because here's the thing. Since the salesmen at the emporium led us to her spice shop, they get a cut of the profits. A big cut, like 50%, and that doesn't leave very much left over. That's just the ways things are done.

Then, a light bulb goes off in my head. What about that mysterious guy that led us to the emporium in the first place? Does he get a cut? How often does this happen? Doesn't it all feel a little... shady?

For a while, my impressions of Morocco were tainted by these under-the-table deals. I couldn't help but feel a little used. Under the guise of friendship, I saw money signs. How could I trust whether this restaurant was a local favorite or one that paid out well? I saw these deals happening everywhere - even at the tourism office!

But near the end of my trip, I was in better spirits because I came to terms that that's just the way things are done. I had my shining moment of paranoia. But the truth is not that this is a real injustice, because I'm sure this kind of stuff happens all the time everywhere. It just never happens in my neck of the woods. And therefore, I am just naive. But we already knew that when I agreed to follow the stranger and his shiny bike.

My Spring Wishlist

effeminate versions of menswear-inspired footwear...
like J. Crew's Camden Leather Brogues in Blush Pink, coming Feb 2010

summery 70's platform wedges in nude tones...
like J. Crew's Cleo Platform Sandals in soft graphite

mix and match effortless separates...
like Madewell's chambray workshirt paired with graphic tulip mini

and the "it girl" accessory...
like Mulberry's "Alexa" in nude lambskin

P.S. For anyone interested in the Camden Leather Brogues in Blush Pink, I am told they are available for preorder and will debut sometime in February. I'm dying to get my hands on these, but every time I talk to a sales representative I get different information (ex. one told me it would be store only, another said that the brogues will never come out in Blush Pink), but the majority opinion is that it will be available and you can preorder it. Also, check out this cute skirt:

J. Crew Whisper Chambray Tiered Skirt

Another item that will be out in February, and you can also preorder it. It is item 23368 and costs $138. It is adorable!

Alexa Chung + Madewell?!?

I'm so excited for this! I just read on the Vogue website that Alexa Chung will be designing a collection for Madewell, coming out this September! The pieces are expected to be items that Alexa herself would wear, like "high-waisted pants and jeans, velvet dresses with Peter Pan collars, and a coat based on a vintage children’s one [Alexa] found that originally came from Harrods". Expect retro influences like "forties tea dresses, sixties mod dresses" and anything cute.

Sonia Rykiel Knitwear hits H&M Feb 20

All images from nitro:licious

Coming soon to an arm crook near you...

I hear that the Alexa bag is coming to stores in a few days. This is my dream bag right now - it has that perfect balance of polished and casual. Saving up my pennies for this one... which starts at $1150.