Tout à Vous: Fashion Forward

Keeping up with the latest fashion trends is a lot more difficult when you're living in a village. I cared a lot less about what I wore which resulted in me wearing the same few outfits over and over again (probably for the best, since those items are absolutely ruined). I had village clothes, Kolda clothes, and Dakar clothes- my clothing becoming nicer and less destroyed with each tier. I like options (I know I just told you I wore the same thing over and over again...) and I had a ridiculous amount of clothing that I accumulated throughout the years. I didn't realize this until I was moving and there was so much to sort through. It was funny, the girls in Kolda loved that I extended, but their one comment was, “so, now we don't get your clothes”. I compromised and left a good amount of clothes, but kept my favorites for myself.

The great thing about living in Senegal are the bolts of beautiful fabrics...and the option of taking the fabric to a tailor. I have one of the best tailors in Senegal and he's made the most beautifully tailored to fit outfits for me. I think I spend a lot of my money on getting clothes made, but it's worth it, when else can I get tailor made items for less than $10 USD. I push my tailor's limits all the time and give them projects that they've never done before. For example, I've had them make rompers (trying to explain that was hilarious), a dress out of a scarf, and an evening gown (for prom). There are times when I've had to work with my tailor to fix glaring programs, but for the most part, they are amazing and most of my clothing only required minor adjustments. In addit ion, I was able to get custom made costumes for various themed parties. Costumes in America can be ridiculously expensive and you can't be as creative with them. I'm going to miss this a lot and I'll have to go back to shopping in stores.

In the states, I loved to go thrifting and to explore vintage shops. Here, there are Fukijayes, which are giant thrift piles filed with hidden treasures. I love it and everything is so cheap- once I got a French Connection dress for $3 USD. It definitely takes patience to go through the looming piles of clothing and to bargain with the vendors, but there are great finds. It's so much fun to see what you can find- these clothing items come by the bagful from the States and you'll see custom shirts from family reunion, birthdays, and organizations. As a result of this, you see men wearing shirts with sorority letters on them or shirts with a picture of grandma's face. I love this activity so much that one theme party we had was “Fukijaye”, where you were given a $3 USD limit and the goal was to find and acquire the most ridiculous outfit possible. It was fantastic!

Senegalese Fashion is slowly making a name for itself in the fashion world. This year marked the 10^th year of Dakar Fashion Week. It's no New York or Milan or Paris, but it's getting some notoriety. In addition, wax aka the beautiful printed fabric that I love is making it's way into well known collections, including Burberry. I wasn't able to attend DFW this year, but I hope that the timing works out that I can attend next year. Looking at photo's there were classic completes, completes with modern twists, and some truly innovative creations that boldly combined prints and colors.