This is to all the ladies in the house.
I remember going to parties (which by the way, I am not a fan of) and getting fascinated with the different headgears – called gèlè. The geles came in different shapes and sizes.
There was the small one which looked like a tea cup balanced squarely on the head – the Okonjo-Iweala style.
There was the medium sized one with wings which looked like an aeroplane or space ship – the Iya eko style.
And there was the wide one which looked like a satellite dish – the Madam Kofo style.
It was fun then looking at the different variations of the gèlè. Those years however seem to have passed us by.
With the advent of make-up artists and gèlè-tying trainings all over Nigeria now, the only gèlè tied in recent years is the layered one. It is beautiful; yes! But do we all have to wear our geles the same way?
It is boring to me now, when I go to parties and everyone’s headgear looks alike. The fascination behind the art of the tied gèlè is gone.
Even Lagbaja must have been fascinated with the art of the tied gèlè that he sang a song about it. In his video, the geles came in different shapes with sight-blocking attributes.
They say fashion trends change over time. I wonder if this phase of layered geles will one day pass and bring back our tea cups, Iya eko and satellite dishes.
What do you think?
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Photo Credit: http://www.that1960chick.com