The Leso

Happy New month guys!

I hope you are fine. It has been such a cold and rainy week and it seems hurricane Sandy has come to Africa :( Its all wet and muddy and i prefer sticking in my house having a hot cup of cinnamon tea.

I took these pictures a day ago when the sun was shinning for few hours before the rain took over. I am wearing a top made out of the fabric widely known in Eastern Africa as leso or kanga. As usual, i bought this fabric a while back and i decided to make it useful in my wardrobe. I came up with this dress top with pockets in front which is one comfortable item i own.

Something very unique about lesos is that they all have a proverb or a saying imprinted on them. As a garment, therefore, the leso can be said to be culturally loaded because of the adage it bears. The messages in the lesos quite often carry a lot of wisdom and thought hence they convey a profound meaning both to the wearer and the viewer. Now for my case, my apologies for the top i wore covered the writings on my leso top ( without my notice), but i will be wearing the top again in future and will share the message in Swahili and the meaning. 

I have currently seen many designers (Afican and International) incorporating the leso in their collections which i like such as LaLesso (see their website HERE), Chichia (see their website HERE) amongst others.

The Lesos will definitely go down in the annals of the history as a fashion statement of the ladies of East Africa from mid nineteenth century to the present day. 

Have a great day!