If you have shopped for Moroccan clothing online, you have probably seen everything labelled the same way: Moroccan thobe. It is a useful word and we use it too, because it is what most people search for. But in Morocco these are different garments with different names, and knowing which is which will save you buying the wrong thing for the wrong occasion.
I am Amine. My grandfather in Morocco chooses the pieces we sell, so these are the words I grew up hearing rather than terms from a catalogue.
Djellaba
The hooded one, and the one you will wear most. A djellaba is a long, loose robe with full sleeves and a pointed hood called a qob. It is everyday clothing in Morocco, worn by men and women in different cuts, and it is what most online shops are selling when they say hooded thobe.
The hood is not decorative. It is genuinely useful in wind and cold, and in the older cities you will still see men pull it up walking home after Isha. A lightweight striped djellaba is a summer garment. A heavier textured one in charcoal or cocoa carries into winter.
If you are buying your first Moroccan piece, buy a djellaba. It is the one that earns its place.
Fouqiyya
The collarless one with embroidery down the chest. A fouqiyya has no hood and no collar, and the work runs down the front placket, usually in a matching thread or in gold. This is the occasion piece: Eid, a wedding, the day you are standing at the front.
Shops almost always list these as embroidered thobes, which is why the word is unfamiliar even to people who own one. The embroidery pattern down the placket, and the braid that edges it, is called sfifa.
Silham
The cloak that goes over everything. A silham is a wide, sleeveless outer layer worn over a djellaba or a fouqiyya, usually for cold weather or for formal occasions. You will see it at weddings and on older men in winter. It is not an everyday garment and most people outside Morocco will never need one, but it is worth knowing the word so you are not sold a djellaba under the name.
A note on the word thobe
Thobe, or thawb, is the general Arabic word for a long robe, and in the Gulf it refers to a specific and quite different garment: usually white, collared, closer fitting, with a buttoned placket. A Gulf thobe and a Moroccan djellaba are not the same piece of clothing, even though English language shops use the one word for both.
We say Moroccan thobe on our product pages because that is what people type into a search box. But the piece that arrives at your door is a djellaba or a fouqiyya, and it is worth knowing the difference.
Which one should you buy?
If it is for Jumu'ah, the masjid, travel, or simply wearing at home, you want a hooded djellaba. If it is for Eid, a wedding, or a day that matters, you want a fouqiyya.
If you are not sure about sizing, there is a ten second size finder on our Start here page, and I answer sizing questions personally at househamlouchi@gmail.com.