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, Melody, this week's subjects: Hoops, loops and earrings, Accra Fashion Week, African Fashion shows, Wash, Blowing your horn.

Hoops, loops and earrings Hoop earrings were once a part of the ensemble of Kings and Queens to signify their social status – today they are a statement of confidence, strength, and diversity. Being a perfect circle, hoop earrings symbolize wholeness, unity and infinity. Huggie earrings take their name from their design. Most often they consist of small, metal hoops that 'hug' the ear, very close to the earlobe. Hoop earrings originated in Mesopotamia and it was ancient peoples of the African civilization, like the Egyptians (Cleopatra wore them) that first wore hoops. Sumerian women in Mesopotamia around 2500 B.C. are believed to be the earliest adopters of wearing hoop earrings. Hoop earrings first gained popularity in the 1980s among middle- and lower-class African American and Latina women. It has remained an indispensable item for various societies. However, Hoop earrings are more than simply a trend for certain women; it is intrinsic to their identity as strong, proud women of colour.

Hoops are a jewelry collection staple and continue to evolve, with fresh iterations emerging in 2022. Sleek gold and silver styles continue to be everyday essentials, in various measures from small and chunky to oversize. Hoop earrings are one style that always looks good and never go out of fashion. Thanks to updates in textures, styles, and colors, these beautiful earrings are more versatile than ever before. Gearing towards festivities, what you wear is key to building your confidence and appearance. We often focus more on clothing and shoes than accessories. Here’s how to do more by wearing less. Wearing bold statement Hoop earrings circle around for another season, and they seem to be picking up motion rather than slowing down. Beads and gemstones continue to offer color options, while the 80's inspirations evoke more punk than 'career woman'. Bracelets are worn on the wrist and the arm and are witnessing a resurgence.

Accra Fashion Week. We still have a lot to learn, as Rioh's models and designers can confirm. Rehearsal for their last week's Sunday show started only a few hours before the show itself, and those models who did show up were rehearsing and sweating in the full sun. I said'' those models that did show up'' because some who had been arranged by the Accra Fashion Week organizers themselves didn’t, and not every Rioh model fitted into the dresses to be presented. Shame, poor show.

African Fashion shows. We have about come to the end of our Ghana 2022 fashion shows. Isolated as we live (do we even know the name of the vice president of Togo or La Cote d'Ivoire?), we are hardly interested in what happens in other countries, but for our own sake, we should. The Dakar Fashion week is competing seriously with our Accra events, and Tommy Hilfiger and Levi recently opened shop there. Chanel's 16th Métiers d'Art show this year was held in Africa for the very first time, in Dakar. This show highlights the work of the specialist artisans who provide all the little details to the Dior dresses, broidery, shining stones, feathers etc. Our own Mimi Plange presented her latest at Dakar's fashion week. And there are other shows, in Adis Ababa, Lagos, South Africa and Tanzania, to mention a few. And then there are African fashion weeks in London and Toronto. Africa fashion is rising, let's make sure we ride that wave.

Wash? I like a good bath at the end of the day, scrub everything clean, put a refreshing lightly scented body lotion and feel good and fresh and ready for the evening and for anything. But there are arguments against this. The air and everything around us are full of bacteria and fungi and viruses and what not, and our body is producing a slightly fatty substance which sits on top of our skin and deals with these buggers as they arrive. And then we wash that protective layer off entirely and replace it with an artificial one. And what artificial one. Most of these lotions and creams contain a circus of ingredients which you can hardly pronounce, let alone understand what they can do to you. Some may be expected cancer causers or hormone influencers. Even in the West, where controls are strict, consumer protection organizations regularly come out with alarming reports. Just for the fun of it, take that lotion you are using and a magnifying glass and read the ingredients. Do remember that your skin can be used to administer medicines, we absorb them. Likewise some of the ingredients of your nail polish can be found back in your urine after a few hours. So we are putting things onto our body which we do not understand and which the body absorbs. Brrrrr. So, if at all then choose the natural ones, and read that label carefully, sometimes it will say (very small) "20%", and then VERY BIG " PURE NATURAL INGREDIENTS". Or we can use shea butter, most of the ones available in Ghana are quite natural. And can we do without all that? A primary school friend of mine does take a shower every evening and morning, uses natural soap behind her ears, under her armpits and around her private parts, and once in a while on her face, and that's all. And she does not smell badly, rather neutral, and I've never seen a single pimple on that girl.

Blowing your horn. I recently traveled to one of the most disciplined countries in the world, and blowing your car horn there is absolutely forbidden unless there is a real danger. It was like driving through a ghost town. On the other side there is my Tanzanian friend who recently visited Ghana and complimented that our drivers are so admirably disciplined. Just to show that all is relative.

Lydia...

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