• Most African people wear Western-style clothing, and only don traditional clothing on special occasions.
• Early missionaries of the 19th century established schools and introduced Western clothing to the African people. Many Masai women, for example, adopted the Victorian-style dress of the early German missionaries.
• European traders brought imported cloth, linens, silks, cottons, etc. to trade to Africans, which eventually began to replace the trade of African cloth. This came about for a variety of reasons. African cloth was made primarily for the weavers' personal and familial use, and occasionally for trading with other African groups. Such handmade production was much slower and could not keep up with the growing demand for quickly produced clothing. Another reason the use of African cloth diminished was the simple fact that it was narrower than the customary width of European cloth and as such was not a very sought-after commodity. Western clothing is also more durable and holds up better to wear.
• In recent years, around 40 million Africans have left their small villages and families to work in large towns and cities (shops, homes, factories). These cities established by European and other foreign conquerors have gradually been attracting residents from the countryside, and are now modern, bustling cities.
• The temperature in places near the Sahara Desert can get up to 125 degrees, so many women go topless. This is similar to how Americans wear short and tank tops in hot climates.
• Men wear Western-style clothing in Mali because it is the cheapest clothing available. Organizations such as Deseret Industries and other thrift stores, church groups and humanitarian projects sell clothes to many Africans very inexpensively ($.02-.03 for a shirt, $.05 for pants in some places).
• Bright, imported cloth is very expensive.
• Some African rituals and special life events calling for special clothing are:
• Engagement rituals: Kuanyama women participate in an engagement/coming to womanhood ritual for which they wear showy clothes.
• After Masai women are married, they wear more beaded collars and are then allowed to wear brass earring (similar to a wedding ring?).
• When West African women get married, they wear large, elaborate head ties.
• A Zulu boy courting a girl will wear Western clothing bought in the city, and a goatskin front apron that is tied with a beaded belt.

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