What not to wear!

With all of the craziness surrounding heading to Africa for 10 days in a few short weeks, it is easy to let the small things slide. One of the benefits of blogging about all of this, is that not only are we forced to blog about everything making errors likely. Furthermore, with those who love and care about us the most following our blog….there is an expectation that you all will keep us in line. If we are overwhelmed by shots and gorillas, you will remind us to pack enough underwear.  With that being said, I would like to discuss the culture of fashion with you. As many of you know, I like to pride myself as somewhat of a fashionista. I may have worn mom jeans when I was 12 but not anymore! I will not dress like a street walker to get the attention of my peers, BUT I will stay true to my love of color, my draw to patterns, and my desire to push the envelope just enough to be fashion forward. For the truly fashion forward, however an understanding of fashion in a worldly sense is more important than the knowledge that unless you are 75 you can in fact wear white post labor day.  So with that being said, lets talk fashion!

In the US, as both I and Lindsay’s sisters proudly posts in multiple albums on their facebook pages, the style (super short denim shorts, leggings a just a smidge more opaque than tights and ugg boots) one I would shudder to let my daughter wear is all the rage. Much to my dismay the 80s have made a prolific return and unfortunately it is not the result of “kids these days” embracing the brat pack classics. In Uganda, approximately 12% of the population is Muslim and a much higher percentage of the population is culturally conservative. In this vein, it is uncommon to see scantily dressed women. The risk of malaria and sleeping sickness (spread by mosquitos) aside, women are expected to wear skirts or dresses which fall below the knee and should have their shoulders covered at all times. While it is rare to see women wearing pants in rural communities, women, particularly tourists, can wear pants in urban areas. Culottes, pants similar to gauchos can be worn in both urban and rural areas.  Shorts are frowned upon and should not be worn by women at any time. The climate of Uganda can be both hot and humid. The temperature of the region dictates that tourists avoid synthetic fabrics and choose cotton and linen skirts and dresses.

Here are some pictures of what I will be sporting on our trip!