Africa
We know a lot about Ancient Egypt and its fashionable clothing, jewelry, and makeup from the movies, pictures, and books. But how do you think, have you seen and heard everything there is to know? Of course, not. There are still curious facts about the traditional attire and style of Ancient Egypt that we are glad to share with you. For instance, ever wondered why wigs were so popular in Ancient Egypt? Or are you aware that on some Egyptian statues, the beards are removable and why?
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- Category: Egypt
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Egyptian craftswomen from Naqada district are masters in hand weaving the scarves. This craft is ancient and it has been feeding the locals since hundreds of years ago untill today. Though, in modern days, fewer and fewer people are ready to work so hard to earn a living. The traditional handwoven textile of Naqada is exciting to watch but it is a hard labor – each step of the process is handmade: from inventing the future design and color palette to spinning the yarn to preparing the threads for the loom to weaving to finishing the scarf, etc.
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- Category: Egypt
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When people hear a phrase “Egyptian traditional clothing”, they think about the attire of the Ancient Egypt. But actually, the folk dress used in modern Egypt differs much from the wrap-around garments that barely covered the bodies of ancient Egyptians. Since the 1500s, citizens of Egypt tend to cover their body parts thoroughly. Locals inherited a lot of features from the clothing fashion of Ottoman Turks, Europeans, and Muslim countries. But some tribes of Egypt are still keeping their own centuries-old tradition in clothes, e.g. the Bedouins and the Nubians.
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- Category: Egypt
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The folk dress of Habesha people from Ethiopia and Eritrea is the world-famous habesha kemis. This garment is like a visit card of these countries – when you see a long snow-white dress with colorfully embroidered borders and stylized cross-shaped patterns, you immediately think about Ethiopia or Eritrea, or at least about Africa. These outfits are not only pretty and sophisticated, they became a part of modern fashion culture. Many fashion designers make their contemporary collections based on habesha kemis features and folk embroidery, so these dresses are worn by women in day-to-day life, which is awesome.
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- Category: Ethiopia
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Ethiopian people still wear their traditional clothes rather often. Older people and the citizens from the rural area use the folk dress every day. Though in large cities, Ethiopians prefer the western-style clothing, they also get their traditional costumes out of the closet during the festivals, weddings, and national celebrations. It’s not just because of clothing traditions and customs, but also the climate and weather conditions of Ethiopia. The folk costumes were designed to fit the peculiarities of this country perfectly, to give locals the protection from the vagaries of weather, and to make them feel comfortable.
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- Category: Ethiopia
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African craftsmen work hard to make the most extraordinary dyed patterns on the fabric. The method is called “tie-dye”. The process itself is rather simple – you can even try to hand dye your clothes at home using this technique. But we’d like to show you how Africans originally tie-dye the cloth, leaving their traditional patterns on it. The act is mesmerizing.
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- Category: Gambia
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The folk outfits in Ghana are really bright and cheerful. You can find the omnipresent in Africa head ties, traditional stoles or blankets, huge sheer sleeves, kente cloth patterns, massive beaded jewelry, and gorgeous large coral bead necklaces. Here are a few photos of lovely men’s and women’s Ghanaian folk outfits used in daily life, for a wedding, as festive and ceremonial attire, etc. When you look at such catchy garments, your mood improves and you get inspired.
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- Category: Ghana
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Kente cloth is one of the African most popular and beloved pieces of clothes. It creates a quintessential African look. This hand-woven fabric is used in both male and female clothing, but the patterns and colors differ according to gender, status, and region of Africa. Historically, kente cloth is the attire of royalty, originating from Ghana. This fabric is so bright, sunny, and cheerful that you feel the temptation to buy one for yourself. But why is it not so good?
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- Category: Ghana
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Traditional attire of Ghana. Bright African patterns with deep meaning form great authentic garments
The traditional costumes of Ghana are not just beautiful. The culture of this country and its ancient heritage influence the folk clothing much. That’s why the designs, fabrics, and patterns aren’t random. They are used by Ghanaians for a long period of time, and therefore, they carry the old knowledge and tradition. At the same time, the national outfit of Ghana looks so bright and festive that it brightens the mood of everyone around.
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- Category: Ghana
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Many indigenous tribes around the world use traditional techniques of beadwork to decorate their headpieces, bags, and to make jewelry. And African peoples – Kenyans among them – are also extremely skilled in beading. They create wonderful headdresses covered with beadwork patterns. Another typical feature of Kenyan accessories is that these people have learned to use any available material to make the needed pieces of clothing in their hot and resources-poor environment. That’s why such materials as wood, plant fibers, car tires, animal hides, and bird feathers are traditionally used to make shoes, headdresses, bags, belts, etc.
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- Category: Kenya
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A lot of African traditional articles of clothing are colorful wrap-around garments. And shuka, Kenyan folk garment, is no exception. It is a beautiful multicolored piece worn wrapped around the torso. The shuka is so charming and cheerful that it inspires fashion designers all over the world to create contemporary clothes in the same color palette. Also, some Kenyan tribes still wear original shuka blankets as folk dress today.
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- Category: Kenya
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Kenya doesn't really have a national dress that characterizes traditions, ethnic tastes, culture and rituals of the whole country. Mostly that's because of more than 70 ethnic communities (Kikuyu, Luo, Luhya, Kamba, Kalenjin, Masai etc.) who live in Kenya. They all have some unique traditions in clothing. Though some clothes and fabrics can be called traditional for Kenya. Let's have a look.
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- Category: Kenya
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You can find the image of this traditional straw hat on the Lesotho flag and on Lesotho license plates – that’s how important it is for the local culture. It’s the national symbol of Lesotho and not just a piece of clothing. The locals even display it in their homes to show their connection with the national culture and indigenous religion. The Lesotho people believe that a mokorotlo protects them from evil.
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- Category: Lesotho
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In most countries around the planet, traditional clothing is more often worn in daily life by women than by men. But in Libya, the situation is, surprisingly, the opposite. Libyan ladies prefer a hijab to old authentic costumes, while Libyan men use a number of traditional garments, like, jalabiya, sirwal, jarid, shashiyah, etc. And the reason is, besides maintaining the old traditions, that these pieces of clothes were created for the local climate, lifestyle, weather conditions, and customs. The traditional garments fit Libyan life perfectly, so it’s no wonder they’re rather popular.
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- Category: Libya
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One of the designers of clothes in Libya, Nazar Eltim, creates traditional costumes for modern Libyan women. It is a family business for him – his grandfather founded the firm almost 80 years ago. In Mr. Eltim’s store, local females are able to buy a beautiful national outfit for about $800. It is expensive but it’s definitely worth it. The clothing pieces are ornate, made from fine silk and embellished with gold and silver embroidery, gems, beads, and jewelry.
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- Category: Libya
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In Africa, there is a very curious and unique fabric, traditionally handmade and widely used by Malian ethnic groups. This cloth and the outfits made of it are called “Mud cloth”, “bògòlanfini”, “bogolan”, or “Grand Boubou”. The Mud cloth is so interesting because it is dyed with the fermented mud. Where else can you find fabric dyed with mud?! In modern days, the bògòlanfini is exported from Mali worldwide and is used in the fashion industry and interior design.
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- Category: Mali
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A djellaba is one of the most favored traditional garments among Moroccan men, although female djellabas are also common. As usual with the Arab countries, the local clothing traditions aren’t limited by the borders of a certain country, so djellaba can be found in Algeria, Tunisia, Lybia, in Berber tribes all around North Africa, and so on. Why is this robe so popular? What’s so special about it? And why does a djellaba have a pointed hood rather than a usual round hood?
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- Category: Morocco
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Moroccan men traditionally wear fine loose-fitting robes made from different but usually natural fabrics. The climate of Morocco determines fashion – no one wants to wear jeans and a sweater in a desert. So, both men and women prefer robes to any other style of clothes. If to mention the embellishments on Moroccan garments, you can often see embroidery, sometimes a lot of it. And the blue color, particularly the indigo dye, is very popular and traditional in Moroccan folk clothing culture. Here are some examples of the local male folk outfits.
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- Category: Morocco
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This headscarf worn by Berber tribes of Morocco and other countries is both a functional and ceremonial headwear. It helps protect the face from the desert sand and some Berber men wear it to hide their nose and mouth from strangers. If they don’t have a tagelmust at the moment, they often cover the lower face with bare hands to hide it – that’s how important this turban is. What else do we know about a Berber tagelmust or cheche?
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- Category: Morocco
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Traditional pieces of the male and female national costumes in Morocco: abaya, baboush, balgha, burka, burnoose, cheich, deraa, dfina, djellaba, fez, gandora, haik, hijab, kaftan, melhfa, niqab, tagelmoust, tarbouche, tahruyt, tahtia, takshita, taqiyah, and qandrissi.
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- Category: Morocco
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Moroccan women love jewelry. And always have. But Moroccan gold and silver pieces, adorned with precious and semi-precious stones, aren’t just the means to add some chic to the outfit, they are being used as a personal fund of a woman. It all started when banks weren’t as popular and trustworthy as they are now, so people searched for ways to store money and pass the heritage from one generation to the next. High-quality jewelry fits perfectly into this scheme.
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- Category: Morocco
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The history of Moroccan folk dress is long and well-preserved. Actually, the cut and main features of the traditional costume in Morocco haven’t changed much throughout centuries, despite the influence of European culture. Even today, local women wear djellabas and kaftans, authentic folk garments adorned with magnificent embroidery, along with intricate headdresses and lots and lots of jewelry pieces. See for yourself how Moroccan traditional clothing was changing during the last 100 years.
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- Category: Morocco
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Morocco is a country with very rich traditions, a great ethnic diversity, and incredible views. But the clothing traditions of Morocco are even more diverse and colorful. While the traditional male clothing is rather simple and has little embellishments, the female garments are ornate, exquisite, and expensive. The folk dress of Morocco is traditionally made from the natural materials. The most interesting fact about the clothing traditions of Moroccans? A lot of women in this country wear hijab just because of the fashion.
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- Category: Morocco
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One of the most traditional and common pieces of clothing in Mozambique is a sarong-style garment called “capulana”. It’s popular both among men and women, but females wear it more often because it’s comfy, pretty, and multi-functional. A capulana became the local folk attire of Mozambique centuries ago when it replaced traditional animal skins. Since then, it hasn’t lost its popularity. Today, capulanas have a more contemporary design and color palettes, but they’re still a significant part of Mozambican cultural heritage.
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- Category: Mozambique
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Many traditional garments are getting a new life lately, being incorporated into world fashion trends. Modern fashion designers often use old folk clothes styles, embroidery patterns, accessories, etc. in their new collections. Whether it’s because of lack of imagination or due to respect for the traditional culture, many folk garments are back in fashion. And the African Herero dress is one of the latest trends in modern African fashion.
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- Category: Namibia
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This outfit looks great – formal and regal. And it’s very different from the popular idea of how African men dress. A lot of people still believe that, in Africa, traditional clothing consists of a loincloth, jewelry, and body paint. That’s not true. We can often describe African folk garments as modest, opulent, and elegant. And agbada is one of such garments, being formal, sophisticated, and beautifully adorned with embroidery.
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- Category: Nigeria
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