Get To Learn African Fashion Designs

By Larry Olson


Every community or country has its popular clothing design which makes them unique in a particular way. Africa is not exceptional when it comes to the matter of clothing and fashion design. The African fashion designs have undergone a tremendous change since the people from western countries began trading in the African land.

As already mentioned, a significant change in the clothing design began with the coming of visitors. The influence of the Arabs to new African design is evident by the design of robes and embroideries which are worn by most people today. On the other hand most modern people today have adopted the Western styles of clothing.

Kaftans or boubous is an example of the natives clothing. These are full length embroidered robes which today are mainly worn by the East African women. The garment was initially worn by men from West Africa. It is made from cotton or silk. Kaftan is also traditional female clothing in countries such as Mali, Senegal, and Ghana.

There are different styles, prints, and color for traditional women clothing. The typical women clothing includes dreaded skirts, veils or blankets with intricate motifs. Most women are known to love colorful jewelry made of copper, grass or beads. The Ndebele women, for example, are fond of wearing traditional clothes adorned with beadwork.

Another popular dress with the ladies is the queen dress. It has an attracting style thus making it a must wear cloth for every woman. Besides, the Tie Dye is also a famous traditional dress among young women. This type of dress has unique symbols and design which are believed to have fertility meaning.

Now lets have a look at men clothing. In most the East Africa region, kangas and kitenges are like the Tshirts and are usually worn around the waist in hot weather. The popular dress code for Kenyan men is known to be a long sleeved dashiki shirt that goes with matching shirt and a hat or kofia. The men from their neighboring country Tanzania wear white robes called kanzu while Buganda men are fond of wearing dashiki shirts and a hat during informal events.

There are special clothes which are designed for various rituals and special events. For example, during the engagement ceremonies and rituals celebrations of a girl entering womanhood, some women wear showing clothing. Following the marriage ceremony, women wear beads on their collars and brass earrings that are comparable to the wedding rings. Also, western African women while getting married usually dress in large head ties while on the other hand the Zulu boys courting girls are known to wear western outfits which are purchased in the city.

There is something unique with the Zulu clothing design. Even as people are adopting to the Western styles, they still put on their traditional leopard skin and brightly colored feathers as well as bishops feathers adorning their headdress. However, today only a few people are wearing the traditional clothes. With the coming of the western and eastern people, the culture of Africans on clothing designs changed and most people nowadays have fully adopted the foreign designs.




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