The past few years has seen a huge rise in the popularity of Ankara fashion in the UK. These bright, bold and vibrant garments are a common sight throughout the UK now, not only at summer festivals and parties, but also in workplaces and even at formal occasions.
In this blog, we’ll take a look at the origins of this fashion, the wealth of different designs and give some top tips on how to wear your Ankara!
Ankara is not just the capital of Turkey but also the West African word for colourful, African print fabric. Ankara is also commonly known as ‘African print’, ‘Holland wax’, ‘Dutch wax’ and ‘Kitenge’ or ‘Chitenge’ in East Africa.
Ankara designs printed in Ghana, West Africa
The 100% cotton fabrics are famous for their bold and vibrant designs and are associated with Africa due to their tribal symbols and motifs. They are commonly used to make modern African clothing for women, men and children as well as accessories and home decor.
There are many different ankara fabric patterns in the market place today with new creations added regularly. Each unique design commonly represents the African country where it was made.
For example, many of our African customers can tell straight away by looking at the patterns and colours of our original fabrics that they are printed in Nigeria.
Examples of designs printed in Ghana:
The ‘Zing’ design
The ‘Big Bang’ design
The ‘Bonsu’ design
The ‘Feather’ design
The ‘record disc’ design
Ankara fashion is fun, comfortable and stylish to wear and can often make you feel good! For some, our African print skirts can help brighten up a dull office on a depressingly wet, winters day or even get you noticed during a job interview. We love to hear where you wear yours.
Why not surprise your mates at a social event by wearing one of our fabulous African style shirts? Or even wear one on the plane to get yourself in the holiday spirit like these guys did during their trip to Rwanda to visit the mountain gorillas!
Happy Kitenge customers modelling their African print shirts at Victorious Festival
African print clothing is perfect travel wear for cruises and beach holidays, as the 100% cotton will keep you nice and cool. They can also help you stand out in the crowd at music festivals or even a family do! Whatever takes your fancy.
What is great about wearing ankara is how versatile the clothing can be. They are so easy to wear both casually and at formal occasions throughout the year so you will certainly get your monies worth.
For example, our popular knee-length, African print dresses can easily be worn to work with a plain coloured cardigan, tights and smart shoes, to a party or wedding with a matching clutch bag and bold statement jewellery such as a gold African beaded bracelet or black beaded necklace.
Kitenge Store’s Ankara Pencil Dress worn by our Founder, Sian, on our stand at Africa Fashion Week London with matching gold heels & beaded jewellery
If you prefer a more casual look then you can also wear ankara dresses with (or without) leggings, trainers or sandals as demonstrated in the photographs below by our wonderful customers:
Caroline wearing her Kitenge Store sleeveless African print dress casually with sandals at her office
Nadine wearing her Dark Blue African Print Flare Dress by Kitenge Store at Boardmasters Music Festival with black tights, trainers & a matching ankara hairband
Kitenge Store’s Teal African Print flare Dress worn by Sian at Looe Music Festival with leggings, sandals and a matching ankara hairband
All of our ankara dresses, in our African boutique online, were lovingly handmade by Titus and his team of talented tailors in Tanzania. Keep in touch by signing up to receive our monthly newsletters below.
To learn more about ankara fabric including its history, hidden meanings and method of production, please visit the following articles on our blog:
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