The coats are off, the tops are getting skimpier and lighter, all in the name of cooling off. Even the office gets a new feel as the line between formal and casual wear gets thinner. Stylists and management experts agree it’s important to update your office wardrobe for the summer season, but warn not to overdo it.
The lighter, more revealing skimpy dress sense that comes with this time of the year brings with it a measure of controversy. At the office, men make secret remarks about how so and so is dressed; some women, the conservative types, join in.
But the biggest drama is on the streets where men of all ages do the cat calls and make rude remarks. Whistling is the order of the day at ranks as touts have formed ad hoc fashion disciplinary committees for women who put mini-skirts and body-hugging clothes.
In some cases there is physical confrontation between the jeerers and the ladies, but, in most instances, the women turn a blind eye. Hardly do you hear of the ladies making police reports, maybe because they are unaware that what the men do amounts to a crime.
Many women this summer have fallen victims of these touts who verbally abuse them, calling them whores and all sorts of names whenever they find their way into the capital in miniskirts.
Zimbabwean men believe that every woman who wears tight fitting clothes is morally loose, but that is dishonest because, at a closer look, even their own wives, sisters and sometimes mothers do the same.
“These people have gone overboard, as men who are normal we are tempted to touch them, that is why we end up calling them all sorts of names,” said one tout at the famous Copacabana commuter pick-up point in Harare.
But women said their dressing was suitable for the weather. “It is absurd to hear people calling us all sorts of names simply because of our dressing. This is summer and we are free to wear what we want in keeping with the weather,” said 20-year-old Ruvimbo.
Post published in: Arts