A History of Moroccan Kaftans

A History of Moroccan Kaftans

Unlike most Moroccan girls, my first contact with a Kaftan was through embroidery at my aunt’s Kaftan atelier. She was a Kaftan fairy and I spent countless hours in her atelier learning beading and embroidery. I was fascinated by the intricate artwork involved in making a Kaftan, and my fascination grew bigger with time as I learned more about the richness of this Moroccan dress.

The Kaftan is a long one-piece dress embellished with elaborate ornamentation techniques passed down from generations of Maalems, the Kaftan artisans. The dress is trimmed with Sfifa, a Fez-made silk braid, and closed with a row of cherries-shaped buttons named Aakad which are made in Sefrou, home to the annual cherry festival.

The caftan can sometimes be accompanied by a belt (m’damma) made of finely chiseled solid gold and encrusted with a fakrone (turtle) in the center, supposed to bring happiness and protect from the evil eye.

This very old outfit will however undergo many changes during its history.

In Morocco, every woman, and every little girl, have at least one Kaftan dress in their closet. The Kaftan is the first traditional dress a girl will wear in her life, and the dress she will be excited to wear in every next celebration.

Moroccan Kaftans are a Moroccan Woman Best Friend

The typical Moroccan caftan has a wide cut from the bottom, decorated with embroidery and sometimes stones and accessories. Depending on the designs, the chest, waist, bottom, and sleeves can also be embroidered and decorated. A beautiful belt, either in gold, silver, or made from the same materials as the dress completes the look.

Moroccan Kaftans are usually worn with high heels and accessorized with a clutch bag and/or a few jewelry pieces, which can be either discrete or dramatic.

A Moroccan bride will often accessorize her caftan with a mix of large traditional jewelry pieces, including a tiara or crown. The more, the better.

In Morocco, Moroccan women can design their Kaftans from scratch with the help of a tailor, which I did many times and loved doing. The process takes a little longer, but the result is literally the dress of your dreams!

When it comes to colors, there are really no rules. Moroccan Kaftan dresses can be in either pastel, dark or flashy colors, or even a mix of the three.

Where to Buy Moroccan Kaftans

The best place to buy Kaftans from is Morocco, especially if you are looking for an artisanal piece handmade and hand embroidered. As I detail in my Morocco shopping guide, the best is to shop them directly from a respected traditional Moroccan tailor who can customize an existing piece or create one for you from scratch.

How to Design a Moroccan Kaftan

If you don’t know me yet, I used to spend most of my childhood years in my aunt’s traditional sewing shop in Morocco. My aunt was a traditional artisan in the field of Kaftans and traditional Moroccan clothing. I grew up seeing her create unbelievably beautiful Kaftan pieces for women and brides. That made me very sensitive to the quality of fabrics, the beauty of embroideries, and how a be-spoke caftan dress empowers a woman and makes her feel like a queen.

I have spent the last couple of years researching traditional Moroccan clothing in every region of Morocco and helping hundreds of women create their Caftan dream pieces. If you have any questions about the process of creating a traditional kaftan dress, reach out to me here. I’m always happy to help.