"African fashion is lame"

“It’s not funky enough.”

“It’s not professional enough.”

“Western clothes are better.”

Before you get all up in arms on me (which I assume, as a loyal reader of this blog you would do), these are some of the opinions I got from various young people (aged between 18 and 30 (yes, 30 is still young!))after I asked them if they ever wear or would consider wearing African fashion.

Drumroll please.......................

Apparently, they don’t see African fashion as being relevant to them!

What do you guys think – relevant or not?

Ok, so we all know those pieces of African clothing stashed in our mother, aunt or even grandmother’s wardrobe that we’d just like to take out and burn (sorry Auntie T!) but it’s come such a long way since then!

Take a look around and you’ll see “Afrocentric” ,“Afrofusion” or “African inspired” clothing on runways and in catalogues all over the world. There are clothes which are both modern and African. The two are not mutually exclusive!

Which leads me nicely into my next train of thought.... We’re talking about fashion here guys, and in my mind that’s wider than just clothing. It encompasses all manner of accessories: jewellery, shoes, bags, wraps, scarves....the list goes on! You don’t need to dress fully in African clothing if you’re not comfortable with it, but surely you can rock a couple of pieces?! Think about the feel good factor of proudly displaying so much heritage – and helping out all the people who are involved in the production of those items. It could be your version (every bit counts) of giving back!

And before you get started on the “Oh, it’s so hard to find it...” trip, I’m here to make it that much easier for you! I personally love the ease of buying stuff online. My favourite online store has an awesome range of all things fashionably African and by following them on Twitter and being a fan on their Facebook page I’m constantly getting updates on new arrivals and great deals.

I have hereby decided to make it my life mission to seek out fashion fabulous Africana and share it with you!