Thursday, July 7, 2011

Don't Call It A Comeback

It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you. I've been away for some time due to many distractions; some productive and some not so productive. The last few months have been pretty interesting. It might sound cliche but during my time away I had some great expereinces that have reshaped my mind. Hopefully I will be able to share a few of these things in due time.

My blogging habits have changed because of Tumblr. I usually send things over to my Tumblr account instead of taking the time to work on my blog. However over the weekend, I got a friendly reminder about why I started blogging in the first place. As a result of this I am getting back to my old ways.

The Happy Black Man is back.

Monday, February 7, 2011

GELE...Good Heads







I was at a party the other day and I just could not stop staring at the women there. Not for obvious reasons, sure some of them were endowed, but that's not what was holding my attention. My eyes were fixed on their beautiful Gele. As an African man I have seen women wear head ties since I was a little childd and it never had an impact on me.




That night was different I found myself admiring the dazzling displays some of the women had on their heads. After seeing this an idea popped into my head; why not document it, write about it, and maybe even profit from it. Below is a very short excerpt from my manuscript. I don't think I can handle a full fledged book, so I am going to make it a coffee table book with vivid pictures, descriptions, and other blurbs. The tentative title is GELE (cliche yes...but thats why it's a working title).





The first human to wear a hat probably never thought much of it. As time went on, the purpose and need of head gear went from protection purposes to sartorial needs. Hats have advanced from the protective yet decorative Roman Legionnaire's helmet to backward baseball caps for gang identification. With this said the first woman that probably wore a Gele never knew what kind of movement she was starting.



The Gele is the quintessential head gear for Nigerian women specifically those of the Yoruba tribe of the southeast. The only other fashion accessory that can possibly compare to it is the African American womans' church hat. Perhaps there is an anthropological link between these two phenomenas that was lost in translation during slavery. The Gele is not only a fashion accessory it also serves as a mood indicator, a social id card; and if your’re unfortunate to be sitting behind one an obstruction.



From the size and shape of a Yoruba woman’s gele, a trained eye can identify her social standing and marital status. The Gele is like a peacocks feathers, it boldly identifies the wearer to whoever is around. The rise and popularity of Gele has not been isolated to the shores of Africa. Western designers and sartorialists have involved Gele into their work. Christian Lacroix Spring/summer 2008......






*Legal Disclaimer*

None of These Images belong to me.