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Marrakech or Fes, wool or cotton, off-the-rack or custom-made — here is what to look for, what to pay, and how to avoid taking home a polyester tourist trap.
Yasmine El Amrani· Marrakech & Atlas Editor
Marrakech-born travel writer who has spent the last decade walking the medina’s souks and the High Atlas trails above Imlil. She covers the Red City, Berber villages and day trips into the mountains. Marrakech · 12+ years covering Morocco
Published 10 March 2025 Last updated 16 April 2026
The djellaba — Morocco’s iconic hooded robe — is one of the most bought garments in the country, and also one of the most frequently misjudged. Tourists routinely pay inflated prices for polyester versions that fall apart after a few wears, when a short walk deeper into the medina would have found genuine wool or cotton at a fraction of the fuss.
The good news: buying a quality djellaba is entirely achievable without specialist knowledge, as long as you know the difference between the two main cities, what fabric to look for, and roughly what a fair price looks like. Marrakech wins on variety and convenience; Fes wins on wool quality and the option to order something custom-made while you explore the medina for a day.
This guide covers both cities, gives you the material tests to run in any shop, and includes realistic price ranges so you go in knowing what you are worth.
The most important decision in any djellaba purchase happens before you look at colour or embroidery. The fabric determines how long it lasts and how authentic the piece really is.
The traditional material. Heavy, warm, water-resistant and improves with age. Usually undyed (natural cream, grey or brown) or dyed in earthy tones. Scratchy when new — it softens after a few washes. This is what you want for a long-lasting souvenir.
Price signal: Higher weight = higher price. Expect 400–900 MAD for a well-made wool djellaba.
Lighter and cooler than wool — the summer choice and the style worn most by urban Moroccans today. Good-quality cotton feels substantial; lightweight cotton is fine for a souvenir kaftan-style wear. Available in much brighter colours than wool.
Price signal: 200–600 MAD for a well-sewn cotton djellaba.
Very common in tourist-facing shops. Light, cheap and often beautifully embroidered, but it pills quickly, feels plasticky in heat, and has almost no longevity. If you pull a thread and it stretches and snaps cleanly — it is synthetic.
Price signal: Under 200 MAD is almost certainly synthetic.
Both cities sell djellabas, but they serve different buyers. Choose based on what matters most to you.
A custom djellaba from a Fes medina tailor is one of the most satisfying things you can bring home from Morocco — and it is more affordable and faster than most visitors expect.
The process starts in the cloth souk. Bolt fabric is sold by the metre in the market lanes around Souk el-Attarine; a standard full-length djellaba needs roughly 3–4 metres of fabric. Cotton cloth runs 40–80 MAD per metre; quality wool-blend fabric is 80–160 MAD per metre. Choose a weight that suits your climate — a heavy wool is wonderful in winter, but something you will mainly wear in summer heat calls for fine cotton.
Once you have the cloth, find a tailor. In Fes, reliable workshops sit in the residential alleys branching off Tala’a Kebira about 300 metres inside Bab Bou Jeloud. Many display a handful of samples on mannequins outside. Bring a reference photo of the hood style you want — the qob (pointed hood) comes in different depths — and specify the embroidery thread colour around the hood seam. Measurement takes five minutes.
Turnaround is typically 24–48 hours in Fes if the tailor is not overwhelmed with orders; in Marrakech allow 2–3 days. The labour charge is usually 150–300 MAD on top of fabric cost. Agree the full price before you leave, pay a 50% deposit, and get the tailor’s phone number. A privately guided medina tour is a practical way to navigate this process — a knowledgeable local guide knows which tailors do clean work and can help with the conversation if your Arabic or Darija is limited.
Fabric cost
120–640 MAD
Tailor labour
150–300 MAD
Turnaround (Fes)
24–48 hours
Haggling in Moroccan souks is expected — the opening price in a tourist-facing shop is almost never the final price. The key is to stay friendly and realistic.
Before you commit to a shop, browse two or three stalls to get a feel for the going rate for the type of garment you want. Prices vary enormously between tourist-lane shops and the lanes a few streets deeper.
In Marrakech's main souks, 50% of the first price is a reasonable opening counter. The seller will act offended — stay calm and cheerful. Most transactions settle at 60–70% of the original ask.
Heading for the door with a polite "shukran, maʿ al-salama" (thank you, goodbye) frequently brings a better offer within two steps. If it does not, there is another shop ten metres away.
Beginning to haggle and then walking away empty-handed without a genuine reason is considered rude. Browse widely before you engage.
Prices range from under 150 MAD (roughly $15) for a tourist-lane polyester version up to 1,500 MAD ($150) or more for a custom-made wool djellaba with hand embroidery around the hood. A fair price for a decent ready-to-wear cotton djellaba in a Marrakech souk is 250–450 MAD after negotiation. In Fes, expect to pay a bit more for better materials — 400–700 MAD for a well-made wool-mix — but you’re getting genuine craft value. Always expect to haggle; opening prices in tourist areas are typically 30–50% above the realistic selling price.
The djellaba is the everyday outerwear robe with a pointed hood (qob) and long sleeves. It was traditionally worn by men over their clothes for warmth and modesty, though women’s styles are now equally common. A kaftan (or caftan) is a more formal, flowing garment without a hood, usually worn at celebrations and weddings; it comes in richer fabrics and elaborate embroidery. Kaftans are indoor garments, djellabas are outdoor. If a shop offers you a 'kaftan’ without a hood in a lightweight fabric with no embroidery around the hood seam — it is probably a djellaba sold by its tourist-friendly name.
The best area is the stretch of Tala’a Kebira between Bab Bou Jeloud and the Attarine Madrasa, particularly the side streets branching off toward Ain Azliten. The cloth merchants near Souk el-Attarine sell raw fabric by the metre if you want a tailor to make something from scratch. Avoid the stalls immediately outside the main tourist gates — they cater to the five-minute visitor and stock mostly synthetic pieces. Venture a few hundred metres deeper and prices drop noticeably while quality rises. Bring patience: the best tailors’ workshops are unmarked doors in narrow derbs.
Absolutely — tourists wearing djellabas are welcomed rather than mocked, and it is actually a practical choice. A lightweight cotton djellaba is cooler than jeans and a shirt in summer heat, provides modesty in mosques and medinas, and makes a wonderful memory of the trip. Men look entirely natural in a plain djellaba on the street; women may attract friendly curiosity in a colourful one. Just avoid white djellabas in rural areas on Fridays (traditionally reserved for mosque attendance) and use a bit of common sense about over-dressing for the beach. Most Moroccans find it flattering when visitors engage with the culture this way.
Three quick checks: First, rub the fabric between your fingers — wool and cotton have a slight drag and feel warm; polyester feels slippery and cool. Second, check the seams inside the hood: a well-made djellaba has neat topstitching; a machine-knocked-out one has loose threads and uneven tension. Third, if there is any embroidery around the hood edge or sleeves, pull a single thread gently — wool or cotton thread will resist and fray; polyester thread will stretch before snapping. A seller who refuses to let you examine a garment closely is telling you something.
Yes, and it is one of the genuinely satisfying things to do in Fes or Marrakech. You choose the fabric (bolt cloth is sold by the metre in the cloth souks — allow roughly 3–4 metres for a full adult djellaba), agree on the embroidery pattern around the hood, and the tailor takes your measurements. In Fes, a reliable tailor in the medina can typically deliver in 24–48 hours if the fabric is available. In Marrakech, allow 2–3 days. Cost for labour alone is usually 150–300 MAD on top of the cloth price; a full custom djellaba in good wool fabric with hood embroidery runs 700–1,200 MAD indicative. Agree the total price and a deposit upfront.
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