Sub-Saharan Africa: Clothing Trends


Figure 1.--We note a a postcard issued in the early-20th century by the Apostolic Vicariate of Togo with an office in Lyon, probably as part of fund raising efforts. It depicts 'petits chrétiens' (little Christians). Whoever prepared this postcard clearly thought that wearing European clothes was a sign of Christian conversion and an indicator of the success of evangelization and missionary activity. The postcard also shows us the different trends for male and female clothing. Men and boys adopted European clothing while women elaborated a new African style with colored cotton cloths what Americans might call 'mammy' clothing. Perhaps there is a better term.

Until the 20th century, people in sub-Saharan Africa wore traditional clothes, with few exceptions. There was some Arab influence on the rim of the Shara or in East Africa. And chiefs or other notables may have obtained some Western garments. After the late-19th century Scramble for Africa, Europeans began to exert more influence on Africans, moving into the interior and setting up colonial administrations. In additions, missionaries began to play a more active role. One of the many influences was introducing Western dress. Much of this was totally inappropriate for tropical Africa nor could many Africans aford Western clothing. We note a a postcard issued in the early-20th century by the Apostolic Vicariate of Togo with an office in Lyon, probably as part of fund raising efforts. It depicts 'petits chrétiens' (little Christians). Whoever prepared this postcard clearly thought that wearing European clothes was a sign of Christian conversion and an indicator of the success of evangelization and missionary activity. The postcard also shows us the different trends for male and female clothing. Men and boys adopted European clothing while women elaborated a new African style with colored cotton cloths what Americans might call manny clothing. Traditional styles were varied, but men usually wore loincloths. The loincloth was common because it was simple to produce. Rectangles are the easiest textiles to weave. The decoration and adornment, however, wa highly varied. with highly varied decoration and adornments. The women wore little skirts. Young children commonly did not wear clothing. Traditional styles were varied, but men usually wore loincloths. The loincloth was common because it was simple to produce. Rectangles are the easiest textiles to weave. The decoration and adornment, however, wa highly varied. with highly varied decoration and adornments. The women wore little skirts. Young children commonly did not wear clothing.







HBC






Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Cloth and textiles] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Topics]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]



Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing national pages:
[Return to the Main African page]
[Angola] [Cape Verde Islands] [Democratic Republic of the Congo] [Ethiopia] [Gabon] [Lessotho]
[Madagascar] [Mali] [Somalia] [South Africa] [Uganda]




Created: 1:36 AM 7/20/2011
Last updated: 1:36 AM 7/20/2011