When the word fashion comes to mind, people often think of the hottest trends, the best labels to wear, or the most popular stores to shop in for clothes that state how they feel at the moment, their personality or even speak as a representation of where they’re from. When clothes become a depiction of a person’s country of origin, it ceases to be just another piece of clothing but a wearable piece of pride.
Excited to write this article with no interviewees, I spoke to a friend about how difficult it was for me to find girls from different cultures at Towson that were not of Nigerian descent. I said, “I love Nigerians and their culture, and I’ve already found one girl to represent this country but it is a struggle for me to find otherwise! Maybe I’m not looking hard enough!” My friend responds ecstatically, informing me about a friend she has by the name of Abeer Hamid. I jumped on the chance to interview the Sudanese bombshell.
Abeer Hamid is from Khartoum, Sudan, located in Northeast Africa. She introduced me to her country’s native wear, which was a piece of clothing called a tobe. The tobe is similar to what Indians call a sahri. Though the two wraps may seem similar, excess cloth from the tobe is wrapped over a Sudanese woman’s head as opposed to excess cloth from the sahri, which is thrown over an Indian woman’s shoulder. Hamid spoke with great pride about the tobe, describing how it was a definition of womanhood in her country. Excitedly she says, “The tobe is mainly worn after marriage. When women wear it to special events or weddings, they adorn themselves with jewelry and makeup!” Tobes come in all different types of colors, mostly bright colors, and flashy designs. The tobe that Hamid is modeling is “hareer” which translates to see through. In order to wear this particular tobe, one’s undergarments have to match the color of the tobe precisely.
Moving onto Western Africa, Lagos, Nigeria’s fashion is modeled by Towson student Busirat Adebayo. Nigeria, typically known for its’ rich surplus of oil, should be known for their great fashion. The fabric used to make the oversized top she is wearing is called Ankara, which is popular for its’ various prints and smooth texture. The patterns of this fabric are what distinguish each outfit.
“Our cloth is very distinctive,” she explains, “The tribal patterns and bright colors cannot be mistaken for another culture’s garb!”
A whole outfit can be made with this cloth. The “buba” which is translated to top, and the “iro” which is translated to bottom, is made of the exact same cloth and pattern. While the pattern is extravagant, the jewelry paired with these ensembles is what accents them the most. Chunky jewelry is typically worn to accent these outfits the best. An outfit can be worn either dressy or casually. It is usually worn to big events, like weddings or parties. Adebayo is modeling this casually, wearing the buba but pairing it with leggings and Mary Jane’s to give it a dressed down feel.
Though these ladies have different cultures and a number of things that set them apart from one another, I think it’s safe to say that the two are equally stylish!
All photos by: Maxine Rishton