Clothes Shopping: Tussock Creek moleskins, Casablanca dresses

Tussock Creek moleskins

My old pair of moleskin trousers from R.M. Williams of Adelaide, South Australia, finally gave up the ghost in summer ’05 after 15 years. Not being able to find a quality pair in the U.S., I checked the Internet and ran across a website where a woman had written how good moleskins were from the company Tussock Creek Apparel, Ltd. (P.O. Box 76, Gladstone Rd., Mosgiel, Otago, South Island, New Zealand; e-mail sales@tussockcreek.co.nz or visit www.tussockcreek.com).

I e-mailed the company and got information on prices and colors, then ordered a pair. Tussock Creek’s 100% cotton moleskin trousers, in the 460-gram weight of cloth, are top quality — every bit as good or better than those of R.M. Williams — and the price is right. Tussock Creek charges US$60 plus $21 postage, while Williams charges US$233!

The company sizes their clothes in centimeters, and the conversion is 2.54 cm = 1 inch.

Mosgiel is a suburb of Dunedin at the southern end of the South Island.

DICK LYNAM
Vancouver, WA

Dresses from Casablanca

My husband and I do a lot of cruising, and that means we attend a number of formal nights while aboard ship. I solved my dress problem by finding, in Casablanca, Morocco, long dresses that are made of polyester and rayon.

The under “slip” is of rayon, and over that, in brilliant colors, is a lacy polyester shift. The front has gold embroidery — very fancy. The cost, depending on one’s bargaining power, is around $20; American dollars are welcome.

I have purchased them in red, blue, turquoise, pink and yellow. They pack well and never need ironing. Because the over-shift is open on the sides from about the waistline, I have sewn the lower part of the skirt together in several places. No one has ever noticed, and I always get compliments on my dress. (I think the bright colors is one of the reasons.)

The dresses can be found in the government store but at double the prices that the shops along Boulevard Houphouet Boigny charge.

Most of the shuttle buses from the ships stop at Le Royal Mansour Hotel. With your back to the hotel, look to your left. The medina is behind you, but going off to the left is a street with small shops showing many of their wares on the sidewalk. Just walk up and down and bargain.

I am not a small woman, and the dresses are more than ample for my larger-than-when-I-got-on-the-ship hips.

JULIA RAINER
Northfield, IL