adminAnn Ruthenburg
HELLO there folks, I hope you are all well! This week, I thought I shall talk about an issue that I think many Mutareans do without actually thinking about. I am taking about dressing correctly for specific events. So I thought we would chat today like old friends about this issue and see if I can get some of you to start dressing properly.I believe because we are a mountainous city, we tend to dress casually most of the time. Yes, there are some who dress smartly because possibly their jobs call for it. But the rest of us love the sandals, the trainers, denims, casual trousers, T-shirts, casual shorts etc. Another reason could be that people simply feel their money could be more well spent on other things, so they simply wear what is already in their wardrobes.
So when we are invited to an event that calls for smart dressing, we tend not to stray too far from the casual thing. You find most of the people (men mostly) at a dinner party dropping the tie or wear a casual trousers with a smart shirt. Or they wear a casual trousers, casual shirt and then throw a smart jacket over that to give the smart element. There is nothing wrong with that because it works, but is it correct?
This weekend I attended a fundraising dinner, the dress code being smart casual, but also carnival. I guess most people got the smart casual, but not the carnival. Was it carnival as in half naked with feathers on your head? Or was it carnival wearing a mask and outfit that shows off the tradition your believe in?
I personally was lost to be honest. So I went dressed in an African outfit. Let me tell you, African wear is so safe under any dress code. I got there and the people were dressed from casual to smart casual. . .no carnival.
But then there were some (possibly the organisers or family to the organisers), who have the most beautiful eye masks on. I guess the memo did not reach most of us that we needed to wear masks. So I presumed the “Carnival” aspect of the event dress code was the masks.
This of course confused me because I would wear an eye mask at an event called “Mask Ball” or similar.
Anyway, everyone was given the option to purchase a mask at the entrance – proceeds went to the beneficiary hosting the event, so that was all good. So as I looked around and watched people, I realised that if the organisers had to be honest, the dress code was lost to most people.
Now if this was possibly Harare which hosts so many events, each week, the situation would be different. The problem with us is that most events are hosted by the same people and a selected few are invited and those few determine the whole dress thing.
In my view, there should be more events that are themed related and not naked theme related or sexual theme related.
We should deliberately put dress codes that encourage people to dress outside their everyday casual wear. But baring in mind that many people are not keen to dress-up, the hosts would have to put measures in place to ensure most follow the rules. A good thing would be to give fines for people not adhering to the dress code.
A lot of the time people just presume what they should wear or they do not know what they should wear, just like I was with the last event – totally lost.
At the end of the day, I guess most people do not care about the dress. But there are a group out there like me (not because I am in fashion), that want to look the part, we want to make the event, it is fun and exciting to have an opportunity to dress differently to the normal every day look.
Anastasia is an ex-beauty queen, photographic model, is a blogger (annruthenburg.blogspot.com), a motivational speaker, and a fashionista. Message her on 0733285730 or email on [email protected]
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