Everyday Ankara

Hello. I’ve decided to change things up a bit. Let me give you a little bit of my history. I did not become a designer that works mainly with Ankara by accident. Growing up, I hated clothes made out of Ankara. I’m not a big fan of the ‘skirt and blouse’ Ankara ensemble, which was one of two options that we had when I was growing up (It was either that or using the Ankara to sew ‘double wrapper’). I personally find it boring. I prefer to use Lace or Silk or some other fluid fabric to make ‘native’. So from the time I was a little girl, I couldn’t wait to start using Ankara for what I have always thought it is good for. Bare in mind that I don’t like most of the fabric available in the market, I find them mostly dull or garish.

My mission has been how to bring Ankara into daily life for the contemporary woman. Focusing how to create pieces that any woman can pull out of her wardrobe and wear on Casual Friday, or to go watch a movie, or to have drinks with her girlfriends, or something to wear to that lecture you are going to give. On how to take Ankara out of just being for weddings or church and into everyday life. The fact that Ankara is made of cotton, means that it is breathable and that is ideal for everyday wear in this our hot West African weather. Focusing on this has led me to come up with certain pieces that I think Ankara is well suited for which I think every woman that fancies herself a fashionista should have in her wardrobe.

So what are these pieces? They include a Skirt, a Cocktail Dress, a few Day Dresses that should include a long Summer Dress and a Wrap Dress, a Jacket/ Waist Coat/ Trench and Cropped Fitted Pants. The items can either have Ankara as their main or as their accent fabric. These items, in my opinion, should form the foundation of your Ankara wardrobe, pieces that you can work your already existing wardrobe around, pieces that if you own, you will find yourself reaching for, time after time. Notice I did not add The Jumpsuit to the list. This is because the Ankara print is characterized by its ‘busyness’, what with its bold and colorful design and so much going on that making it into a jumpsuit tends to come off as being too much. I personally am yet to see an all over Ankara jumpsuit that I like. For a Jumpsuit, it’s always better for the Ankara to just be the accent fabric, its job being to ‘lift’ the look of the jumpsuit.

I realize that this is just an over view of what I consider the foundation of a modern woman’s Ankara wardrobe. I hope that over time, I will be able to take each item and break down how to make it work in today’s wardrobe. What to consider when choosing them and how to integrate them into your wardrobe to create a look that is very contemporary.

Hope you stop by soon. Remain fabulous.