My Africa Today

Kikoys are a garment which was traditionally for men, as in many hot countries (and Scotland!) men wear a wraparound of some sort. These tropical garments are obviously worn due to the heat (except in Scotland!) and are particularly comfortable. Few require anything more than a little confidence to hold them up and some are tied with amazing skill and complexity but the Kikoy itself is simply wrapped around the middle, or hips, or anywhere and rolled over outwards a couple of times.

The Kikoy does need to be fairly tight, with a certain amount of tension, but not too tight, the mistake is to try and wrap it really tightly as this could result in an embarrassing and unscheduled show of leg! Inspired by the abundance of exuberant colours found on the East African coastline, Kikoys are woven of the brightest hue colour combinations that would alarm most people! Possibly originating from something that the Arab traders wore as they plied the coastline, the Kikoy has developed its very own character of Kenya and Tanzania and is a symbol of safaris in both beautiful countries. There is a band of devoted Kikoy wearers which is steadily increasing in size as more and more people discover the delights of a Kikoy, see our 50 ways to use a Kikoy!