Style: Grooming your looks with African wears

Many people look at an outfit of traditional African clothes and may not realize the cultural importance th that they have. There is a lot of history woven in into the garments made from traditional A African textiles and the styles reflect thousands of years of cultural changes and the influence th that other cultures may have had on many di different African tribes throughout the co continent.

Many people have seen the materials that A African clothes are made of. Traditionally, the fa fabric is usually very brightly coloured and is a form of “wearable” art. The patterns and co colours vary from one region to another and th the techniques for spinning thread and weaving the fabric are handed down from generation to generation. Often women are responsible for spinning the thread.

In the past, it was the men who did the weaving of the fabric. There are several different types of fabric used in making traditional African clothing. They include Aso oke and Adire fabric both of which are made by the Yoruba. Aso oke is the fabric and Adire refers to the tie dye process used to create patterns on the woven cloth. Other types of African textiles include Kente cloth, made by the Akan ethnic group. African clothes are usually loose fitting and very comfortable.

In some areas, a long robe or dress may be worn by both men and women and these may also be influenced by the cultures from other countries which surround an area where a piece of clothing comes from.

Full African outfits normally also include a head wrap or hat that varies from region to region. There are other outfits which look very similar but which come from different geographical areas of Africa.

Men getting married may be interested in traditional African clothing such as the Agbada (West) or Baban-riga (North) which is a long flowing shirt with a pair of trousers worn under. A robe is normally worn over the shirt. They have heavily embroidered patterns that have cultural and spiritual significance.

If you are not interested in wearing a complete outfit of African clothes, you may consider using traditional fabrics such as Aso oke to make part of your outfit. In fact, it is becoming quite normal to blend African clothing with Western style outfits in order to express your heritage.