Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and just about any social media involves a website that exploits African fashion where just about anyone can shop online for. The hottest trend out that has been selling massively in the United States within the last two years are dashikis and a few head wraps have been seen worn by professors at Savannah State University, even boubou or m’boubou for women. For those unfamiliar with these fashionable fabric styles, dashikis are a loose, brightly colored shirt or tunic, originally from West Africa. Bogolan or mud cloth, Kente cloth, obom, and raffia cloth are just a few common fabrics used in Africa to make beautiful bright garments.

Those who are seen wearing African garments usually order their items off line, find them in some boutiques nearby, or if lucky goes somewhere in West Africa and get the “real” deal from there. No matter where the dashiki is purchased, it is the fact that African Americans are wearing them more each day as cultural style.

Although, not often discussed “The dashiki was introduced as a way to protest society’s disrespect for Blacks”.

Satta Kpaan, 22, Behavior Analysis major is from Atlanta, Georgia. Her family are natives of Monrovia, Liberia. Where they then moved to the United States in the 1960s. Kpaan prefers to go by Satta which means pure existence in Hindu. One thing she likes about not having a nontraditional American name is that her name actually stands for something. Usually, her professor’s pronounces her name wrong, but she typically goes with the flow, because she knows it is a name that is rare and unique.

Satta, is worth writing about, because although she considers herself to be American her background roots and living conditions at home allows her to continue to become in touched with her African culture, unlike her colleagues or friends who are still trying to figure out the untold stories of African descendants and use resources such as ancestry.com

“I feel honored to know that my culture is being appreciated to another country and by people from other cultures”.

Her favorite African fabric is any Lace Ankara fabric, she wear a blue jean long sleeve shirt with a wide flowy skirt that has tribal like patterns around it and black flats.

“This African print has been popular in the global fashion scene since 2010”.

Her makeup is smooth and perfect blend to her coco skin color, which her red ruby lipstick brought her facial features all together. Her hair is braided in Senegalese twist that she did herself and styled. Her twist that she placed in her hair is a protective style that she automatically go to, because she is natural and cannot take much heat damage.

Pure existence says, “My friends come to mostly for fashion advice out the group”, being that each of her friends are from the United States. It is no problem with her assisting friends or peers on where to shop for African style clothes, because she feels that they are all black rather one is mixed with a different race or have both parents who are African American.

“I will admit, at first I did get offended by seeing African Americans wear Ankara because I have encountered many people who shame me and my culture but then I found the beauty in African American taking pride in such a rich culture”.

With the help of “Dashiki Pride” which is an online boutique founded in 2014 by three sisters of Nigeria with the goal of making African Fashion more known in the United States, the purchasing rates have went through the roof ever since dashikis became the newest college trend. It seems as though the market went from being so very little to magnificently huge in the African industry. Depending on the actual store, online or a simple boutique that one can walk to in order to purchase a dashiki or African apparel the outcome have been selling out every time, specifically dashikis.

Satta’s mother owns a boutique in Atlanta that sells African fabric and clothing, but the most common item that is sold are dashikis. People around the ages of 18 to 30 are seen to come in and out of the boutique and lately it has been a vast majority of African Americans. Whenever Satta is home she makes sure that she helps her mom with her shop.

Ericka Williams, 23, Sociology major and one of Satta’s close friends describes Satta as an innovative young woman, because she has the ability to make something out of nothing and fashion is one area that she have been able to reference her to.

Pure existence stated, “Being raised in America but learning Liberian culture has allowed me to experience the best of both worlds and I let that show through my sense of style. I set trends effortlessly and unintentionally and that encourages me to embrace my culture even more through fashion”.