Decency not at loggerheads with beauty
Many young Ghanaian females dress as if they can achieve beautiful appearance only if they dress tastelessly.
Such, can wear expensive, stylish attire, yet successfully have indecency gloss the garment. Thus, it is refreshing to come across a young, confident woman who combines beauty and decency.
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On Thursday, December 30, 2021, I attended a marriage ceremony of my classmate’s daughter at the Trades Union Congress (TUC), a suburb of Kumasi, and was struck by the bride’s poise.
Her Kente was cut in the style that appears to be every bride’s choice, from my observation so far. I digress a bit.
Styles
The style usually has the sleeves falling off the shoulder to the upper arm.
The kaba shoulder can be anything from exposing almost the entire breast to indecent exposure of cleavage and side breasts.
Ironically, whilst baring the breast, the back could be well-covered all the way to the upper neck. It might also be cut sickeningly low.
Antiquity?
I have often asked myself why brides appearing before two families could be so comfortable with such controversial kaba styles and how families could also allow such apparel.
Apparently, I am antiquity, because every time I voice my concerns, I get laughed at. They tell me that times have changed and that families appreciate such attire.
However, I now know that not all young ones patronise the culture of the overly exposure of the body.
My concerns are legitimate after all and I thank the bride in question for that.
Her kaba exposed neither cleavage nor side breast; it was a perfect fit with a lone sleeve fallen gracefully off her shoulder.
She did not have a hood but the kaba was cut decently at the upper-mid back that it offered no offence at all.
It was the usual combination of lace and trimmings and glittering accessories but all so tasteful with no vulgar attention on the breast.
The fact that it was a Kente added to my appreciation, because I associate that national legacy with decency.
Any assertive person with a sense of dressing could grasp the young woman’s confidence. She was not relying on the attire for effect; she relied on herself.
Her poise relayed that message. In fact, the decency of her cloth accentuated her beauty.
I just wished that all brides had her confidence in dressing for comfort and principled beauty, rather than follow vulgar fashion.
Equation
Somewhere in the equation are unsophisticated dressmakers who sacrifice professionalism for indecency. Such thread sensationalism to propagate indecent sewing.
They convince clients to sew styles that caricature rather than adorn the wearer.
Such dressmakers can disobey clients’ instructions for moderation and refuse to alter dresses to suit clients’ taste and comfort levels.
Professional dressmakers advise, collaborate with clients not impose their taste and dressing sense on the latter. Patrons ought to choose dressmakers wisely.
Applaud
In honour of my mate’s daughter, I applaud confident brides and females, especially the youth who appreciate decency in appearance, who prefer to be known for their intelligence not their bodies and who dress to honour womanhood. The same advice goes for males.
Indeed, decent dressing is also beautiful!
Humans wear dresses to create a message; therefore, the dress worn should not create a message about the wearer, certainly not denigrate the buyer.
The writer is Senior Lecturer, Communication Skills,
Centre for Languages and Liberal Studies,
Takoradi Technical University.