You and Your Fashion Statement

Dress the way you want to be addressed is one common saying that we have all heard at one time or the other of our lives that many of us do not take serious. We all love to look fashionable even if there are those who push the boundaries and these set of people either end up making fashion statements and becoming trendsetters or end up making blunders and making a public spectacle of themselves. Fashion has been defined in so many ways that it would be inappropriate to say there is only one correct definition of fashion, so for me I have come to the conclusion that fashion is simply a person’s personal style not minding whether the next person likes it or not as long as the wearer is comfortable.

However as much as we may love to push limits and boundaries, there are generally acceptable ways of dressing in the society and though there may not be a written law about it, it is an unspoken agreement that the people live by. The fashion of the people of Nigeria has evolved over time with a gradual change from native
attires to a growing love for the western way of dressing and it has now become the ‘in thing’. From the western culture we imbibed new attires and even designed our own native fabrics and patterns into styles and designs that are foreign to us. For the men for instance we have come to embrace suits and ties, shirts and trousers, jeans and polo while the women’s undying love for skirts and blouse, gowns and mini-skirts, etc is uncanny.

In the midst of all this, there have been some unacceptable fashion statements that have not gone down well with our people such as sagging, and too much ‘skin exposure.’ It brings me to an incident that happened recently. It is common knowledge that University of Lagos (UNILAG) girls love to be fashionable and are considered to be trendsetters. It was a normal day and I had hurried off to my favourite class of all time, Practical Criticism. I always enjoyed the class because of the lecturer was a very smart man and not to say the other lecturers are not smart but there was just a particular connection I had with him that made me enjoy his classes better than all my other lectures or maybe it simply had to do with the power of analyzing someone’s work of literature.

The class was already going on when she sauntered in, majestic in her extremely short Ankara gown with its exposing one hand style. Most of her backside was exposed and a good portion of her breasts were out, leaving little to the imagination. The attention of the class was caught and she was obviously enjoying the attention; oh only if she had known. The lecturer looked at her from head to toe and called her back as she made to sit down. He accessed her from head to toe again and shook his head, then came the fire; he asked her if she could dress like this at home and she answered in the affirmative. He was of the opinion that if she could then it means her parents were irresponsible and then sent out her of the class not before taking down her name and matriculation number with the threat of disciplinary action from the department’s authority for indecent dressing.


To say she was embarrassed was an understatement as she left the class with her cheeks burning bright. Her spot in the limelight had suddenly gone awry and this was not what she had bargained for. Fashion taken a bit too far, this was obviously not a good day for her. It is important to dress the way we want to be addressed, perhaps she would have rocked that outfit at a club or some red carpet event where she would have gotten buzz and praise from the media about her good looks but here she had come to the wrong place. I couldn’t help laughing as people in the class snickered and laughed to the girl’s detriment; she scurried away with her tails between her legs.

In choosing that outfit, know your environment and the kind of occasion you are going for, it is always key in order to avoid any sort of embarrassment. Showing skin or sagging may seem to be the in thing but doesn’t make us lose our culture because the issue of morality differs from place to place. Your fashion statement talks about you and you talk about your fashion statement.

NB: This post was first published on my first blog www.poshkidcharmimg.wordpress.com


Poshkid Gidigenius is a National Diploma holder in Mass Communication from Yaba College of Technology and currently pursuing another degree at the University of Lagos. A creative eccentric on the verge of genius insanity, you can follow on Twitter and Instagram @gidigenius.