Sarouel( سروال)

So I am officially addicted to sarouels... I came across these nifty little trousers for the first time on an Old School Hejabi blog post and was quite smitten by them I must say!  I mean the concept is really quite interesting....it looks like a skirt but there are openings at the bottom of each of the legs so that they function more like pants.  From a fashion point of view it would be quite easy to turn them into an utter fashion faux pa-they can come across as quite "costomy"as you cannot wear them with anything- I guess as they say, it all depends on how you rock em! And I am DETERMINED to wear them in such a way that I will incite the words, "Wow, where did you get them" instead of the”OMG, what is she wearing" variety LOL:-)

Now of course this blog would not be complete unless the "Anthropologist" side of me came out. I've always been very much obsessed with the history behind clothing and am quite literally drawn to the people and culture that the item of clothing represent even more so then the item of clothing itself.   

The word sarouel is a French term for a low crotch trouser, traditionally worn in North Africa and is native to the Saharan regions.  The garment was introduced and known in France in the 19th century with the colonization of Algeria.The pants itself can be traced back nearly 2,000 years and are also worn in western and southwestern Asia.  The pants are known by many names depending on the region, and they can be worn by both men and women. Also, in modern cultures of western Asia and North Africa harem pants/sarouel are worn as comfortable house clothing into which guests may change into when lounging. 

 I also Read in OSH’s blog page that they are quite the rage amongst the  French Muslimaat....check it out :
“Urban” Sarouel style OldSchoolHejabimuhajabat.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/urban-sarouel-style/









So, I’ve just ordered a sarouel from BISMILLAH BOUTIQUE  -which is a French on-line Islamic clothing store. Now the website is COMPLETELY in French but with the aid of Google translate, it was actually quite easy to order.  So I should receive them in a few weeks.  I will keep you all updated.

This is the Sarouel I ordered from Bismillah Boutique