African Clothing

African clothing varies from colors, embroidered robes, colorful bracelets and head dress. Each region has it’s own style of dress. What are some types of African clothing?

Kaftans

Kaftans, often called boubous, is a pull over robe often worn by both men and women. The women’s robe is called a kaftan while the men’s robe is called a Senegalese kaftan. Usually made of cotton or silk, these pull over robes are button down in the front.

Dashikis

Dashiki means shirt or inner garment. This colorful garment is often worn by West Africans. This garment is usually paired with pants and can be either simple or an extravagant tailored suit.

Kente

This garment is usually made from handwoven cloth strips of silk and cotton. This garment is usually worn in toga fashion to commemorate special occasions. In the west, it can be seen stitched into academic stoles for graduation ceremonies.

Kaba

A kaba is a long wrap around skirt and matching blouse that is usually made made from African wax print or cloth.

Although there are many different styles of African Dress, we will be exploring the different styles as we continue our African voyage.