African old school dressing - vintage dressing from accross Africa
What comes to your mind when you hear the term “Old School?” Well, once in a while, we have all heard our elderly uncles or grandparents continuously mention the term “Back in our days.” There is always a juicy story that follows such phrases. From music, fashion, lifestyle and many more, there is always something interesting about the stories of the past. Life has truly evolved in many aspects and fashion has not been left behind at all. Fashion is cyclical and therefore, old trends always have a way of coming back even after being long forgotten. This article is majorly going to focus on African old school dressing and everything it entails.
Old school dressing for females - Top African old school dressing
Most of the times, Africans are depicted on old images as naked people who walked around naked or simply wore tiny pieces of clothing to cover the private areas only. Truth is Africans also had their own styles of dressing. From the 1960’s to the early 90’s African fashion was majorly influenced by the Europeans due to the fact that they colonized us. This guide will majorly focus on old school dressing for females.
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In the sixties, an old school girl' dress was long and worn with hats to complete the whole look. Women dressed in both oversized and fitting dresses depending on preferences and taste. The hairstyles that complimented the look of their attires were permed and well sprayed afros. For the uneducated women, they adorned their native clothes. The miniskirts and mini dresses were also trendy during this time.
In the seventies, fashion got even better and fun. It simply culminated some of the best elements of the sixties and spiced them up .For instance, platform shoes and stiletto heels were very popular among the African women.
In the eighties, everything seemed to be big. The African women wore maxi skirts, huge jewelry, wild afros and huge perms to complement their looks. Color was also still of the essence as people preferred putting on bright colored attires.
In the nineties, things changes and most of the fashion trends were influenced by the American lifestyles. This is the era whereby women wore a pair of shorts and skirts sewn together .The miniskirts, capris pants, bell bottom jeans, oversized glasses, ballet flats, scousers and many more were also very popular during this time .Every fashion trend in this era was mostly inspired by a previous era and also more or less retro.
Old school dressing for male
In the sixties, old school dressing for male was all about color. Additionally, there was an obsession with prints and patterned fabrics in the sixties. Men adorned tight fitted loud colored patterned shirts with the first two buttons open, boot legged pants with skinny ties and a killer afro to complement the whole look.
In the seventies, the old school dressing style was still about colors. For instance, men could put on bright colored jumpsuits with shoes to match and get away with it. During this time, there was also the rise of perms for both men and women and also the jerry curls.
In the eighties, everything went big as men wore baggy suits and wild afros .Most of the fashion raves this time were very funny but unique at the same time. Loud and bright colors were still trendy during this time and the men did not shy away from adorning them. The bell bottoms were popular during this era too.
In the nineties, fashion started changing because it became more retro, pop and hip. Men started wearing their hair short and the wild afros were no more. The curl activators and relaxers were all swept under the carpet. Trouser hems became narrower as the fit around the hips and waits grew looser.
Nigerian old school fashion
Nigerians are described as happy and fun loving people. Additionally, they value and respect their culture just like most African countries. One thing that is however undeniable about Nigerians is their taste and love for fashion. Even before the colonialists, Nigerian had a sense of style that was to die for. Just like wine, Nigeria’s fashion keeps on getting better and better as time moves. This article is majorly going to talk about nigerian old school fashion so that you have a glimpse of what fashion was all about in the past. Mentioned below are examples of some of the african old school dressing in Nigeria.
Bubu
Bubu was attire worn by Nigerian women in the nineties. It completely hid the figure of the women during those days from the shoulders to the toes. It was therefore suitable for women of different shapes and sizes.
Oleku
Oleku is simply the Iro and Buba from the 60’s. It was a traditional Yoruba style that was strictly worn by married women. In simpler terms; it resembled what we currently call the mini skirt. It was a wrapper that the women tie to reach just above the knee and a short sleeve Buba band was accompanied with it in order to complement the whole look. As much as Oleku is Old school, modern ladies find it interesting as they adorn it while attending special occasions like weddings and many more. The Oleku style just like many other styles of the past has found its way into the modern fashion and its here to stay.
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Aso-oke
Aso-oke is a traditional naija old school dressing majorly worn by the Yoruba people who originate from the Southwest of Nigeria. It is special attire that was worn on special occasions like naming ceremonies, different kinds of festivals, engagement ceremonies and many more.
Agbada
Back in the days, the men were also not left behind in terms of fashion .They equally had their own unique fashion trends to keep up with. Agbada is among the countless Nigerian old school wears for men four piece male regalia that is majorly worn by the men from the Yoruba community of South Western Nigeria. This attire has managed to make its way into the modern day and designers are coming up with different and unique ways to make it look better .Most men like it in white color. In order for the look to be complete, an Aso Oke cap is also worn.
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Old school dressing in Ghana
The average Ghanaian loves beautiful colors and fabrics .Globalization has greatly influenced the overhaul of fashion in Ghana. During the pre colonial era, Ghanaians use to adorn hides, leaves or barks of trees and skins of animals just like most African countries did. As time flew, things changed and there were the use of wax prints and dyed dresses. They extracted the dyes they used from plants and animals to ad an aesthetic appeal to their attires. This article is majorly going to talk about old school dressing in ghana, so that you have a crystal clear picture of how fashion was in the past.
Kente
Kente was an old school cloth that originated from West Africa .The production of kente existed since the eleventh century. Kente was majorly produced through strip weaving. Back in the days; kente was only worn by royals because it was a symbol of wealth and identity. The royals wore kente during different kinds of ceremonies like funerals, marriages, worship times and many more. In the current era, the cloth is worn by local people and the kente outfits are very popular and highly noticeable. They are mostly worn to special occasions like wedding ceremonies and many more.
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Apart from the kente , circa and Ankara ,the stiletto shoe with a toe cap made of metal and the two inch wedge -heeled shoe were some of the old skool dress code in Ghana back in the days. Most middle aged men wore political suits of different shapes, styles, colors and sizes. Most of them were fitted poorly but that did not deter the men from enjoying every second of having then on. Young men did not enjoy wearing the political suits as they had their own sense of style then. The other fashion trend that was mostly seen in weddings and different kinds of high brow events was the three piece suit.
Young stylish women mostly wore flower patterned dresses that had elasticized waits and puffed sleeves. For formal evening parties, the young stylish women were seen dressed in maxi dresses which were simply full-length gowns that had high waistlines .In short, the ladies of the seventies were quite chic . On the other hand, middle aged women wore full length dresses called “joromis “especially during evening parties. Braiding the hair with strands of black threads was also very popular among the ladies during the sixties. Then there was one trend that cannot go unmentioned among the women of all ages .The noisy wooden slippers that had little leather straps that came in different colors and sizes was an old school dressing style that was loved by many.
Source: YEN.com.gh
