The Sunday Mail
Summer is upon us and gone is not just the chill but also a vast amount of cloth on many an apparel.
The transition from winter to summer not only introduces us to different types of fashion and fashion festivals but also creates heated debates within society, work or home.
It is during this time of the year that various street lingo like “Shama-wear” and “expose-international” are coined to describe ladies clothes that in most instances leave little or nothing to the imagination.
The hot season aptly means heavy clothing is abandoned in favour of skimpier and lighter clothes.
For men it usually means wearing short-sleeved summer shirts, T-shirts, shorts, caps or simply maintaining the winter wardrobe of course minus the leather jackets and jerseys. Men’s summer weakness has been that of fashion error like wearing socks and sandals or mixing informal shoes (sneakers) with formal wear.
However, for the fairer sex, summer dressing has always brought with it a fair share of controversy. The soaring of temperatures provides a platform for the notorious ones to abandon morals and promote decadency.
Men have responded by passing rude remarks in the streets. The decent ones have simply walked away while the militant ones have provided free entertainment by firing back.
Beginning of this month, protesters took to the street to demonstrate and voice their concerns against touts who harass women and girls considered to be dressed indecently.
Dubbed “mini-skirt march” the demonstration attracted hundreds of women surprisingly with only a few of them dressed in the mini-skirts and shorts. The march, described by the organisers as a success, was supposed to announce to men that “summer is here, please leave us alone”.
“I’m part of this event because I was last week harassed in town when I came to work in my new summer outfit. We want the men particularly touts to know that we are free to dress as we want just like they do,” said Grace Munashe.
Though different summer outfits are unleashed into society inspired by western celebrities and designers most of the styles are not compatible with our culture. Besides, the usually wealthy Western celebrities have a much wider selection of outfits that allows them to have suiting outfits for different occasions.
It appears some of our ladies because of limited resources or the need to attract attention tend to abuse fashion.
Often we have seen ladies strolling streets in body-hugging outfits that they can hardly walk in or that give them natural discomfort when getting into a car or sitting in a public place.
And such outfits have created headaches for employers since there is no clear distinction between casual and formal wear.
“Some of the dressing by these ladies leaves a lot to be desired. You get to wonder if someone is coming to work or attending some pub event,” argued one insurance firm executive.
For high school students rules and regulations usually help contain the situation as most academic institutions require that girls wear uniforms that go beyond knee level.
Challenges are usually encountered with private school and college students.
But the hullabaloo of the contentious summer dressing has never stopped boutiques from enjoying brisk business year-in-year-out. Actually business gets a massive boost as controversial characters try to outdo each other in wearing the skimpiest of clothes.
And the season makes all major events like awards ceremonies, parties and other various corporate events a must go.
It is during such events that the latest fashion trends are unleashed.
Designers argue that while there is need to cut down on the amount of cloth due to the high temperatures, decency should be maintained.
“People should understand that summer is not all about wearing controversial clothes. We do have summer outfits that one can put on and be as comfortable as ever, never mind the environment. It is only a few individuals that have gone on to abuse summer wear that have created problems for others,” noted Samantha Shumba of African Designs.
“I should be able to dress in anything that is stylish and sexy. However the fashion should not give me problems like having me worry if my underwear is still covered or I haven’t lost some stitches,” she added.
