Tops, Blouses & Bùbá

Tops Blouses Buba

– a loose-fitting shirt or smock, often part of traditional costume, tops blouses buba have different interpretations by the wearers.

Traditionally, the term has been used to refer to a shirt which blouses out or has an unmistakably feminine appearance. It has to be said though that the blouse is a loanword to English from French.

Buba – the indigenous Nigerian attire is now almost a must-wear for all occasions.

The latest fashion craze among young Nigerian ladies is the iro and buba, a trend they previously would rather not be caught dead in. How times have changed – tops blouses buba.

The iro and buba, pronounced “ee-ro and boo-bah,” has been part of the West African culture for centuries. The ‘iro’ is a very wide garment, worn only by women and wrapped around the waist. The ‘buba’ is a loose garment worn by both sexes on top of an iro or over a man’s pants. These pants are commonly called ‘sokoto’. The paired-dress may have its origins in the South West of Nigeria. It  has however since independence in 1960 spread far into other ethnic groups.