The Pride of African American Women Dressing!

African women are known for their expressive, rich and flamboyant type of dressing.

The African woman’s dressing, hairdo and make up is her pride.

Her dressing often times reflect her feminine, mood, emotion, state of mind etc. The African woman “dresses to kill,” she dresses to” impress”, she dresses to “honor and respect” her husband and family as well as to “worship God.”

Going To The Roots

The African continent is vast and contains a variety of different environments and societies, the people of Africa dress in many types and styles of clothing, with some basic similarities appearing in the clothing of each region.

North African women have traditionally worn veils and scarves to cover their heads, and long robes. Beneath their robes and veils, they wear a long blouse or a second robe with either traditional loose trousers, called chalwar, or a skirt.

Both Berber and Arab women usually wear a great deal of jewelry, some of which forms part of their dowry (property brought to marriage) and indicates wealth and status.

Fulani women characteristically wear bright robes of cotton, elaborate hairdos, and large gold earrings.

In northeastern Africa clothing typically consists of tunics and wrapped skirts. The Amhara people of Ethiopia practice a very ancient form of Christianity, and their clothing resembles that worn in the Roman Empire during the early Christian period: long tunics, togalike wraps, and, for men, white turbans .

In Somalia, Islam has influenced clothing, and many women wear veils after marriage. Both men and women wear elaborate beaded jewelry.

Traditional dress depends on age and marital status. Young warriors, for example, wear beaded necklaces and earplugs (thick, cylindrical ornaments worn on the earlobe), with special hairstyles and headdresses. Warriors also wear short skirts of fur or hide, while women wear cloth skirts.

Unmarried women go bare-chested and wear a beaded belt with their skirt. Married women traditionally wear cotton cloth body wraps, which come in a variety of colors, with red a favorite.

Dress has also been a political issue in Central Africa, where traditional clothing and adornment is seldom seen today. As a symbol of personal freedom, some young people in cities wear modern, European-style fashions as seen in fashion magazines such as Vogue.

Clothing in West Africa shows the influence of Islamic styles imported from North Africa, especially in the extent to which it covers the body. Women usually wear a long wrapped skirt, a loose blouse, and a head wrap. Many of the skirts are made of printed cloth, the patterns of which change from year to year.