I was on the street near work waiting for the streetcar watching a group that came out of a restaurant nearby. They were in good spirits, all dressed up and appeared to have been celebrating, perhaps the graduation of one of the young women with them. They appeared to be African or African Canadian; the men were in dark business suits, the young women typical twenty somethings in black, dark blue and grey short dresses.
But the 'mothers' were definitely not in regular downtown fashion!! These two women just fascinated me. I wished I had a camera and enough nerve to tell them how strong and beautiful they looked and ask for a photo. One wore a bright pink outfit - top and long skirt, the other was in a strong blue print dress, also to the ground. The dresses showed off their figures without being vulgar. They had the ample figures that african women aspire to - not at all obese, and they had a strong presence, a regal appearance. And they both had the most amazing head wear, bright folded fabric wrapped around their heads, standing up in folds like an uneven fan. The colour and pattern didn't match their dresses, but it was loud and colourful and went with the effect.
I found this video that has the idea of these head wraps, called gele, although the ones I saw were not as piled high and had more refinement in the folds. Day wear perhaps instead of wedding wear.
These women didn't worry about gaining a few pounds, or going with dark colours over a certain age to blend in or look slim. It was wonderful to see.
