Every year the first Sunday of October brings one of Harare’s most
popular events; The St John’s fair, also known as the spring fair. The
smouldering heat is no deterrent to the scores of people who show up
year after year to walk the sports field of St John’s College going from
stall to stall to see what the vendors have to offer.
As a fashion/grooming columnist, I was looking at more than just the
stalls, I was observing the Zimbabwean, Harare’s in particular,
interpretation of the spring/summer fashion.
Here are my observations:
Colour blocking: It is still hot here though it seems to be fading
out gradually, internationally. A lot of the stalls that sold clothes
had skinny jeans in a variety of the colour-blocking favourites —royal
blue, orange, red, emerald green and yellow.
Unfortunately, it seems the vendors have one supplier, so chances are
high of seeing several people wearing the same pants as you. Then
again, it is really about how you wear yours and make them your own
thing.
Vintage: Zimbabwe is getting the hang of vintage clothes, thanks to
the second-hand clothes vendors. They sell clothes that were sent to
Africa by European or American well-wishers. The clothes are usually
sent to Mozambique where the vendors buy them and bring them back here
for resale.
The clothes would normally be in good condition and of good quality
as well. They are significantly more affordable than most clothes; you
just need to have a good eye when looking for the item for you.
The vintage stall at the fair was overpriced because if you have a
private supplier or if you were to go down town, the price would be
much better.
The one thing I like about vintage is that it is never dated. Vintage
stores will never go out of business. Vintage is timeless, classic and
elegant.
Shorts: Would it be summer without shorts? Short shorts were in
abundance, most of them worn tastefully by that I mean without butt
cheeks peeking out from the bottom of the shorts.
I would have thought that shorts would be the cooler option because
jeans in that heat can be unbearable. One guy that stood out for me wore
a tangerine striped polo shirt with rolled up sleeves, white linen
pants and a straw fedora. He took the road less travelled without
looking like he went all out.
Dresses: The maxi dress was not as popular as I had expected it to
be. There was the odd one here and there. Short dresses were the more
popular choice.
Skirts: There were a lot of maxi skirts worn with tank tops, accessorised with belts and necklaces.
One garment in particular caught my attention; it was a pleated
pistachio green maxi skirt, worn with a white tank top, a brown belt and
a straw trilby. The lady that wore it was the unrivalled fashionista of
the day. It was simple yet so very stylish. It looked effortless. Kudos
to her.
Hats: Sadly, I did not see that many. I hope people remembered to
wear sunscreen. I had no hat on but I brought my umbrella with me. Our
sun is too harsh to be walking about unprotected. The straw trilbies and
floppy hats were a favourite among the few that wore them.
White: It is said that white keeps you cool, but I did not see enough
of it. I wore white shorts so I was one of the few that wore that
spring/summer colour.
We are still safe, not too daring, when putting together our wardrobe
ensembles better, but we do have a sense of style in comparison to a
few years ago.
Back then, trends took too long to come to Zimbabwe, so if you did
not travel to do your shopping your style would be outdated and not in a
chic vintage kind of way. Thankfully, we have suppliers that travel to
bring in stuff. If only they would not purchase from the same shops.
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