Over the years there has been a stigma surrounding the image
of Rastafarians within the communities they live in. Their way of dressing
was perceived as “boring” and “dull” but throughout the years that has changed
as the younger generation of the Rastafarian community has made it their
responsibility to keep the Royalty image alive so to dismiss the stereotypes
because His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I and Empress Menen were elegant in their
style of dressing which was a way of upholding their Royal image and Rastafarians follow
in their footsteps thus it's only wise to make sure they live up to the the standard of Royalty. The younger Rastafarian generation is catching up with the
latest fashion trends without losing their identity though which has been visible
amongst the men and women in the recent times.
These pictures demonstrate the day to day fashion sense of young Rasta men and women in South Africa.
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| Lwam Sahwira Gxalaba |
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| Lwam Sahwira Gxalaba |
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| Lwam Sahwira Gxalaba |
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| Lwam Sahwira Gxalaba |
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| Lwam Sahwira Gxalaba |
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| Lwam Sahwira Gxalaba |
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| Lwam Sahwira Gxalaba |
In an essence the dress code hasn’t changed because one
would realise that the women are still wearing long skirts and dresses and wrapping their
heads with turbans or have their beautiful dreadlocks flowing down their backs
which is an ancient African practice that symbolises respect for oneself and it
has been kept alive by the Rastafarians and no offence is intended to those who
doesn’t find it important to be in long skirts or dresses yet consider themselves Rastafarians. The Rasta women would wear beautiful long ankle-length skirts or dresses and with others, the skirt may be a little bit shorter and go just
below the knee, they would complement this with wrist, neck and ear
accessories. The earrings are quite eye
catching as most of them are custom/special colourful designs which has a
distinctive African personality to them. Ooohh, see how these women marry their
clothes with the beautiful hand bags and shoes, damn that’s
Royalty right there. This image is fast catching up with the latest trends of
the streets which changed the perception the community had about the image of
the Rastafarian women.
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| Nomzingisi Tirunesh Mhlongacala |
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| Nomzingisi Tirunesh Mhlongacala |
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| Nomzingisi Tirunesh Mhlongacala |
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| Mystikal Ebony |
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| Mystikal Ebony |
The dress code has also changed drastically where there is a
distinctive trend following amongst young Rastafarian men. One will notice that there is a lot more of
Rastafarians wearing the latest type of blazers, cardigans, rolled-up chino, bowties,
skinny jeans, etc. The high-top sneakers,
ankle boots with jeans tucked inside, have also invaded the Rastafarian men
fashion space just like they did to the rest of the community. They are following these trends yet keeping
their own identity because you will find some with wrapped turbans or hats
bearing Red, Gold & Green colours on their heads so that they are very
distinctive amongst everyone else.
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| Lebogang Sparkling |
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| Source(Facebook Group): Rastas With Swagg |
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| Source(Facebook Group): Rastas With Swagg |
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| Vex Bonx & Dephatone |
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| Tumi Medupe & Lebogang Sparkling |
Please note that these Rasta men & women's pictucres are as raw as you you can find them, the pictures were sourced from their everyday pictures as I needed to give you a taste of real people with their everyday swag. "RASTA GOT SWAG"
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