How To Rock African Fashion

Asooke throwStyling African wears could demand lots of detail and attention, this is because for it to fit into the contemporary world one needs to pay close attention to detail and be aesthetic about it.

Lots of fashion designers have come up with flexible wear designs that could be styled for different occasions. 

Here is a list of ways and places to style up your African wear,

  1.   AFRICAN CORPORATE FASHION

Do you want to infuse your African wear into the corporate world? Do you often attend business fairs, meetings, and conferences and you need the best styling ways to fit into these places and not look too traditional. The idea behind slaying an African outfit successfully is to keep it classy and simple at the same time.

Michelle Midi Oeclat

O’Eclat Designs, an ethical Nigerian brand, makes use of premium leather, to craft beautiful handmade bags, with some having beautiful African design prints, these bags can be combined with nice suits/ jackets or beautiful gowns. You will just stun in this fabulous look and have eye-rolling. These bags are made of African fabrics and could be used to fit into the contemporary style of dressing. These beautifully made African bags will suit perfectly with corporate dresses or corporate trousers and suits.

 

Morin O has also put together collections of African-inspired bags, wallets, belts, and slippers. Morin O’s handcrafted bags will always do well in your corporate world, Men’s bags are not left out, quality men’s bags for the corporate world. No matter the occasion, you can’t go wrong with a well-sewn colorful fabric made with rich leather sourced from Nigeria.

 

     2. AFRICAN SOCIAL FASHION

 There is a funny saying ‘’Eni o wo Ankara o je semo’’ meaning; that the guest who does not wear uniform fabric popularly called ‘’aso ebi’’ will not eat at the social gathering. The fabric is worn particularly and uniformly for celebration. On a lighter note, it may serve as a gate pass to several social events. African print is usually worn to social events such as weddings, burials, religious gatherings, and a lot more.

Ethnik Africa is a global brand inspired by ancient asooke craftsmanship of western Nigerian and African culture. This brand is known for making beautiful loafers, travel bags, asooke inspired sneakers, that can comfortably be worn to formal gatherings. It can be worn in jeans, jumpsuits, gowns, skirts, or even shorts, traveling bags, sneakers, etc.

Adorning yourself with African wear to socials could be very versatile and flexible. It is popularly known to be worn mainly in African countries though it is slowly being adopted by the western world. Several celebrities have been seen to embrace this trend, a couple of western celebrities such as Rihanna, Beyonce, Sia, and others have been seen rocking African fashion dresses and bags for several outings. This is a big win for the African fashion industry, though slowly but surely, the aim is for the whole world to finally embrace this trend into their culture and social lives.

 

      3. AFRICAN HANGOUT FASHION

There are times you simply need an easy-going style to wear for hangouts, small parties, dinners, or dates. Ankara shorts, crop tops, skirts, and gowns could be your best guess. Ankara/ Adire pullovers and tops are flexible in their utilization and styling and ought to be a staple in each woman’s closet. Ankara coordinate sets are easy to wear as you can rock them with trousers or gowns and skirts. If free wear for fashion lazy or work-free day. The African hangout is a series of ready-to-wear items that one just picks up from the wardrobe.

Ethnik Africa bowler hats

 

4 Bag Care sins you need to repent from🤣

bags by Ethnik Africa Utu on Bellafricana marketplace
Detail Africa Briefcase
Detail Africa Briefcase

Hi! Do you know that a lot of us have been doing some things wrong when it comes to caring for our handbags? I was guilty of some of these “Bag care Sins” but now I know better. I will be sharing them with you soon, but while I am doing that, feel free to browse through some beautiful handbags by Bellafricana Members. Are you ready? Let’s get started:

 

oba couture bag
Oba couture bag

View More by Oba  Couture here

Sin #1. Keeping your Bag in the Box:

I know you love staring at your bags in their little boxes, sitting pretty. But leather cracks when there is no air. Imagine sitting in a choked up place without ventilation. That’s exactly how your bag feels. What you can do instead is to put them in drawstring bags to avoid dust settling on them, as well as preserve the fabric.

 

 

 

miraoma Luxury Bellafricana member

View More bags by MiraOma here

Sin #2. Using your blow-dryer to air out a wet bag:

If you notice a water spill, using a blow-dryer, or any other form of heat that isn’t natural, can cause serious damage to your bag. So, why not allow it air out naturally? Remember not to also put it out in direct sunlight. Instead, store them in a cool, dry place.

 

 

Morin O casual bags
Morin O casual bags

View More bags by Morin-O here

Sin #3. Not Stuffing the bag when not in use:

Bags tend to lose their form or shape when empty. This period when most of your bags will not be in much use, you can stuff them with a mass of clean clothes, or throwpillows to help retain the shape.

 

View More bags by Oeclat here

Sin #4. Hanging your bags: 

How many of us are guilty of this? Putting a bag up by the handles can cause the handles to lose shape, or even crack. If your bags have been out-living their handles, this may be a reason why.

Ethnik Utu bag Bellafricana member
Ethnik Utu bag

View More bags from Ethnik here

So, there you have it! I hope you have learnt a thing or two from this, and trust you will repent from your “Bag Care sins” (if guilty)🤣

Ankara Wedding Inspirations

Do something different from the norm with these lovely Ankara wedding ideas we’ve got outlined here.

Ankara to some people may just be known as the capital of Turkey, but to many Africans and even globally now, it is a beautifully coloured fabric that has been worn for ages.

Mostly this fabric is made of cotton material. It is available as African wax print, Holland wax or Dutch wax. In this article, we will be talking about various ways you can use Ankara in your wedding.

The Ankara fabric has gotten more appreciation than it used to. Many globally renowned designers have done lots of amazing work with the fabric. Even foreign celebrities wear the beautiful fabric in really creative styles these days.

So why are we still all Western-styled up when even folks abroad are beginning to groove our style. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the western style. It’s lovely, amazing even, but come on let’s embrace what’s ours for a minute at least.

Have you always wanted to do something different and chic from the standard wedding look? Or just simply want to try something out of the box? Consider having an Ankara themed wedding. Yes, you can never do wrong with this beautiful fabric.

Below, we will look at some Ankara wedding inspirations you can try…

Black bride with Braidsmaids wearing Ankara. Ankara wedding inspirations | Bellafricana
Photo Credit: Pinterest

Ankara Wedding Inspirations

The beautiful thing about this fabric is that it can be used by any tribe, country or religion. Also it is very flexible; all you need really is some creativity. Here are some from our creative bank *wink*

Ankara Luggage Set: Like all wedding, let’s start from the very beginning, the engagement ceremony which is also referred to as an engagement party in some other parts of the world.

It is common practice in the Nigerian tradition, especially the Yoruba part, for the groom’s family to give the bride a luggage set at the wedding engagement. This is viewed as the bags she will use to move her belongings to her new home.

So, hey groom, you can start your Ankara wedding theme here by using Ankara leather luggage set.

You can get really good quality ones from The Potter’s Signature. These guys are amazing and will deliver your order according to taste! Find them HERE

Ankara Leather Luggage Set made by The Potters Signature | Bellafricana
Buy Quality From The Potters Signature | Call: +2347084054748 | Email: [email protected] | Visit: www.thepotterssignature.com

Ankara Bow ties & Pocket Squares: The groom and groom’s men could replace the regular bow tie with bow ties and pocket squares made out of the Ankara fabric.

This is really interesting as it will add a lot of colour to your style and also can be blended with the bride’s ensemble and her bridal train’s too.

The creative merchant I recommend for this, is African Things. You can check them out here and make enquires to your preference. Click Here.

Ankara Bow tie and Pocket square made by African Things | Bellafricana
Buy Quality From African Things | Call: +2348166725362 | Email: support @africanthings.org | Visit: www.africanthings.org

Handbags and Clutches: During the traditional wedding (engagement party), the bride can use a beautifully crafted Ankara leather clutch or handbag.

At the white wedding (church wedding) also, using a chic Ankara detailed clutch matching the Ankara used by the groom for his bow tie and pocket square will be quite lovely too.

Ankara Clutch and Ankara Bangles | Bellafricana
Buy Quality From African Things | Call: +2348166725362 | Email: support @africanthings.org | Visit: www.africanthings.org

Ankara Shoes: For your this, you can use matching Ankara fabrics to make the shoes for you and your spouse. This can be used as highlights and not necessarily that major material of the shoe. This really depends on your taste. You can get really good looking ones from African Things also.

Bridesmaid Dresses: Instead of going with the regular western styled bridesmaid dresses, you can use the Ankara fabric here also. Take your pick of any style you can imagine and spruce it up with Ankara details.

For this, you should check out the designs by Delavi Couture! They’ve got really amazing tailoring skills and can make dresses and shirts to your preference. When you’re done, you’ll see how well your bridesmaids’ dresses will turn heads.

Ankara Detailed Jewellery: The first time I came across Ankara jewelleries was in True Love magazine. It was love at first sight. That really got me psyched that “wow, my people can make something this amazingly magnifique (forming French accent *covers face*)”

So imagine your bridesmaids adorned in such lovely jewellery pieces.  Awesome yes? Ankara detailed jewelleries made by African Things are very lovely for this occasion.

Ankara Detailed earrings by African Things | Bellafricana
Buy Quality From African Things | Call: +2348166725362 | Email: support @africanthings.org | Visit: www.africanthings.org

Ankara Souvenir Options

The wedding is not fully planned without souvenirs for guests. Here too, you can get super creative by infusing your Ankara theme into the souvenirs.

Your souvenirs are a long term reflection of your wedding day. I actually remember some wedding I’ve attended by the souvenirs I got from them. So you want to get something really lovely and of good quality.

Here are a few suggestions:

Ankara Note Books: Get creative with made from the scratch Ankara cover notebooks. Word of advice, patronize only the best.

If the books are just store bought and wrapped with Ankara, it won’t take long before the Ankara fabric starts pulling off from the original cover and that’s really not cool.

Imagine after a few weeks of your wedding and the souvenir is now an ‘Oxford Notebook’ cover (a notebook manufacturing company in Nigeria) with your wedding crest or image on the first page.

Wondering where the trusted place you can get quality Ankara books for your souvenir? Checkout Bellafricana Gifts.

Yes! We make top quality African fabric notebooks from scratch with beautiful love quotes. To see sample, click HERE

Notebook made with Ankara fabric by Bellafricana
Buy Quality From Bellafricana | Call: +2348086363970 | Email: [email protected] | Visit: gift.bellafricana.com
Notebooks made with Ankara Fabric by Bellafricana
Buy Quality From Bellafricana | Call: +2348086363970 | Email: [email protected] | Visit: gift.bellafricana.com
Ankara Notebook by Bellafricana
Buy Quality From Bellafricana | Call: +2348086363970 | Email: [email protected] | Visit: gift.bellafricana.com

Ankara Key holders: Here’s something else you can totally try, key holders made out of Ankara fabric. To go an extra mile, why not use Ankara key holders made out of dried water hyacinth.

It is totally eco-friendly and your guests will love it. You can get neatly made Ankara key holders from MitiMeth.

Ankara Key Holder made by MitiMeth
Buy Quality From MitiMeth | Call: +2347057081482 | Email: [email protected] | Visit: www.mitimeth.com

Souvenir Bags: Don’t you just feel that burst of pride when you see someone walking on the street with a beautiful bag and it turns out to be your wedding souvenir? I know I do.

Make Ankara detailed souvenir bags for your guests and you will feel that burst of pride also. Why? Everyone want to carry or be seen with something unique, your guests will carry it happily everywhere.

It has to be of very good quality though, here again you can trust us at our gift section to deliver perfectly!

Ankara Detailed Souvenir Bags made by Bellafricana
Buy Quality From Bellafricana | Call: +2348086363970 | Email: [email protected] | Visit: gift.bellafricana.com
Ankara Detailed Souvenir Bags made by Bellafricana
Buy Quality From Bellafricana | Call: +2348086363970 | Email: [email protected] | Visit: gift.bellafricana.com

Give some or all of these suggestions a try. Your guests will always have something unique to say about your wedding with these really cool tweaks.

I remember some many wedding by how unique the experience as a guest was. Am quite sure there are so many other people who pick up one or two things from an event by how unique it is.

People are getting more and more creative with their wedding styles! Why not set a pace also. Take the lead.

At the end of the day, you’d have yourself a fabulously unique wedding. And to top that you’d have contributed greatly to the growth of the economy.

Love Africa! Wear Africa!!

Love Nigeria! Wear Nigeria!!

For other really amazing African made inspirations, checkout some of our Bellafricana Verified merchants below:

Brown Aso Oke Bag and Shoe made by Tunde Owolabi
Buy Quality From Ethnik by Tunde Owolabi | Call: +2349090003789 | Email: [email protected] | Visit: www.ethnik.com.ng
Batik Leather Suit Cases made by Siod Leather
Buy Quality From Siod Leather | Call: +2347033124884, +23412956431 | Email: [email protected] | Visit: www.siodleather.com.ng

Here are pictures of other Ankara themed wedding

Ankara Wedding Inspirations
Photo Credit: Wedding Gawker
Ankara Wedding Inspirations
Photo Credit: Nigerian Wedding

Ankara Wedding Inspirations

[dropcap custom_class=”normal”] Do something different from the norm with these lovely Ankara wedding ideas we’ve got outlined here.
Ankara to some people may just be known as the capital of Turkey, but to many Africans and even globally now, it is a beautifully coloured fabric that has been worn for ages.
Mostly this fabric is made of cotton material. It is available as African wax print, Holland wax or Dutch wax. In this article, we will be talking about various ways you can use Ankara in your wedding. [/dropcap]
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