GREETINGS! I do hope you are well and keeping healthy.
The hot season is upon us and with it comes the never-ending dilemma of what to wear and how to wear it.
The problem is that most clothes made for summer are either too casual or look rather relaxed, and for many professionals there is no respite from the heat.
Fashion in summer is characterised by shorts, vests, T-shirts and breezy summery dresses and/or many professionals whose dress code is formal they have to suffer the heat in stuffy jackets and long-sleeved formal shirts.
However, there are ways of getting past that annoying dress code policy by making some small but still suitably formal changes.
Ladies you can invest in short sleeved formal dresses that you can pair with light jackets (I like tailor-made).
The best chitenge for jackets is telela which is very soft and actually quite affordable at about K10 for two metres in most markets.
Speaking of chitenge, I have a soft spot for chitenge outs as they are versatile and can be worn either informally or formally.
Just find a tailor to make you little dresses and skirts or even tops.
Gentlemen, you can also invest in short-sleeved tailored shirts as well as chitenge shirts such as the Mandela shirts as they let in enough air.
An option is the really cool shirts that first Zambian Republican president Kenneth Kaunda used to wear.
Those were still formal but great for summer.
Generally I personally think that it’s ridiculous that in 2015 we still adhere to strict dress codes meant for cold climates.
Ours is a generally warm environment and thus we need to include items such as chitenge, safari shorts in our attires.
Bearing in mind that Zambia especially Lusaka weather is pretty unpredictable always ensure that your outfits are easy to “shift and change”.
What I mean is that if you are wearing a dress for instance carry a jacket which you can always throw over or a scarf in case it gets cold.
Summer also calls for light flowery fragrances if you are a perfume enthusiast. Try and avoid heavy scents such as woody and musky as this are meant for winter.
This is the season for sweats so please I implore you invest two things: a shaving kit and a deodorant, sweat is never a good look at all.