Lydia's Weekly Lifestyle blog is for today's African girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things that may interest today's African girl.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Pépé Pépinière, Titi, and Ella, this week's subjects: Festive Flair, Ghana's fashion icons, Does a 38 fit me? Early Puberty, Tomato Restaurant, and Pantita Thai Restaurant and Bar

Festive Flair. Traditional Meets Contemporary: This festive season, many designers are blending traditional silhouettes with modern aesthetics. Think of the boubou (a flowing robe) styled with contemporary twists, like asymmetric cuts or layered styles. For men, a classic dashiki featuring bold prints that can be paired with tailored pants for a dapper look. This fusion allows for a celebration of heritage while embracing current fashion trends. Styling Tip: For a family gathering, choose a modernized boubou in a seasonal colour palette (think deep reds, greens, and gold) and accessorize with traditional jewelry to honor your roots. Sustainable Fashion: With the growing emphasis on sustainability, many West African designers are championing eco-friendly practices. In 2024, you’ll find collections that utilize recycled materials, thrifted fabrics, and ethical production methods. Brands are focusing on creating timeless pieces that can be worn beyond the holiday season, promoting a more sustainable approach to fashion. Styling Tip: Look for unique handcrafted items that reflect the artistry and culture of the maker, showcasing personal touches that mass-produced goods simply can't offer. Each piece tells a story, making it a special addition to your collection or a thoughtful gift for someone you care about.

Ghana's fashion icons. Famous Ghanaian female designers from the past: Fashion has always been there, and people always dressed in a certain way, to suit the occasion, though no one would have called that fashion. But after our independence in 1960, Juliana Miranda Norley Kweifio-Okai (née Norteye) was given a Ghana Cocoa Marketing Board scholarship and attended the no. 1 fashion school in Paris, Ecole Guerre-Lavigne (today's ESMOD (l'Ecole Supérieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode). Thierry Mugler and Nina Garcia are some of the products that the school produced. Upon her return to Ghana, Juliana established her line “Chez Julie”. Her iconic designs are a combination of the styles she explored in Europe, with the vibrant prints found and produced in Ghana. More about Julie and Ghana's pre and early post-independence and fashion and designers in the following issues.

Does a 38 fit me? You may fit into it, but it may not fit you. Few really have that ideal profile (who's ideal anyway) of say 36-27-36, here in Ghana we are often more towards 32-30-38. So though you may be able to get into that dress it will be tight on the hips and too loose on the breasts and you'll somehow look lost. Better work with tailors, it will turn out cheaper in the long run because you will like wearing that well-fitting dress often, rather than that once worn and then permanently stored into the cupboard dress.

Early puberty. Articles about what chemicals and plastics do to us keep coming up as if they were fashionable. Right now nanoplastics, sustainable clothing and upgraded thrift are trending, next to gut biosphere/microbiome and climate change. These news articles are so much that one tends to ignore them. Don't. Gut and breast cancer, infertility (male and female), depression and too high doctor's bills are mostly a result of these nanoparticles and forever and other chemicals that are fed to us on a daily basis. As an elderly midwife told me “When we studied and learned how to handle deliveries we saw malformed children in pictures in a book. Now it is a daily affair”. A recent novelty is the early fertility of girls, sometimes as early as 9 years old, most likely a result of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (which can be found in personal care products, food and beverage packaging, pesticides and herbicides, plastics and resins, textile coatings) which can interfere with hormone production and lead to premature puberty.

Tomato Restaurant has recently re-opened in 6, Dodi Link, Airport Residential Area, Accra, and on my first visit there I was not convinced but I promised to give them another try. This time things were back to the usual good standard. We had Bruschetta (toasted bread seasoned with tomato and basil or ham or cheese) as a starter and then linguine shrimp and zucchini which had ample cheese but somehow was a bit sweet and a pizza Margarita which was nicely thin and crispy. The dessert choice was limited so we had one Tiramisu with some cocoa powder on the tip for 2 only. Unfortunately, there are no proper napkins but small paper ones. The service was good. But mind your step when you enter, there is a little extra step at the top which you can easily misstep on.

Pantita Thai Restaurant and Bar (Peter Ala Adjetey Avenue, Labone, Accra) so far had escaped me though I pass there every Saturday morning on my way to the organic vegetable market at Labone coffee shop (Olooti Street, Labone, Accra). From outside the place looks a bit like a canteen and not too inviting but once you are inside you are nicely comfortable and the waiter is attentive. We had vegetable tempura (deep fried vegetables, served with sweet and sour sauce), Tod mon pla (Thai fish cake, served with sweet and sour sauce), peek kai Tod (deep fried chicken wings), lemongrass salad prawn and fresh spring rolls and to my surprise there were mussels in the shell in the salad. Service was good, but as usual only small paper napkins which do not really protect your outfit.

Lydia...

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