How to Dress to Stand Out!

It’s All Relative

I mentioned in an email to Mike Goodkind, a long-time excellent volunteer for Friends of Nigeria, that we had to repair damage from the tree branches that fell on our patio during a recent storm.

He replied, saying, “All the best to you guys, including a speedy recovery for your patio. All we have to worry about here are earthquakes. I still have a crack in the front of my house from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which epicentered closer to my house than San Francisco.  So far the house is standing so I’ve stopped worrying.”

I was happy that he reminded me that it’s all relative! Even though I’m concerned about finding the best quote for the fence repair, and getting it done well, I don’t have to worry about earthquakes!

And of course millions of people around the world have been displaced by violence and are living without fences or even proper shelter!

Capital Campaign Launch with Lobster

Our Unitarian Church in Westport is undertaking a capital campaign to raise funds for repair and renovation to our 50-year old building. I used to get paid for raising money for campaigns like this!

Now I’m a volunteer working with four other incredible women on our Capital Campaign planning team.

On Saturday night we held a Lobster Clam-paign Bake. Thankfully our two co-chairs brought in others to help with the event planning. They did a fabulous job!  We had wonderful decorations, delicious rum punch, “flash mob” singing of the Clambake song from Carousel, and Rev. John out in front to welcome people.

We were also entertained by the lobter-costumed congregant, music by the Jazz Rabbi and his group, and inspiring speeches! About hundred sixty people attended and were thrilled with the excitement and feeling of camaraderie.

I spoke about the logistics of the campaign. “If you are uncertain what to pledge for the capital campaign,” I said, “Consider a gift of 3 times your annual pledge, payable over three years.”

Several people commented that this was helpful advice and we did receive several generous pledges after the Sunday service the next day.

A couple of congregants complained, saying the event was not a good use of money. They thought we shouldn’t be paying for lobster dinners when we could put the funds to use paying for the necessary repairs!

But I believe it was money well spent!

Colorful Clothing of African Women

Next week I’m giving my first talk of this season. The Y’s Men of Meriden Connecticut invited me to come back – I spoke last year – to talk about the Colorful Clothng of African Women.

I mentioned that I was writing a book about Nigerian cuisine – would that subject be interesting? But they had clearly decided on the clothing.

Like Nigerian food, clothing differs remarkably around the country. Muslim women in the north often wear hijab or a head covering.

In the south, some women wear traditional dress – a buba or blouse, and wrapper of the same fabric. But many women wear Western dress.

Dress for Weddings

When it comes to weddings, Nigerian women go all out! The New York Times had a recent article about dress for Nigerian weddings. Adenike Olanrewaju wrote the article. She quoted a woman she interviewed:

“Nigerian weddings are full of color, vibrant, and are flashy,” said Mrs. Olutoye, who has attended many traditional Nigerian weddings in her hometown. “Without your fabrics, you’re not having a traditional Nigerian wedding.”

You may be surprised to know that her “hometown” is Houston, not Lagos! With so many well-trained Nigerian oil engineers working in the petroleum industry, Houston is a hotbed of Nigerian life in the US.

The other slightly jarring reference in the article is to traditional fabrics. To me traditional fabrics mean the Akwete woven cloth, the Dutch wax prints or tie-dye! But only the Akwete and tie-dye are truly traditional. The wax prints came with the Europeans.

Today “traditional fabric” for a wedding means lace or silk. And this is not lace as a bit of decorative edging on a dress or blouse. In the Nigerian context, lace means heavily embroidered fabric.

In an article in Anthrovision by Barbara Plankensteiner I read that

With the term “lace” Nigerians actually refer to industrial embroideries. Non-experts easily confound certain qualities of industrial embroideries, specifically guipure (chemical lace) or eyelet embroidery, with real laces because they have a very similar appearance. The use of the term lace results from this confusion and it’s now a firmly established market denomination for all kinds of industrial embroideries, also of qualities that have no resemblance with real laces.

The material for a Nigerian bride and her entourage comes from many parts of the world. You can find a lot of sites selling Nigerian lace in the US. But women want something unique.

Wedding planners and mothers, the article says, “source fabrics and accessories for their ensembles from vendors in Nigeria, Switzerland, Dubai and Australia.”

The results are stunning. Don’t you agree?