Clothing

July 9, 2008

Okay, finally—a post on clothing.

People here wear so many styles of dress. Many of the women dress traditionally: a longish skirt, a short-sleeved top and a head wrap. Some wear a bou-bou, like a mumu, a one-piece shift. I’ve seen several pregnant women wearing this style. Some women wear professional Western dress—suit pants, a nice blouse, and jacket.

The combinations are particularly interesting: Western-style suiting, but made with Rwandan-style cloth patterns or even a chemise normally worn with the formal sari-type of dress, but worn with dress pants and a scarf draped over to echo the traditional style.

In any case, there are no shorts here and no short skirts. A few young women wear capris, but when a woman exposes her thighs here, it would be like walking around topless in Texas. Some young women wear tank tops, but not many. No bellies are exposed. Generally, skirts are knee-length and tops are short-sleeved.

Women wear mostly dressy sandals, flats, or low heels.

The colors and the patterns in the fabrics here are really interesting. Very vibrant. They make my fuschia tie-dye t-shirt look boring by comparison. I don’t get to indulge very often in my enjoyment of bright colors and crazy patterns, so I’m having a blast!

My favorite part of women’s dress is how mothers wear their babies: the baby (or even a three-year-old) is on the mother’s back (but sometimes grandmother’s or sister’s) and cloth wraps around and around and around the baby and carrier. The sling holds the baby from just above the knees all the way to his or her neck. On the mom, the sling wraps around her upper torso, just under the arms, to about the sternum. I want to ask one of them how they hold the baby on their back as they wrap them so tightly. Is it a two-person job? Not likely.

And the men? Mostly Western dress, but I’m surprised about the relative formality of professional wear. Men here, if they work in an office, wear dress slacks, a button-up shirt, and sometimes a tie. If it’s business casual, then short sleeves and no tie; however, if there is a meeting, then long sleeve and tie. Sometimes the Western-style shirts are made of Rwandan cloth, which I think looks terrific. The colors and patterns are bold! And come to think of it, the shirts all look pressed. Hm. How do they manage not to be wrinkly, even at the end of the day?
And the shoes!!! Beautiful men’s shoes. Professional men all wear leather shoes. I don’t know how they walk the hills without sliding, but somehow they manage. I’ve noticed a preference for shoes with extended toes—very European. And the shoes are always clean, although at the end of the day, obviously they’re dusty. Oh—and white socks, usually.

Now that I’ve been out to some of the neighborhoods far from city centre, I recognize that I see more professionals in the downtown area. Rwandans are dressed more casually in the outer neighborhoods: young men and boys in t-shirts and pants; women in traditional wear or simple skirt and top.

These are the types of clothes I chose to bring to Rwanda. Luckily, my good friend Michael, who is from here, advised me about suit pants and jackets—basically professional dress for women. I’m so glad he did. The day before I left, I bought a couple of pair of slacks and a travel jacket.

Next time I come, though, I’ll know to bring real business attire.