Oriental Dress

The Karakou... The Algerian outfit

algerian karakou

I propose you in this article to continue our tour of oriental dress. After the caftan, I would like to introduce you to an outfit very dear to the heart of our Algerian neighbors... The Karakou.

The Karakou history and origin...

The Karakou is a traditional Algerian outfit, very old, of Algerian origin.

Algerian Karakou

Just like the caftanAfter a long time being worn on a daily basis, this outfit is now reserved for special occasions.

The first time I saw a Karakou was at the wedding of a good friend of mine.

The latter explained to me that the Karakou was now an essential part of the Algerian bride's trousseau.

The Karakou...an oriental dress that makes you dream...

This outfit is composed of two elements:

  • a velvet jacket with gold or silver thread embroidery.
  • a pair of pants, in Arabic "seroual" with a lighter fabric and generally of the same color as the embroidery.

For the pants, it can be a Seroual Chelka, straight with two slits or a Seroual Mdouer which is more or less long and puffed, as on the previous photo. You can see the first style of pants at the end of the articles on a model that I particularly liked.

Karakou Black and White

When I saw the Karakou for the first time, I was immediately conquered: I found myself in the tales of the Thousand and One Nights, with Princess Jasmine. Indeed, its structure and in particular its seroual, takes us instantly to these lands with majestic scenery...

The Karakou... the art of being elegant in all lightness.

In addition to this oriental 100% side, the Karakou has many qualities. Its jacket made of a very luxurious fabric, the velvet, brings an unequalled refinement. The pants or skirt brings a practical side to it, making this outfit much easier to wear than other more cumbersome dresses.

Modern Karakou
Karakou Caftan by Yasmina Chellali

The Karakou... modern or traditional?

First of all by comparing the Karakou of the time to the one of today, we can notice that the jacket is less rigid. This flexibility is linked to the diversity of fabrics present on the market today. In addition, there is an evolution in the choice of colors. The traditional dark colors or gold or silver embroidery, now give way to much brighter colors such as pink, blue or purple, as you can see.

Karakou Algerian
Karakou Algerian

In addition to these small changes, we note new variations in the length of the sleeves or the Seroual, which already offered two possibilities (straight or puffed). Some have preferred to opt for a skirt, more or less long, which, let's admit it, does not take anything away from the charm of the Karakou.

The Karakou, the Caftan and the Takchita ... sumptuous mixtures

When such beautiful outfits are mixed together, you can only get sumptuous results.

You have all already had the opportunity to see this Karakou on which has been added a belt like the one of the Caftan and the Takchita. This accessory, depending on your taste, can be placed on or under the jacket.

And as the inspiration goes both ways, this traditional Algerian outfit has also inspired designers of Caftans and Takchitas, thanks to whom we had the pleasure to discover Caftans with a seroual or a jacket.

Here is a creation that I really liked: we find the seroual right for the karakou touch, as well as an upper piece on which comes to place the caftan touch...

One Reply to “Le Karakou… The tenue Algérienne”

  1. Caftan

    Thank you very much for this wonderful blog

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