OUTFIT / The Coolest Culottes

THE GHANAIAN FUGU PART I

Hi lovelies! So for some crazy reason, this post disappeared from my blog for no reason. Can't have that.. so this is just a repost:

Happy Sunday! Hope you're all enjoying the weekend, I know I am! ^_^

Today's post is part one of a two part tribute to how cool West African fashion is. What I'm actually sporting in this picture is a Traditional Ghanaian Men's (yes, men's) 'Fugu shorts'. The Fugu is one of the men's traditional wear in my country of origin, Ghana - yes ladies and gentlemen, "Culottes", as we now like to call this style of trousers in the western world, were something that was popping long before it was a summer trend here lol. Since the beginning of the year, I had this vision of wearing and styling the fugu, top and bottom, in a way that showed its beauty but also modernized the look. I was so desperate for one that I asked my dad to give me one of his. He agreed to but that never came lol. In the end I was seriously considering getting one made in Ghana and sent over to me - until one unexpectedly glorious day...

Last week my mum was going through a large storage trunk of all sorts of things that she was intending to get rid of, and she came across a fugu that she had gotten made for herself years ago (like mother, like daughter lol). She had only ever worn it once but she remembered me when she saw it and called me to go have a look. Honestly, I cannot tell you my excitement when my eyes hit that fugu. My search was over. At first I was only interested in the top half of the Fugu because I could already see how I was going to style it in my head. When my mum showed me the shorts or the culottes and asked me if I wanted them too, at the first sight of them I actually laughed. I laughed sarcastically because the shorts, as they were, looked huge. No not even huge, ginormous, absolutely massive. I told her that it was way too big. Then I realised that she herself has never even been that big in her whole life so I asked her why the hell she got it made so massive. She insulted me by calling me a villager ¬__¬ and said that this was how they were supposed to be made. She said that there was a draw string that is used to bring the waist in. I still wasn't convinced so I just told her that I didn't want it and that she could get rid of it.

I went into my room to test style my new fugu and I fell in love. As I was going back downstairs a cute little voice in my head said 'Jessica, just try on the shorts, you never know' - and boy was that voice right! I tried it on and was absolutely shocked at how great it looked and after I test styled it I was sold. Couldn't have been happier, I nabbed a vintage fugu from my mums old things for absolutely free. The timing couldn't have been better either. With the annual 'Ghana party in the park' festival coming up, I knew exactly what I was going to wear and how I was going to style it.

Moral of the story is, don't write off your mum's vintage and seemingly outdated things. I could go shopping in my mums wardrobe for hours if she would let me lol. So next time you see your mum getting rid of old clothes or handbags, have a look at what she's got, try some things on, test style them to see how they could fit in with other pieces you have in your wardrobe - you may just find something you end up loving.

Also, be creative with your sense of style. A fugu is not something that Africans living in the west wear as much as they probably would if they were living back home, and for it being a men's traditional outfit, I just know I'll receive some curious looks from strangers who are familiar with it as well as from strangers who have no idea what the hell it is lol. Fashion and styling is a lot about risk taking and being adventurous with your ideas. I encourage all my African sisters and brothers to take an interest in the fashion of your background wherever you're from. Embrace it and make it your own. The fugu is nothing new in Ghana, it has been around for ages and people have been wearing it for years, so I haven't discovered anything new - but they've been wearing it the way its meant to be worn, and its been mainly only worn by those it was meant for - men. I've made the fugu my own and reinvented it for my purposes.

I hope you've enjoyed this post my lovelies and that you're able to take something away from it. Stay tuned for part II of the Ghanaian Fugu to see how I styled the rest of it. Details of my outfit and shop my look are below. As the fugu shorts are handmade I'm not sure that you'll find anything quite like them in stores - if your'e Ghanaian ask your mum, dad, or get one made. If you're not Ghanaian ask your mum, dad or get one made lol - you never know. But as you can see from the pictures they are basically culottes, and those - you can get just about anywhere so do see below for shop my look.

Have a blessed Sunday!

Crop Top River Island / Jacket Missguided / Culottes Handmade / Bag H&M / Hat & Jewelry Primark / Shoes TK Maxx

SHOP MY LOOK: