DRESS CODE

 

Dress is very important in Senegal in both traditional and urban setting. This is evident by the large number of tailors sewing in the side walk shops as well as by the wide variety of cloth sold in markets around the country, and the bright colours and prints of imported cottons. Local tie dye and batik are stylishly and elegantly worn. ln traditional Senegalese society, a garment should cover most parts of the body. The garment should fit loosely so that the shape of the body is not revealed. Men wear "boubous" and "grand boubous", which are long gowns with elongated arm holes worn over baggy trousers. Older women also wear grand boubous. Younger women will be seen wearing distinctive close fitting tunic with a plunging neckline and matching wrapped skirt made from cotton prints. In the urban areas, European style clothing is also commonly worn. Although certain dress style may be unique to one ethnic group, most clothing styles are worn interchangeably by everyone. Much of the imported cloth comes from Asia and Europe. Boubous and grand boubous are often made from tie-dye or batik damask and are embroidered in elaborate designs. "Anangos" as well as shorter boubous are also made from the locally strip cloth that comes in multi-coloured strips between four and eight inches wide. Sometimes a white strip cloth woven made with local cotton or imported thread may be used. While women usually wear headties to match their dress, men often wear wool hats, skull hats or a fez, especially on religious occasions. Hair styles are a work of art in Senegal. Women braid and plait their hair, often using fibre extension in intricate and ornate designs. Relaxed or straightened hair styles will also be seen in the urban areas. Senegalese women wear earrings, necklaces and pearls. Gold and silver ornaments are also popular. Senegalese women are as modest as they are elegant. Modesty in dress is in part an influence of Islam. The thighs of a woman in particular should not to be exposed. For women, wearing pants, even long ones, is considered inappropriate by tradition, although in urban areas today younger women frequently wear long pants. While bare breasts are not considered immoral or provocative among Senegalese people in a rural context, women do not normally walk with bare breasts outside their compounds unless when they are working or breast feeding.