Detailed records of Guinean fashion are limited, but one garment stands out across the region: the boubou.
The boubou
The boubou is a flowing, wide-sleeved robe worn across West Africa. It is generally formal, though suitable for casual occasions too, and age, class and gender do not restrict who may wear it. In Guinea, the chiefs of the Susu people wore it. It is often made from bazin, a cotton damask, or other cotton, and formal versions can be richly embroidered.
Origins and spread
The robe originated with trans-Saharan and Sahelian trading groups, who wore it as protection from desert sun and cold nights. Nobility in medieval Mali later adopted it as a status symbol, and it spread further through trade, migration and, in later centuries, colonisation.
Cloth from Guinea
West African dress also relies on pagne, an untailored cotton cloth that can be sewn into a boubou, dress or suit or simply wrapped. Guinea is noted as the place where most cotton brocade is produced.
Sources: Wikipedia: Boubou, Wikipedia: Wrapper (clothing).
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