Traditional Rwandan royal attire
Queen Dowager Rosalie Gicanda of Rwanda wearing traditional royal attire.
Two Somali women wearing a Guuntino (wrapped asymmetrical dress) on top of a pleated googorad (underskirt) and a garbasaar (headscarf on shoulders).
Traditional Somali attire featuring handwoven Guntiino wraps and a silver dowry necklace (Muze).
Traditional Shilluk lawo (wrapped cloth attire) and a masterly mud-sculpted coiffure worn by a warrior of the Shilluk (Chollo) people in South Sudan.
Two women wearing traditional African Surinamese Koto dresses photographed by Malick Sidibe
Babbar Riga robe and a beaded crown worn in Ghana, Nigeria.
Babbar Riga robes and a beaded royal crown worn by Oba Ladapo Ademola II, the Alake of Egbaland, in Abeokuta, Nigeria.
Traditional robes and a matching Hula cap worn by a Sousou (Soussou) couple in Conakry, Guinea.
Portrait of Negadras Gebrehiwot Baykedagn, an Ethiopian intellectual and economist in traditional Ethiopian warrior attire, with an ornate shield (known as a Gasha).
An Imam in Sierra Leone, photographed around 1902, prays in a prestigious indigo etu robe with eight-knives embroidery and a narrow-strip cotton turban.
Traditional Kanga (or Leso) attire and a wrapped headscarf worn by a woman from the Kingdom of Zanzibar around 1900.
Traditional Mandingo (Mandinka) initiation attire, featuring handwoven country cloth wraps and geometric embroidered bodices, worn by young women in Sierra Leone around 1910. Photograph retrieved from Keir Dellar via Flickr.
Traditional Agbada ceremonial robes and a beaded royal crown worn by Oba Ladapo Ademola II, the Alake of Egbaland, in Abeokuta, Nigeria, around 1923.
Two men from Uganda wearing traditional bark cloth (stoffa di corteccia) clothing.
The Regent of Urundi wearing an Imbega with ceremonial tassels, 1900s.
Traditional Babbar Riga gowns and embroidered Hula caps worn by students and teachers of Katsina College in Northern Nigeria.
Senegalese women wearing wax-print boubou gowns with moussor headwraps, 1957. Photographed by Stuart James
Oba Akenzua II, the King of Benin from 1933 to 1978 in full traditional regalia, which includes significant coral garments and headpiece.
Akwete cloth, a traditional handwoven textile from Nigeria's Igbo people.
Xhosa tribe of South Africa. Traditional Xhosa dress composed of wrapped blankets, painted cloth skirts, beaded collars and necklaces, beaded headpieces, and arm ornaments.
Xhosa tribe of South Africa. Traditional Xhosa dress composed of wrapped blankets, painted cloth skirts, beaded collars and necklaces, beaded headpieces, and arm ornaments.
Hand painted and batik caftan.
Senegalese women wearing indigo and violet boubous with headwraps and gold jewelry.
Batik and hand painted silk caftan.
Liberian gown seen in Ebony Magazine, Africa Issue.
Liberian gown seen in Ebony Magazine, Africa Issue.
Hand-embroidered indigo cloth wrapper worn by a Hausa woman from Zaria, Nigeria.
Two Zanzibar women draped in kangas.
Zanzibar, an Arab Woman.
"Paint Suit Ladies of Zanzibar" (Marinda Pants).
Senegal, circa 1900. Studio portrait postcard of two young Wolof women seated wearing patterned boubou gowns with draped wrapper cloths.
Senegal, circa 1900. Studio portrait postcard of two young Wolof women seated wearing patterned boubou gowns with draped wrapper cloths and headwraps.
Jeunes Krowmen de Drewin" Ivory Coast, circa 1900. Kru youths.
Wolof boubou ensemble with matching moussor headwrap, Senegalese traditional dress.
Fanti woman from Sekondi wearing a Etam na Akatado around 1910.
Ghanaian women wearing tekua with mbobɔho. Silver Jubilee of Ashantis King, Otumfo Opoku II in Kumasi, Ghana. 14th August 1995. Photo by Marc Deville.
(Left to Right ) Ghana Politicians A. Casely Hayford, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, Kwame Nkrumah, and Kojo Botsio speaking at the Ghana independence ceremonies (March 1957). Nkrumah and Botsio can be seen wearing a smock. Mark Kauffman/The LIFE Picture.
Fanti men from Sekondi wearing mbanyin tam, 1905 circa.
A Ga girl in Adda. Ghana, ca. 1883/1888. H. Hürlimann, Missionary; Historical Photographs from the Basel Mission.
Nana Dokua II, Queen Mother of Akropong, wearing traditional regal gowns. From DRUM Magazine Ghana, 1969. Scanned by Korateng Ofosu-Amaah.
Dresses from the late 60s worn by Ghanaian models Doris Amponsah and Margaret Sarpong. From DRUM Magazine Ghana, 1969. Scanned by Korateng Ofosu-Amaah.
Sleet and Kaba (on the left), worn by a Ghanaian model. From DRUM Magazine Ghana, 1969. Scanned by Korateng Ofosu-Amaah.
Four ladies of Tarkwa, Ghana. 1920 circa. By P. A. McCann.
Ghanaian women wearing lappa, a headscarf. From DRUM Magazine Ghana, 1969. Scanned by Korateng Ofosu-Amaah.
Ghanaian women wearing Kente in the 70s, for a church celebration. Accra, Ghana, 1970s. James Barnor/Autograph ABP, London.
Portrait of Fante women wearing Tekua by Philip Kwame Apagya. 1980s.
Portrait of Fante women wearing tekua, mbobɔho, and ntama, 1964. Photo by Roy Sieber.
Makeba dress worn by Ghanaian model Victoria Addai. From DRUM Magazine Ghana, 1969. Scanned by Korateng Ofosu-Amaah.
Portrait of men wearing boubou, by Seydou Keïta. Bamako, Mali, 1975.
Rwandan groom and groomsmen in Mushanana Traditional Attire.
Chief Ariyo holds an ape and an iyaṣin omalóre in his hands while wearing an udamalore and eja at his hip. Photo: Justine Cordwell, 1949, courtesy of Colin Cordwell.
Traditional Nigerian dress and jewelry were worn by Mrs. Omobola Obiogun; one of er country's chief trade officers; on a visit to Canada and the CNE. (Photo by Harold Whyte, 1965)
“A Ga girl in Adda” Ghana. ca. 1883/1888 || H. Hürlimann, Missionary; Historical Photographs from the Basel Mission.
Wives of the Oba of Benin in their palace quarters, Benin City, 1986.
Betsileo woman from Madagascar, 1920.
Carisco people, Cameroon. Vintage postcard; post stamped Jan. 1912; Livreville, Gabon
After the Funeral, Philip Kwame Apagya. 1998.
Women in traditional attire in Lagos, Nigeria.
Fante Tekua.
