The picturesque dress of the Tuareg people is also extremely functional because their voluminous clothes offer the best protection against the scorching heat of the desert Sun. The Tuareg wear two tunics made of light wool over trousers which are very broad and fastened round the ankles. These trousers give the Tuareg greater freedom of movement when they are riding. They also wear a broad leather belt designed to regulate the breathing during camel races.

The most important feature of the dress of these nomadic people is a band of dark-blue cloth slightly more than 3 meters long, which is light and looks like a veil, it is worn round the face as a mask, covering the mouth and nose, with a slit left for the eyes, and prevents sand the dust from harming the breathing passages.

The colour of this veil and of the clothes is not accidental. The blue offers protection against the rays of the Sun. To avoid bad sunburn the Tuareg keep rubbing their blue veils on any exposed skin. The blue dye stains the skin and that is why these nomads are also known as ‘the blue people’.