R6129/12/1 Boubou and Skirt

women's white boubou gown and skirt, with colourful embroidery at the collar

Boubou and skirt (Museum Accession number R6129/12)

This woman’s boubou style top and skirt outfit belonged to Saundra Lang, an African American collector and fashion enthusiast. Saundra collected fashion during her many trips to West Africa, and bought this outfit in Dakar, Senegal, a city that has become a global fashion capital. She recalls: ‘At the time, shorter boubous were in fashion with skirts or pants that were visible from the botton of the boubou top. Typically, heavy starch is used in boubous for men and women. I worked on the pieces to restore the original white color and starched them. ‘ Collected as part of the Fashioning Africa Project.

Creator: unknown

Place: Dakar, Senegal

Date: 1985

a woman standing in front of a fireplace wearing a white boubou and skirt
Saundra Lang at her home in Los Angeles, modelling her damask cotton outfit made and collected in Dakar, Senegal.

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