Abstract
Western clothes seem to prevail and drive out local dresses around the world. In West Africa, however, women wear another kind of dress as daily and holiday clothes. It is an ensemble made with “pagne”, factory-printed cloth first made in 19c Europe and then brought to West Africa. It is not “traditional” dress but typical of the area. This article analyzes the forms of “pagne” ensemble (especially upper wear) worn among women in Bobo-Dioulasso, second largest city in Burkina Faso to clarify the background for its popularization in West Africa.
The pagne ensemble has “infinite variety of forms” (Picton, 2004) and its fashion comes and goes continually. This characteristic resembles European clothes in terms of temporality, which devise between the Western and non-western dress. This is one of the major backgrounds for the popularity of pagne ensemble.
