Dashiki

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The dashiki is a colorful men's garment widely worn in West Africa. It has formal and informal versions and varies from simple draped clothing to fully tailored suits. Traditional female attire is called a wrapper. A common form is a loose fitting pullover garment, with an ornate "v" collar, and tailored and embroidered neck and sleeve lines.

[edit] The dashiki in the West

The dashiki found a market in America during the black cultural and political struggles in the 1960s. A prototype was developed in 1967 by Jason Benning, Milton Clarke, Howard Davis and William Smith. These young professionals formed a company called New Breed to produce the dashiki. It was located in a two-room clothing store at 147th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem.

The dashiki was featured in the movie, “Putney Swope” (1969) and the weekly television series, “Soul Train” (1971). Articles on New Breed appeared in Ebony Magazine and the New York Times (4/20/69). Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Bill Russell were among the well known black athletes and entertainers who wore the dashiki on talk shows.

The term "dashiki" begins appearing in print at least as early as mid-1968: an article by Faith Berry in the New York Times Magazine includes it, on July 7, 1968. Reporting on the 1967 Newark riots in the Amsterdam News on July 22, 1967, George Barner refers to a new African garment called a "danshiki." "Dashiki" first appeared in the Webster’s New World Dictionary, 1st College Edition 1970/72.

Former District of Columbia mayor and current councilmember Marion Barry is famous for wearing the dashiki at various times, particularly in the time period leading up to elections. More recently he has donned a modified dashiki, which is combined with a button-down shirt.

[edit] The dashiki today

Formal and festival dashiki styles are often seen on special occasions in West Africa (see Boubou). Perhaps due to immigration, the formal dashiki is also in common use in large Western cities. Many dashikis can be seen at houses of worship during holidays, for example at the end of Ramadan at New York's 92-street mosque, and the dashiki is frequently worn at weddings, graduations and other special occasions.