Women in Djibouti wear the most beautiful fabric I have ever seen. The patterns and colors range from the most sublime to the most outrageous. All of the fabric is imported into Djibouti. The women tell me that most of it comes from Asia (in the past from Japan and Indonesia), some from France and more and more from China.
Many wealthier women in Djibouti travel to France or Dubai and now to China to purchase fabric directly from the manufacturers or designers and have their clothing made there. Traditional Djiboutian dress is mostly layers of lots of material beginning with a long skirt with lace on the bottom and a long or short head scarf and maybe even a tight head wrap under the scarf . The color and pattern combinations you see just in the layers is amazing. I would have never thought of pairing some of the pieces they put together. But, the effect can be stunning.
I have seen gorgeous solid colors in every color imaginable. And patterns ranging from geometrical to floral and freestyle. Some of the fabric is interspersed with intricate embroidery or lace. I have been in Djibouti now for 6 months and still am awed by the beauty of the material. I see something new everyday, even at isolated Lac Assal. Even the poorest Djiboutian woman wears bright colors. John's theory is that because the landscape is so drab, women choose to wear bold colors. This is in such stark contrast to Dubai where the women all wear black outergarments out in public and the men wear all white.
