M.A.G. blog, signed by Lydia

A MAG is a Modern African Girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things which may interest a MAG.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Doré Fasolati, this week's subjects: .

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Espadrilles.

Many young people might wonder what these are!! Espadrilles, also known as alpargatas, are versatile shoes featuring a lightweight, braided sole made of a natural fiber such as jute or grass. The soft nature of jute fabric, natural support in the sole, and rubber finishing makes espadrilles a shoe your feet will love. Espadrilles are ideal for summer and tropical climates because of their stylish jute rope and the fact that many espadrilles are open-toed, but they can be closed-toe and airy as well

The words espadrille and espardenyas both derive from esparto, the Mediterranean grass traditionally used to make their braided soles. This translates to many different styles of espadrilles though, but it's the esparto rope that makes it an espadrille. From flat slip-ons, to wedges, to sandals and more

The espadrille initially began as a piece of peasant footwear, worn by both men and women in farming communities in the Pyrenees mountains. However, they have also traditionally been worn by priests, miners and infantry. They were created as a simple and functional shoe, being cheap to make and easy to wear

Espadrilles are understated and comfortable yet elegant, they help to keep feet cool in the searing summer heat. Their rope soles and jute canvas come in handy for walking on the burning-hot sand of Mediterranean beaches while injecting a healthy dose of chic style and glamor. Check out our next edition for espadrilles fashion tips….. Sickle cell disease. Because we have a lot of malaria in this part of the world we have developed some sort of resistance against this, in the form of a mutated gene. But too much of that mutation causes sickle cell disease. 2 % of Ghanaian children are born with this disease, the great majority die before 5. Treatment of the symptoms is possible but takes a lot of time, and money, and those who survive normally don't reach 60 years of age anyway. Most of us happily get married without even knowing our sickle status, neither do we know our HIV status (I know of a 14 years old girl who became HIV positive because the nanny was using her tooth brush, you can have HIV whilst still being a virgin). Enter my friend X. He gets married and they have their first one. Celebration. Then they get twins, more celebrations. The twins are now 2 years old and recently diagnosed with sickle. End of celebrations. He is spending the little money he earns and all the time he has on lab tests and medicines. Prayers will not help, sickle cannot be cured. Permanent misery for my friend. 2% of children may not be a great number, but it is 1 out of 50. Maybe test to know your status and insist that suitable marriage candidates do same? Some people get triplets........ Sickle 2, and glaucoma Of course my sickle friend complains about the cost of the treatment for his kids, various expensive vitamins are prescribed. But these things are commodities and for example Vitamin C 100 mg can be bought at 30 pesewas a tablet, the same thing is sold in a beautiful box for GHS 10 per tab. But then you get soluble tablets, that create lots of foam whilst dissolving, and tiny, very expensive bubbles. But the effect is exactly the same. And my glaucoma friend (yes, I have lots of friends) is taking eye drops, very expensive indeed, and tries to boost his immune system with STC30, a stemcell based supplement, quite expensive as well, about 900 ghc a month. I checked on that product, there is no scientific proof that it does anything at all. My advice, look over the shoulder of your doctor, use search engines to check on products and treatments, and make sure you do the right thing, at the right cost. Nadia... do not forget to hit the subscribe button and confirm in your email inbox to get notified about our post. I have received requests about leaving comments/replies. For security and privacy reasons my blog is not associated with the major media giants like Facebook or Twitter. I am talking with the host about a solution, for the time being, you can mail me on wunimi@proton.me I accept invitations and payments to write about certain products or events, things, people, but I may refuse to accept and if my comments are negative then that's what I will publish, despite your payment. This is not a political newsletter. I do not discriminate on any basis whatsoever.

A MAG is a Modern African Girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things which may interest a MAG.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Doré Fasolati, this week's subjects: .Rain Fashion, Sidewalk fashion, Poverty fashion.

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Rain Fashion

It’s the rain season again and we definitely must enjoy it too. One must be thinking of how best to operate without getting soaking wet and hot at the same time due to the short hours of rain. Checking our weather app before leaving the house is something we, unfortunately, had to learn the hard way. We can’t even count the times we’ve been caught mid-rainstorm dressed in something fuzzy or — gah! — white, and those memories of soaking wet shoes and socks are still so clear in our minds.

Avoid wearing light colours like white and beige because they become transparent. Instead, flaunt bright colours like red, green, blue, indigo, yellow and stand out of the crowd.

If you tend to feel unmotivated and lazy on rainy days, it's worth adding a matching set to your closet. Now, your outfit is already put together for you (minus shoes), and you'll have less stress while getting ready in the morning.

You can also try some denims pants and jackets with a darker colored T-shirt and a stylish black rainboots to go in case the sun comes out unexpected, you can still rock them.

Wearing lightweight clothing with a pullover is another way to get through the rainy day; you keep warm while feeling comfortable at the same time. Sidewalk fashion. Someone recently wrote about sidewalk fashion in Mali, and this is indeed something I had wanted to write about for a long time, our sidewalks are like catwalks. Out of necessity a majority of our ladies end up buying imported second hand clothes, and sometimes little jewels can be found in there. It's a pleasure to see a girl hawking oranges and wearing a dress which can be worn to a charity ball. But the more interesting part is the combinations which are sometimes created, and my sketch book is full of design sketches which I literally picked from the street. Majority of those in the developed world have the money to buy what the consumer fast fashion houses propose, and walking on their streets I rarely turn my head, there is little real originality. Sharply contrasting with home here where anything goes. Poverty fashion. We are a developing country, 57 % of our population is under 25 with hardly a job in sight, so people want to join the armed forces, or become musicians, simply out of despair. It is said that poverty is the mother of invention, and inventions we have, like that mobile car washing plant I see visiting offices where there is no water. Or the many different packages of dried mangoes or chocolate coconut mixtures for sale. Many of our unemployed ladies try to become seamstresses, and in order to differenciate themselves from the crowd some try to create fashion, sometimes with very good results. Some of the stuff you see offered for sales on the streets is really nice. Unfortunately the sowing quality often is way below what is acceptable, but the same can be said for many of our “recognized” creators/tailors. It seems that quality is not something which has priority, quick money is. Nadia... do not forget to hit the subscribe button and confirm in your email inbox to get notified about our post. I have received requests about leaving comments/replies. For security and privacy reasons my blog is not associated with the major media giants like Facebook or Twitter. I am talking with the host about a solution, for the time being, you can mail me on wunimi@proton.me I accept invitations and payments to write about certain products or events, things, people, but I may refuse to accept and if my comments are negative then that's what I will publish, despite your payment. This is not a political newsletter. I do not discriminate on any basis whatsoever.