What to Wear and Where to Wear It in Egypt

Sup! I received a comment on my last post asking about swim attire in Egypt and what it was like to wear a swimsuit versus a hijab etc. So I thought it would be a good time to post about Egypt and clothing in general.

One of the biggest questions I had before going to Egypt was clothing. Egypt is a conservative country, it's also a Muslim country. Being here, however, has opened my eyes. Egypt is definitely not as conservative as I thought it would be.

Everyday Clothes

The clothing people wear varies quite a bit. Men can wear normal pants and shirts or even shorts. Some men wear what are called"galabeyas" which are long shirt dress things. Women wear regular pants and shirts as well. A lot of people wear hijabs, and some are fully veiled.

For men, it's much easier. Boys can literally wear whatever they want (as long as it's guy clothes). Women have to be more conservative, at least in Cairo.

Even if you aren't Muslim, or you don't follow Islam rules, in Cairo, it's good to dress on the conservative side as to not attract attention.

I tend to stay conservative just out of respect for my family. These are the kinds of things my friends and I wear.

Swimsuits

I have only been in two situations when I've swam.

The first was my school trip to Ain Sokhna. You can read about it here. While normally my friends wear two pieces (or one pieces depending on the person). On the school trip, we weren't allowed to wear bikinis because we were going with boys. (I could be wrong about the reasoning but this is what I heard). We also couldn't wear short shorts.

The second was my recent trip to Hurghada, which you can read about here. At resorts, it is mostly tourists. Here, you can wear whatever swim suit you want, whatever clothes you want. It doesn't matter because it's a tourist resort. Full body suits and loose clothing were not allowed in the pool at the hotel.

Muslim women have special swimsuits that cover your whole body and hair.

From pintrest 

When I was packing, I had no idea what kind of swim suit to bring. I just brought the practice suit I had that covered the most skin. I also brought athletic shorts to wear on top if I needed to. 

Swimsuit vs Hijab

My host family is Muslim. Because of this, I can't wear shorts or a tanktop or antything like that when my dad or brothers are home. If they are home and it's ridiculously hot, I wear shorts in my room only. If I happen to be in my room wearing shorts and they come in, I have to like throw my blanket over my legs or something.

So, naturally, after this, it felt a bit weird to be in front of my brother and dad in my swimsuit, as not revealing as it is. Not only this, but after nine months of long pants and skirts, and high cut tops, it feels weird to wear swimsuits, shorts, and lower (not that low but still) cut tops. Despite this, I can't wait to wear shorts and tanktops when I get back to America.

If you are coming to Egypt and you need inspiration here are the three outfits I tend to wear the most:

These are loose cotton pants. They are really light weight (and mom, they're 90% cotton and made in Egypt. Egyptian cotton? Idk) I just have a t-shirt on top. 

This is just a t-shirt and jeans. I don't actually wear my SnapBack that often. It's mostly of I'm at a tourist place, or it's hot, or I want to look cool. 

Finally, in this lovely modeled picture, is a 3/4 length flowy shirt and jeans. This shirt is light weight and I wear it all the time because I stay cool in it. J


That's all I have, if anyone has any questions, please leave them below, I will try and do my best to answer.

Hope you are all having a great week.

Learn something today.

Byeeee

Corie.