Psychedelic

Hello!

I recently took some time off work and went on a short trip outside Dakar. I will tell you all about it in future posts. But to prepare for this trip, I went shopping. For some reason, I always want to new things for my trips. Most of the time, I really do not need to shop but it has become a (bad) habit of mine. I have been doing it ever since I started travelling on my own some 20 years ago.  

Bucket hat - Chez Rasta Restaurant 
Dress - Centenaire market
Sandals and lace crop top - Petersen market
Accessories - Numero Uno 

On my list of things I thought I needed for a five day trip were: a white maxi dress, a printed dress, some golden sandals, a bucket hat, a huge straw hat and leopard sunglasses. However, since I am cheap I decided to check the market first. After an entire day walking around two markets I found this dress, the leopard print sunglasses and the golden sandals. I immediately fell in love with the colors and prints. The price was also very cheap. 4000 FCFA (around $8 or €7). 

Unfortunately, when I tried it at home, it was too tight for comfort. At the market there are no changing rooms. Yet the vendor guaranteed me that it would fit. They always lie to sell. Anyway I still packed the dress but I wore it only around the house. I think that I will get another dress in the same fabric and ask my tailor to make me a bigger one. Either that or I lose 20 kg. I think altering the dress might be faster. 

Before going on this trip, I tried this dress along several others in front of my son to get his opinion. The minute I put on the dress, he said that it was a LGBTQ+ dress. I have nothing against LGBTQ+ people. I am a believer of "live and let live". However, that is not the general sentiment in my country. It has become so bad that if you dare wear rainbow colors, people label you as pro-gay. It happened to one of our artists. He wore a rainbow tee-shirt during one of his concerts. There was such a backlash he had to apologize to his fans. Even more recently, during one of his concert, there was a giant screen showing the test screen colors. And people went nuts saying that it was the LGBTQ+ flag. I could not believe it. 

I actually have another striped dress in rainbow colors. I really like it but every time I want to wear it, I have to think hard. And that is the type of self censorship that I hate. I already stop myself from wearing so many types of clothing because it is either too revealing or I think my butt looks big in it. I take extra care in dressing up before I leave my house: I have to check if my undies do not show, if my scarf is on properly, if the outfit is well ironed. It is such a hassle. Now you want to add colors and prints to the mix? I can't. I use colors and prints to express myself. And I refuse to censor myself. So if you see me rocking a multicolor dress, unless you give me a compliment on it, please mind your business. 

That being said, what type of clothing have you stop yourself from wearing in public and why? Stay tuned on my Instagram to see how I alter the dress. Also check out here, here and here for similar style dress.