A Day in My Life as an African Living in Africa (Day 5)

Friday

Photo by Prince Akachi on Unsplash | Kaftan and the fila (traditional Cap) to match

Fridays are typically “dress-down” days in many corporate offices around the world. It is one day where employees are allowed to put on a pair of slacks, jeans and T-shirts, although for many IT and startups firms, every day is “dress down”.

However, for some conservative organizations like banks and government offices, there’s still a strict dress code policy for all staff. It is no different in Nigeria. The slight difference is that for such organizations, it is encouraged to adorn traditional attires on Fridays.

Nigeria is a country of many cultures and while our cultural attires can be quite elaborate, there’s a more simplistic option that can be worn to work on Fridays, or even to places of worship, weddings and dinner parties.

One of such outfits is called the Kaftan. The kaftan is a loose-fitting simple two-piece outfit that comes in various colors and simplistic designs.

It is indeed elegant and super comfortable. It has become widely accepted as an African outfit although its origins aren’t clearly known and can sometimes be traced to Mesopotamia, which is now part of modern-day Iraq, Turkey and Syria.

I always love Fridays, not just because it’s the last workday of the week or for TGIF but because it’s very comfortable wearing Kaftans and the occasional leather slippers that can go with it. That smooth feeling of the fabric on my skin will always trump the fitted shirts and jackets that I adorn from Mondays to Fridays.

In Lagos, the weekend starts on Friday. There’s always preparation for the weekend starting as early as Friday evening. For me, if I’m not recording content for my YouTube on Saturday or watching football (soccer), I could be preparing to honor a wedding invitation on Saturday.

This means that my fit must have been dry cleaned and my FILA – a traditional cap worn by the Yoruba people of Nigeria – matches the style perfectly.

I could decide to go for the traditional clothing called an Agbada. The Agbada is a flowing robe also worn by the Yoruba people of Nigeria. It is part of a three-piece attire that includes a pair of pants, the top and the agbada itself worn over the top.

But being the simple person that I am, I hardly wear it except on very special occasions like my wedding or a family event.

You should visit a Nigerian wedding party. It is full of vibrant colors, glamor and razzmatazz. There’s a famous saying that there’s no party like a Lagos party.

Special Bonus: see a one-minute video highlight of a Nigerian wedding party

To be continued…

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