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African clothing is the traditional clothing worn by the people of Africa. African clothing and fashion is a diverse topic that provides a look into different African cultures. Clothing varies from brightly colored textiles, to abstractly embroidered robes, to colorful beaded bracelets and necklaces.
Folk costume, traditional dress, traditional attire or folk attire, is clothing associated with a particular ethnic group, nation or region, and is an expression of cultural, religious or national identity. If the clothing is that of an ethnic group, it may also be called ethnic clothing or ethnic dress.
Women attach the importance in defining their marital status to isidwaba although it is also put forward that they place their greatest importance in the exchange of cattle in marriage transactions. Still, isidwaba remains an important and integral part of the married woman’s life to the extent that the women can only be freed from wearing ...
Other clothing includes beadwork and printed fabrics. Although in general, Xhosa lifestyle has been adapted to Western traditions, the Xhosa people still wear traditional attire for special cultural activities. The various tribes have their own variations of traditional dress which includes the colour of their garments and beadwork.
It has become the formal attire of many countries in West Africa. Older robes have become family heirlooms passed on from father to son and are worn as status symbols. There are female versions of the boubou style in Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Niger, Mauritania and many other West African countries.
The local traditional dresses are made using colored cloth and ribbon accents bordering each layer. Sotho women often purchase this material and have it designed in a style similar to West and East African dresses. Women often wrap a long print cloth or a small blanket around their waist, either as a skirt or as a second garment over it.
[9] [10] [14] [15] Xhosa women have also incorporated the fabric into their traditional ochre-coloured blanket clothing. [ 7 ] [ 16 ] Aside from traditional wear, shweshwe is used in contemporary South African fashion design for women and men from all ethnic groups, [ 5 ] [ 9 ] [ 12 ] as well as for making accessories and upholstery. [ 17 ]
The boubou is the traditional female attire in many West African countries including Senegal, Mali and other African countries. The boubou can be formal or informal attire. The formality of the kaftan depends upon the fabric used to create or design it. In Yorubaland, Nigeria, the wrapper is commonly, called an iro in Yoruba, pronounced i-roh ...