Period: 17 October 2004 - 25 March 2005. Country: Burkina Faso
(1) A Study on the Clothes of Burkina Faso Women
ENDO Satoko  (Division of African Area Studies)
Key Words: Burkina Faso, Women, Dress Design, Pagne, Dressmaker

At a wedding ceremony. People wear matching pagnes but in different styles.
A dressmaker sewing a pagne
At a fashion show (©sankara creation, Burkina Faso)
(2) In West Africa, women wear colorful printed cloths called pagnes, which are decorated with vivid and bold patterns. The pagne was brought from Holland to the Gold Coast about one hundred years ago. In spite of its short history, it has become the most popular fashion among women. Women wrap them around their waists and wear clothes made of them, as if it was a longstanding tradition for them.
          In my study area, in the south of Burkina Faso, women also use pagnes to make loincloths and tailored dresses, having the tailoring done by dressmakers. However, secondhand western ready-to-wear clothes have been spreading increasingly for some 20 years in Burkina Faso, and some women prefer them to clothes made of pagne. The prices are lower, and they can be worn without tailoring.
          Why did wearing pagnes become so popular among women? And will second-hand clothes take their place?
          In my study, I will focus on pagne-based clothes to analyze and clarify the process of their evolution and the possibility of their continuance as a local costume for women in the context of the globalized economy.

(3)  I conducted my field research mainly on tailored pagne dresses.
          I sketched some eighty examples of pagne dresses at random to clarify some styles in the diverse models. A one-week on-the-spot observation study in the town revealed that the styles of pagne dresses are diverse in detail, but that three fundamental styles can be discerned as basic models.
          Intensive observation of one dressmaker and interviews with some women showed that women decide/choose the style of their dress in many ways. They get ideas from magazines, catalogues (pictures) at dressmakers, from other women in town, etc. Sometimes they entrust the dressmaker to choose the style. These observations will help me to further investigate what are major factors in the change/continuance of women’s costumes.
          My interviews of employees at a dressmaker about their jobs, working conditions, careers, etc., also revealed many interesting facts. I will analyze these results and plan my next research program to study the role of dressmakers in women’s costumes.

 
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