So though I wanted to be different, at that time, I could not get too crazy. My fellow Volta girls were stylish, but not very edgy.  Moreover, women in general in Ghana, were pretty regular, nothing funky or different going on there.  I loved the colors and textures of African fabric but, at the time, I thought the traditional styles were too limited; I wanted to be funky and African chic.  Unfortunately, my ideas about African Chic seemed to confuse many seamstresses as evidenced by the piles of my self-designed clothing using African fabrics that I have never been able to wear.  I had several seamstresses attempt to bring to life the ideas in my head, but with very little success.

Disappointing.  Fast-forward six years, I step off the plane and my friend Abenaa, who I have not seen in person for five years, greets me. Abenaa, like me, was born in the United States to Ghanaian parents; she now lives and works in Ghana. She was the host of Ghana’s Next Top Model, one of the most popular shows to ever air on Ghanaian television. I kept up with the show via the internet and I was very impressed with the models, designers and the avant garde nature of the clothes all of which incorporated African fabrics and elements of African style. This is one reason that I was so excited to get back to Ghana.  Oh, and I wanted to see my family and friends too!

I planned to be in the country for two months, so I figured I had plenty of time to find a good seamstress.  My friend Abenaa and her sister Asantewaa warned me not to stick with just one seamstress.  They elaborated that if I wanted traditional clothes, I had to go to one person, if I wanted funky and edgy, then I needed to find someone who had experience in making funky and different clothes.  Abenaa, of course, had great connections with designers from the television show and from her other work in Ghanaian fashion and television.  YAY!!

One of the perks of hanging out with a celebrity is that I got to go to a lot of cool events, like a free Stevie Wonder concert and the Ghana’s Most Beautiful competition. Ghana was also celebrating the 50th Anniversary of its independence from British rule, so there were many great parties and activities to attend as well.  At these events, I got to see what I longed for just six years before—in  women who were not Volta girls—STYLE!!  It’s not that women had chucked tradition, no women were still wearing kabas and slits, but they were mixing it up—using different fabrics and various styles.  Seamstresses now use “calendars” (large sheets of paper with dozens of different kaba/slit styles and patterns) to make traditional clothing.  Whereas before you would find a slit could only be a long straight or wrap-around skirt, now it was typical to see flared skirts, fish-tails, a-shapes and many other different styles.  Abenaa took me to many boutiques where the designers were using European fabrics to make traditional African clothes and vice versa.  I particularly loved using African fabrics to make Western styled clothing.  I had several dresses and skirts made and I love them all.  Of course I got a few funky kaba and slits too.  OK, so there hasn’t been a complete revolution, but I am so happy to see that Ghana’s got lots of style (again!), from traditional to egdy and funky, it’s all there and it all works! Love it!

The Winner (center) of the Ghana’s Most Beautiful competition	A friend and I wearing African Chic ensembles in Chicago.