Parachutes and Mermaids... Dressing African Style

As a wonderful going away present for me, my office decided to buy me African clothing. We went to the huge Medina market (2 hours after a police shootout with a bunch of rioters... and we wondered why all the shops were closed!). We bought 2 kinds of fabric and then went to the Sierra Leonean tailor to point a pictures in a book of African dresses and say, "MAKE THIS."

He answered, "I can't do that. I don't have enough fabric." Irene, the beanpole IRC executive assistant, said, "Of course you have enough fabric!" And he said, "Well, maybe for you, but LOOK AT HER! SHE'S HUGE!!" I haven't had someone call me "HUGE!" since Japan, so this was a blow to my recovery process from my post-Japan BIG WHITE WHALE body image syndrome. But I will perservere.

The next day I sent the following message to Momma Klein and crew:

"WOOOOOOOWZERS people. I just went to the Sierra Leonean tailor to try on my African dresses that the IRC is buying for me for my going away present and I'm going to stop traffic in these things. No one in a 200 mile radius is going to be able to miss me. GEEEEEZ.

But Momma, Suzie and JB, you are going to love these dresses because they are beautifully obvoxious in the way that Klein women (except for me) love to be dressed.

Next step: African head scarf tying lessons. I must say that I believe that I should be skilled at this with my 6 months of Japanese kimono training."

I didn't end up getting to have head scarf tying lessons because Irene and Hannah both didn't really know how to do it (as is evidenced by the picture in red above with Soure, my favorite driver). Keep in mind that we had the tailor take this outfit in THREE TIMES because it was just so huge and parachutey (yes, that is a word). It's a bit better now, but still I think I'd be OK if I wanted to jump out of the plane to Paris!

The parachute dress is in complete contrast to the "mermaid" dress (as Kim Crawford, public affairs officer at the US Embassy labeled this lovely African style). Even after FOUR trips back to the tailor to say, "Look little buddy, I can't sit down in this thing!" I'm still having a bit of trouble with the skirt. Had major problems finding the happy medium with this tailor between parachute and mermaid. But they're still pretty and unique and African and FREE... so I can't complain too much, now can I?