My Closet

Among the things I have loved aboutSenegal is the clothing. I love the colors. I love the pizzazz. I love that most things are just big mumus that feel like going to work in pajamas...

I know that I've failed as a blogger in being able to keep up with posting but I thought I'd at least give you a last minute tour of my closet because I'm in the process of packing it all up.

This is me sporting an urban-style "complete" (say it with a French accent) which means that the outfit has top piece and a bottom piece). The specific style of complete is more commonly seen in bigger cities. Beside me in the photo are the head nurse and the head skilled midwife of the Saraya Hospital.

This complete quintessentially represents Malinke style for special events. The fabric is called "wax" after the production method that uses wax blocks to create the pattern on the cotton base. There are several qualities of wax available but this one is fairly high quality because it is thicker and the colors are more sharp. The woman next to me is Cira Kante, a woman that sells fish and produce in the Saraya market.

This dress or "robe" was a gift from my host family in training. The style is youthful and urban but still appreciated in the village setting. The fabric is also a high quality wax but by the time of this photo had been worn so much as to be faded and  torn and it was accidentally shrunken in a clothes dryer in Dakar when I forgot dryers do that to cotton.

The style of the dress in the last photo was so well liked among volunteers that they went to tailors and had copies made in multiple other fabrics, including myself.  You can see the same style in various wax prints - yellow/red/gray, red/black/yellow, me and green, red, yellow. This photo was taken at the engagement party of the volunteer in the blue wax robe in the middle of the photo who is now engaged to a man from her village.

 

I love this complete because it is like wearing a giant poncho. The fabric is a light cotton which is great in hot weather and the design is done as embroidery. The man beside me is my husband who is really my namesake's husband but is referred to as such in Malinke culture.

This is a jaxasee complete with "jaxasee" meaning that it uses a mixture of fabrics. The black and white is a high quality wax and the pink is a two different shiny fabrics whose names I don't know but who remind me of Disney princess dresses. The man, Sega Danfakha, refers to me as his "second wife" so I return the favor and call him my "second husband" and tell people that the spot for my first husband is reserved.

This is my absolute favorite complete and so it is a shame that I do not have a photo that displays it well. It is the first complete I ever made during training in Thies and it is made with a gorgeous royal blue, red and yellow wax. Beside me in the photo is Diabou, my namesake, on my first Korite.

This complete was sewed for me by the tailor whose shop is just in front of my house. Its hard to tell in this picture how poofy the sleeves are but I assure you they are very poofy and very Malinke.

The complete here is actually one I borrowed from a fellow volunteer for my first Tabaski so that I didn't have to pay to have one made myself but I really like it so I included it here. The skirt is difficult to see here but is made of a sort of doiley-looking fabric called brodee and the top is simple cotton with red embroidery.

This was also a borrowed complete. It was a little big, hence the belt, but the purple wax matched the pink-purple hair.

Most people that are connected to my facebook or instragram have probably seen this complete. It is a jaxasee with a high quality patterned wax and another solid yellow fabric called bazen. In general bazen is considered very fancy and people will make full completes with just that for big holidays. I refused because it is very expensive and very hot to wear but I liked mixing it in here. The style with the ruffles on the arms, around the belly and on the skirt is generally adored in the villages.

This is another one of my favorite completes because of its simplicity and color scheme. Here I am wearing the tunic with pants during a training but there is also an accompanying skirt.