Consciousness and Clothing

Being in Muslim countries for a year now, I have definitely adapted to the way of dressing.  In Casablanca, I have become a bit more casual wearing jeans sometimes and I wear a leather jacket, which is short, but I wear a sweater underneath, which will cover my behind and part of my legs.  Even when I wear this leather jacket, I feel self-conscious like I should be wearing a longer jacket. When it comes to my chest, arms, and legs-they are always covered. It is amazing how an environment can change your consciousness.

When I get dressed, I am conscious of what I am wearing out on the streets.  It is not about caring about what people think, but it is about presenting yourself in a nice manner.  Again, there are those traditionally dressed and those who dress in a complete Westernized fashion. When I do leave the house and something feels too tight I will go back upstairs and change. The pants I have are loose fitting on me and if I wear leggings I will wear a knee length mini dress. There were a couple times I remember I just wore leggings and a top and I felt naked. I kept pulling my top down and put my jacket around my waist.  I told myself I would never do it again and that stayed in my conscious-dress appropriate and stay conservative.   

In the states, you just follow trend and you are not always conscious of you are wearing. I must say I cared about my appearance a lot of the time and did not enjoy wearing short, revealing outfits, but I did show off my legs frequently wearing short shorts in the summer(who wears long, board shorts in the US). Now it almost feels like it would be a crime to expose my legs outside of the home. I do not think I could actually do it because I know the attention will attract and I  would just feel guilty. This is fascinating how much an environment can influence your choices and behavior.

It is significant to note that I am living in Morocco not Saudi Arabia.  There are girls that dress like Westernized girls and if you go out at night it seems like the theme is “the tighter, the outfit” the better.  But fashion wise, these girls are lost and confused and most need some serious wardrobe changes.  For me, tighter has never, ever meant better and if given a preference I love long, elegant gowns not short, tight dresses where you can not move. Newsflash: Tighter is not better and sends the wrong message to public especially to men.    

Priscilla will keep to her Muslim ways of dressing, but I am not Muslim. I am a proud Christian girl in my heart.....