Love of African Ethnic Wear

I decided that I will aim to be authentically honest as far as is possible in my blog posts. I know some people will judge me but hey, my truth is my truth. 

You would be surprised to know that I did not always grow up proud to be African. I liked being African but had not fully embraced it. You may wonder what I mean and if this is possible? The best analogy is of  Marty the Zebra in Madagascar the cartoon movie knowing he was a Zebra but not fully understanding it until he met other Zebras when he was stranded in Africa. There was that realization of what being a Zebra was and later he had to embrace it, live it and love it.

To watch see 🠞https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351283/

I was very ignorant of the importance of one's heritage. There was that naivety that came from being a post-colonialism child and the narrative history that this came with. Fast forward to many years later in England after some really painful and not so great experiences - I suddenly was awakened to my identity as a Black African woman. I started to accept everything about being born African including both positive and negative narratives.

 Authenticity begins when one accepts everything about themselves.

Authenticity does not mean staying in one place/or one mindset.

Authenticity accepts to change, move and reshape whilst remaining authentic.

As I transformed into my authentic self, came the love for African clothes and African inspired themes (for outfit details see Instagram @Faith_Faden & Vaac). To my West African brothers and sisters it may seem strange but historically Southern Africa was much slower in gaining independence and free cultural expression hence we were slower in harnessing African inspired themes. You can say we were to blame, but truly there was a naivety to it all. Thank God our eyes are opened now. As I slowly introduce myself in this blog, all these themes will develop more as I seek to help others be authentic and live in their authenticity as I truly believe this is the best way to living a life of being whole and content.

One of the fairytales I liked reading when I was a little girl was Snow White and the 7 dwarves (so colonial I know). The Queen would always ask her magic mirror  the following question; "Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" Her mirror always told her she was until her stepdaughter Snow White was more beautiful than she was and so the magic mirror told her Snow White was the fairest which upset her greatly.

 [https://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/snowwhite/story.htm]

I had my magic mirror moment when I suddenly embraced myself and despite the opinion out there about Africa and Africans. Being African is great, it is colourfully diverse as the people and continent of Africa are. There is a wildness to it and it is beautiful. God, do I love being an African now. I was born in Africa and I epitomize being an African in Europe. I am also very mindful to utilize the acquired knowledge of transcultural living which is my current reality.

 My desire is to channel out who I am positively to the global world. 

Thank you for reading my blog and for more please join this family for more fashion, thoughts, and inspiration to live life as your Best Self.

💗Faith Faden