Thursday, August 26, 2021

7 Places to Wear Your African Print Accessories

African print accessories are the perfect way to add color, vibrancy and beauty to any outfit. Whatever the occasion and your own style, you can easily use African prints to showcase your personality and mood – they’re really easy to dress up or down too.

Where To Wear African Print Accessories?

Ready for any event, African print accessories can be work for work, formal events, casual activities and glam nights. You can even wear them at home and keep it cozy. Take a look at our styling tips for African print accessories here:

Special Occasions or Celebration Events

There’s no better place to display your African print accessories proudly than at a wedding, celebration or event. If you’re heading to an outdoor event and want to keep your hair out of your face whilst still showing your impeccable, inimitable style then get Afro-glam on the go with the African Print Kente Head Scarf.

African Print Kente Head Scarf

Class, College or School

However casual you dress for class, make a statement with the Kente African Print Bookbag. Featuring the traditional, beautiful and bold Kente print, which represents royalty and wealth, it’s big enough to carry all of your essentials but light enough not to weigh you down. You could even take it on vacation or weekends away.

Kente African Print Bookbag

Festivals

Festivals can be a lot of fun, but unless you’re staying in luxury it can be tricky to keep your hair looking on-point. If you’re camping out and have a busy schedule, then usually spending hours washing or styling your hair is a no-no. Plus, you don’t want to miss out on everything the festival has to offer.

Make it easy on yourself with the African Print Kente Scarf in Pink – no need to worry about bad hair days so you can focus on enjoying yourself.

African Print Kente Scarf in Pink

Drinks & Dinner

Heading out for drinks or dinner (or both)? Add a splash of color with he African Midi Print Skirt. Available in three different color combinations and African prints, it’s super easy to wear with a flattering elasticated waist. It’s also perfect for dressing up or down, however casual your drinks are. Best of all – it has pockets so you can leave your purse at home!

African Midi Print Skirt

Pair it with a neutral top and let the bold, beautiful colours of this skirt do the talking for you. It’s the perfect statement piece to fuse contemporary and traditional together!

Travelling

Whilst you might have your destination in mind, travelling from A to B can feel stressful. Don’t let it get you down – accessorize! Even if you prefer your comfiest clothing to travel in, you can still add a touch of African glam (mixed with practicality) with the African Print Large Duffel Bag.

African Print Large Duffel Bag

It’s big enough to fit everything you need, but isn’t bulky enough to tip you over those airline limits. The gorgeous, classy print is the perfect way to add a pop of color into your travel basics. It comes in a ton of different colors and prints too, so take your pick!

Chilling at Home

Taking some time out for yourself doesn’t need to mean looking low-key. Whatever your down time looks like, relax and pamper yourself with an African Print Satin Bonnet. Perfect for protecting your hair, it comes in a huge range of colours and African wax print designs for a truly royal take on relaxation.

This style staple is a best-seller and doubles up as a bonnet or a scarf so you can have the best of both worlds whether you’re running errands, staying in or just completely pampering yourself. If you want to really relax, then take a look at the range of African-inspired sleepwear available too, along with the Natural Essence Skin and Hair Care range – they’re just what you need for true pampering.

African-inspired sleepwear

Date Night

Whether you’re heading out or staying in for date night, do it in style with the African Print Peplum Blouse. Made from African Wax Print fabric, it features a chiffon sleeve, sequin and bead detail, V neckline and full-pleated peplum. It’s perfect to dress up or down, whilst still feeling fun, feminine and flirty.

Pair with jeans, pants, leggings, shorts or a fitted skirt for a dreamy date night look that’ll wow your other half.

African Print Peplum Blouse

Showcase Your Personality and Style with African Print Accessories

African print accessories are the perfect way to show off your personality and style as well as your pride in your African heritage and history. Effortlessly combine style, elegance, tradition and contemporary fashion with beautiful clothing, accessories and sleepwear, all inspired by African prints.

It’s time to celebrate African culture and make a style statement with your accessories by incorporating bright, bold and easy-to-wear fabrics into your everyday outfits, wherever you’re headed and whatever you’re doing.

Shop African Print Accessories today. 



source https://nkeoma.com/blogs/nkeoma-blog-posts/7-places-to-wear-african-print-accessories

Sunday, August 8, 2021

African Wax Print Clothing Beginners Guide

What Is African Wax Print Fabric?

African Wax Print Fabric is also known as Ankara or Dutch Wax Prints. It’s commonly produced and used in West Africa. The fabrics are characterized by their bold use of bright colors and eye-catching patterns within the fabrics.

It’s traditionally used in celebration clothing, and previously was a type of nonverbal communication among African women. The prints are named after different aspects including personalities, cities, sayings, events and buildings.

African wax print clothing

Where Is Wax Print Fabric Popular?

Wax print fabric is popular around the globe, but is particularly popular in parts of West Africa like Ghana and Nigeria.

What’s Special About African Wax Prints?

A feature of African wax print is that the color is as intense on both sides, there’s no difference between the ‘front’ and the ‘back’ of the fabric.

Usually the name of the producer, product and registration number of the design is printed on the selvage of the fabric, earmarking its design and quality.

Genuine African wax print is usually printed onto 100% cotton, making it breathable and cooling as well as protecting the body from the sun and other weather elements.

How is African Wax Print Fabric Made?

The process of African wax print was inspired by Indonesian batik, a method of dying cloth using wax-resistant techniques. To do this, wax is melted and patterned across blank cloth. This cloth is then soaked in dye, which the wax blocks. This is repeated on the cloth to create additional patterns and designs. 

How is African Wax Print Fabric Made

African Wax Print fabric is now often made industrially. The fabric is sorted into categories of quality depending on production and usage. Some African-inspired prints are now printed digitally. These are not, strictly-speaking, true wax print fabrics and will usually be much cheaper as they do not require the same craftsmanship.

How Is Wax Print Fabric Sold?

Normally, the fabrics are sold in lengths of 12 yards (11 m) as "full piece" or 6 yards (5.5 m) as "half piece". People may decide to club together to buy a larger piece of fabric to create multiple different outfits from the same cloth.

The History of African Wax Print Fabric

The technique of African wax print fabric is based on batik from Indonesia. It was brought to Africa by Dutch settlers who had previously been in Indonesia. The settlers then worked to create machines that could replicate the traditional designs of batik quicker and more cost-effectively. 

wax printing fabrics

These were not successful in the region but became popular in Africa. The success and popularity of the fabrics led to them becoming integrated into African apparel, used as a method of communication and expression. Some patterns were a shared language with widely understood meaning and catchy names.

Traditionally the fabric traders were women from fairly humble beginnings who went on to become self-made women as a result of their success in the industry.

Over time, the prints became more African-inspired and owned by African people. The patterns started to become worn as formal wear by leaders, diplomats and wealthy African people.

Modern African Wax Print

In Ghana, many people wear wax print fabrics on Friday as the government began a campaign to get people to wear national dress to support the local textile industry. One of the challenges is that many of the fabrics are not made in Africa, and are instead cheaper imports from overseas.

Modern African wax prints

Supporting African-made fabric that is actually traditional wax print is important as it protects the expertise and skill in the manufacture process and ensures that traditions are kept alive.

Today, wax print clothing can be worn in any style and any clothing or accessory time. There are no limitations to how the fabric is used to create fashion items. Dressmakers, designers and hobbyists across the world use wax print fabric to create their garments - it’s even used in interior design and on toys.

How to Wear Wax Prints?

The great thing about wax prints is that they’re extremely beautiful as well as versatile and easy to wear. They make the perfect statement in any outfit, home or accessory. You can even mix and match prints and different wax print designs for a bold, traditional look.

African material

Wax prints look amazing for celebrations (such as weddings, parties or graduation) and work really well as a dress, top, skirt or jacket to add color to an otherwise neutral outfit. They can also be worn as a range of accessories including belts, bonnets, scarves, purses and tote bags.

They work perfectly for more casual outfits too including pyjamas or sleepwear, dressed-down tops, sweats and caps. It really is as versatile and multi-purpose as that.

Because there are so many different fabrics, styles, patterns and color combinations available you can really create a bold, unique look with wax print fabrics so that you can showcase your own sense of style.



source https://nkeoma.com/blogs/nkeoma-blog-posts/african-wax-print-clothing-beginners-guide

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