Theatre personalities Lornah Irungu and Wangechi Murage as 'maids of honour' on the set of Dangerous Affair film

Although clothes are primarily meant to cover one's nakedness and shelter one against the elements, Ogova Ondego contends, it is becoming fashionable to expose more and more flesh by wearing less and less clothing in urban East Africa.

Novelty and conformity are the two major forces driving fashion trends. Whether we admit it or not, decisions concerning what we wear are guided by our desire to look good in something new and also to look like others in our social group. Unfortunately these forces are not always in our best interest. “Dressing up decently doesn’t mean not being trendy. There are several clothes that are made in the latest styles but don’t necessarily have to show everything,” Emmanuel Bagwana writes in Sunday Lifestyle (a pullout weekly magazine in Uganda’s Monitor newspaper).

This woman considers herself 'decently' dressed. Is she? Monitor picture.

He argues that an attire may be considered indecent not just because one is wearing it but where one is wearing it. Among some of the venues where one must adhere to the dress code—whether written or not--include courtrooms, churches, funerals and weddings, corporate functions and in learning institutions. While dressing outlandishly in court could lead to the conclusion that one is indeed capable of doing whatever they are accused of, donning what is considered ‘indecent’ at corporate meetings could project one as lacking in discipline and seriousness with one’s work.

Is it any surprising, then, that Titus Clemens, a church writer, is reported to have drawn up a list of rules governing dress and grooming in the Third Century AD? According to the rules, women were allowed to neither dye their hair nor to “smear their faces with the ensnaring devices of wily cunning.” Ornaments and luxurious or colourful fabrics were forbidden. John Calvin, a Protestant Church leader, is said to have enacted laws specifying the colour and the type of clothing his followers were to wear. A woman could be jailed for arranging her hair to what was considered an ‘immoral height.’ Jewellery and lace were discouraged. In the early 1990s, a Ugandan woman was attacked on a Nairobi street by some self-declared ‘fashion police’ and left almost naked allegedly for appearing in a short skirt that was considered indecent. In subsequent years, intolerant people—particularly men—have attacked a number of women in various parts of Kenya for appearing in clothes they considered indecent.

Recently, members of a Nairobi church were stunned when a young woman glided into the auditorium while the pastor was in the middle of his sermon. She had a short and transparent piece of cloth running around her breasts and back but leaving all the flesh above the breasts and between the breasts and the hips bare. While the ‘blouse’ was held to the shoulders by strings (thongs?), her sagging loose trousers left the upper part of her panties clinging to her hips an inch or two above the unbelted trousers that were almost falling.

Not caring at the undue attention she had brought to herself as everyone craned their necks to look at her, the adolescent wondered what the confusion was all about. "What is wrong with the way I am dressed? If any one feels offended by my fashion-consciousness, that is his or her own problem. I find it strange for any one to disapprove of my style when my parents have no problem with it," she said. While traveling from Kampala to Nairobi, I recently sat next to a young woman. Whenever she straightened up in her seat, her corduroy trousers left her entire behind--buttocks and all--bare.

Models Rayana Schimid, Christine Muna, and Coco Walchli at work in Nairobi

But the nice-looking third-year Makerere University student seemed not to care about her action. This episode reminded me of another incident I experienced while studying at a Christian university in Nairobi where a classmate who liked putting on extremely short skirts was thoroughly embarrassed and frustrated one day when students had to sit in a semi-circle as they listened to their lecturer. This student had found it difficult to cover her thighs and panties that were exposed due to the sitting position. She never put on such clothes again until graduation! Steven Kimani of Dar es Salaam observes that the number of women with exposed panties, high slits, and exposed breasts are on the increase in Dar, Zanzibar, Nairobi and Kampala: "You see them in public service vehicles, on the streets and in the estates. It is as if they are trying to seduce men." Peter Githaiga wonders why a man should "plait his hair, curly-kit it or use make-up when even the Bible condemns such behaviour." He quotes Deuteronomy 22:5 that he explains forbids such behaviour:

"A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear woman's clothing for the Lord your God detests any one who does this." Jane Akinyi, who says she likes trousers and mini skirts, says she can't wear long skirts or dresses. "If I wear long skirts, what will my mother wear?" she poses. Githaiga says modern people are confused. They do not know when and where to put on certain clothes. "Why does any one put on negligees or skin-hugging swim-suit-like clothes in public?"

Whereas Wanza Mulei says she never lets fashion trends dictate to her what to put on, Sarah Njoki says how one dresses determines how one will be taken by the society. "I have discovered people respect and take you much more seriously if you dress decently," Njoki says. "I find men who put on earrings and relax their hair like women's quite repulsive." She says modern parents are failing in their guidance to their children concerning dressing. "Why do they dress small girls in 'sexy' clothes which expose their 'curves'? What will such children not do when they grow up?" she wonders. "We don't need to be indecent to be fashionable." Emily Mwai says people should not go by fashion trends but by suitability of a style to them.

Like Njoki and Mulei, Mwai says there should be no dressing rules as they could make some people to start harassing others for non-conformity as happened in Afghanistan during the American-ousted Taliban regime. Whatever one puts on should be modest and decent, Zahra Hassan contends. "Clothes should conceal most parts of the body so as not to arouse the opposite sex when they look at you, "she says. Hassan says dressing may not cause any concern for the children under 14 but that once one becomes an adult, dressing becomes an issue, "You do not necessarily have to wear a buibui but something that covers your body, "she says Hassan feels that dressing should distinguish between the sexes without confusing one for the other "as is currently happening with people putting on 'unisex' clothes." "We parents should guide our children on how to dress," she says.

She however feels that as teenage is a passing phase, adolescents should be allowed leeway in their dressing "to a certain extent." Naomi Kinuthia emphasises that what one puts on affects other people and argues that even if one likes a certain style but it makes others uncomfortable, then one should avoid it. Transparent, tight or extremely short clothes are inappropriate in Africa, says Stella O, a mother of adolescent girls. Father Ansalm Kamuyu of the Holy family Basilica in Nairobi says how a person dresses is one's own responsibility. "One should ask oneself: 'How does my mode of dress affect others around me?'" he says. Dressing is both an art and a medium of communication which talks about individuals and places them in certain categories, says Evelyne Mungai. Saying she neither wears dresses with long slits nor would she allow her daughter to be in one, Mungai contends that wrap-around dresses do not have to be indecent if well designed. She suggests that the wearer uses brooches. Charles Mutua wonders why anyone would put on wrap-around skirts or dresses with high slits without a petticoat and then starts struggling to prevent them from being blown about by the wind. "Why put on this kind of attire in the first place if they are going to make you so uncomfortable in public?" he wonders.

While some women are branded as 'easy' or 'loose' because of their style, men may be labeled as 'nerds', 'homosexuals', or 'devil worshippers'. Age, sex, and social status are some of the factors which determine how one dresses. When choosing clothes, one looks at the cultural appropriateness of the style. This is especially crucial in Africa where cultural values and norms must be adhered to. Kerri Dowd writes in Youth 93 magazine: "Your clothes should accentuate who you are. If you are uncomfortable with them, they are going to get in your way. If your style will offend others, skip it."

She notes that discretion should be exercised as some people will be offended by almost anything and that seeking to please everyone may be almost impossible. In choosing a certain style, is one doing it to compete with friends, attract the opposite sex, create sensation or just attract attention to oneself? One must choose an outfit that looks good and is appropriate for one, says Mwai. "An outfit that looks good on someone else may not do a thing for another as not all figures are the same. Most clothes are designed for slim figures which make ample-bodied people look bad in them.

A good example is the spaghetti strap. Inappropriate dressing has made people to be misunderstood." While advising girls to dress decently, Barry Chant, author of Straight talk about sex, writes: "Dress which suggests nakedness is highly provocative-in fact, even more so than nakedness itself." He says that men are easily aroused sexually by the way women dress. Clothes like minis, he says, were originally designed for their suggestiveness. When going for a job interview, people are advised to go easy on the jewellery and accessories, to avoid too much perfume or cologne and dress appropriately for the job they are being interviewed for. For example if they are intending to join a bank they should not dress casually.

On the other hand if they want to work as motor vehicle mechanics they should not wear executive suits! Formal occasions like cocktails also have their own dressing codes.

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