Dressing: Throw caution to the wind

Health & Fitness
On Wednesday, I arrived in South Africa. As a fashion and grooming columnist, it was interesting to notice the difference in style between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

On Wednesday, I arrived in South Africa. As a fashion and grooming columnist, it was interesting to notice the difference in style between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Fashion and Beauty with Heather R

In comparison to South Africans, I would describe our style as conservative while theirs is avant-garde.

They totally understand what it means to express yourself through your wardrobe and hairstyle. Where we would prefer to play it safe and stay within the safe boundaries of fashion, they go all out, defying all boundaries set for them.

Currently, I am in Pretoria, I am sure when I go down to Johannesburg I will see a marked increase in the number of adventurous people, where style is concerned.

Being conservative is not always a bad thing. It means we dress appropriately. South Africans are super curvy, we are no competition to them. They have hips, bums and a bust that makes you think “whoa”! There is nothing wrong with being curvy, you should just know how to dress the curves right.

Wearing leggings with g-string underwear and a short top looks obscene, particularly on curvier women. It is not pleasant to look at, ever. A longer top covering the “assets” would be better to behold. Given the way the fabric used to make leggings clings to one’s body and exposes every dimple on the skin, it can leave one looking barely dressed.

Cleavage exposure is nothing big. After all, all one can do is look but not touch. The bigger the cleavage, the sexier the woman, apparently. So much for leaving nothing to the imagination. Even when it comes to the length of dresses, shorts or skirts, they can go super short and no one seems to flinch.

Whereas, in Zimbabwe, you cannot bare your legs and not expect a negative reaction. Like I once mentioned in one of my articles, the African leg is considered sacred in our country. Exposing too much of it will get you an adverse response.

I remember one time as I was walking down First street in Harare when I saw a mob of people, primarily men, following two young ladies. They were whistling at them and passing unpleasant comments.

One of the ladies was wearing a stretch, black dress, that clung to every curve on her body, the cherry on the top was the length of the dress. You know as African women, our legs tend to be lighter than the rest of our bodies, so they attract attention when exposed. This mob of people, women included, followed them and continued to harass them.

I could just imagine being in their shoes since it was too late to go home and there was just no way of knowing how far the mob would go. If you wanted to wear a mini, the only place you could safely do that is at Sam Levy’s Village, Arundel Village, Westgate Shopping Mall and Avondale shopping centre. Also make sure you are travelling by car and not using public transport.

The men in town are merciless and will make you feel uncomfortable.

Down south, minis are not so much of a concern, because a mini is normal, as are really light legs. Zimbabwe is a landlocked country so there is seldom need for one to dress like they are going to the beach. We could definitely learn from our neighbours and think outside the box, when putting our outfits together. They do not conform to what is normal and they are not afraid to try something new or an unusual combination of an outfit.

We should however, still keep up our conservative nature where we leave a lot to the imagination, and simply know what works for our individual body types. It is great to be proud of your body regardless of its size but it would be even better to dress it well.