Night in Tunisia

What to Wear in Tunisia

Chatting online with a friend of mine today I realized that for all our descriptions of Tunisia, people might still not have the sense of it. I'll try to give you some real descriptions of the place in bits and pieces, so you get a better feel for what it's like.

First let's talk about fashion. I'll be sure to follow up with picture in the future, for now I don't have any that suit. It would be helpful for you to know that the steriotyped arab women's wear is not what you see here in the streets. Conservative women wear a head scarf and cover their arms and legs. That's conservative. Some of the old women still walk down the street wrapped in a white cloth to prevent men from being able to determine their figure underneath. They grip the cloth between their teeth.

Liberal women wear a euro-american style of clothing with a bit of a gypsy twist. You'll find them in super tight faded jeans, fluorescent colours, short sleeve tops and hoop earrings. They wear lots of make up - read tons of eye makeup - and generally look very sharp and sassy. Women here were emancipated in the 1950s under the rule of Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia's first president. He was a visionary for the area and other nations are doing a lot of catching up now. So the women here have been safely contemplating western styles for quite a while. When you get a glimpse of the main street you'll see what I mean.

The older men wear pants and shirts like older men everywhere. The younger men have a distinctly sporty look in blazers, knits, jeans and nice shoes. The young people of both genders are good looking with dark hair, brown skin and brown or green eyes. The children are fabulous too and they break almost all of the social customs holding anybody's hand and hugging anyone who asks.

So in case you were wondering, there are no burkas and few headscarves. There are some old traditional clothes here and there, but it's mostly pretty western in style, if not at all in culture.

I'll try to get you some pictures in the near future, but for now enjoy these latest ones!

posted by tiaraletourneau @ 5:34 p.m.