Rock the Kasbah, part I

If there’s one thing I love as much as designer shoes, it’s travelling. And while I worship cities like London, Paris, Tokyo and New York, I also spend countless hours dreaming of intrepid adventures in more exotic lands. I’ve just returned from Marrakech, and it was just as good as all my Moroccan fantasies had led me to believe.

From the moment our driver arrived to take us from the airport to the quarter of the Medina in which we were staying, we were plunged into a completely foreign whirlwhind of fabulous chaos. From that moment, our trip was a brilliant cacophony of tiny streets bustling with stalls selling wares and food of every fathomable kind, negotiated by throngs of locals, motorbikes and donkeys alike; shopkeepers with wonderfully crinkly faces who smiled and waved enthusiastically as we passed, wide eyed;  snake charmers (the sight of cobras hypnotised sent shivers up my spine); storytellers and belly dancers in the Place Djemaa El-Fna; women carrying baskets of goods on their heads which surely weighed more than me; majestic mosaiced palaces and tombs; and air that was thick with the sound of Arabic music which echoed from roofs overhead, and the smell of oranges, grilled meat, jasmine, diesel fuel, spices and musk.

To momentarily escape the bustle, we also paid a visit to the beautiful Majorelle Gardens, which in latter years were taken over by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Berge. In fact, such was Yves’ love for the place that his ashes were scattered in the gardens after his death last year (bless). During his lifetime, he spent a great deal of his time in Marrakech – particularly in the 1970s when he would hang out with all the glamorous jetsetting hippies – and I can see how the majesty of the city, and the vivid colours everywhere (lurid magenta, sandy ochres, cobalt blue and mustard yellow) influenced so many of his signature looks.

While I consider my own style somewhat eclectic, ethnic boho is not in any way how I would describe my look. But after Morocco, suddenly I want to wear harem pants, brightly coloured scarves and lipstick, and exotic jewels while sitting on exotic floor cushions drinking mint tea, and I also seem to have developed a thing for orange blossom (both taste and fragrance) and jasmine.

I wish I had been able to take more photos of the wonderful people and streets, but it is against Islamic culture to deliberately capture the human or animal form unless the subject is obviously willing, and I didn’t want to offend or attract any bad travel karma for the sake of a good set of images. You’ll just have to go there to see for yourself!

Which place have you visited that evokes magical memories for you? Does travel influence your personal style or home decor?

Love, Miss B xx