The Weekly Sneak: What Does A Nationalist Wear

It has been a bit heavy weather lately and I thought it would be nice to take a break from the sky-is-falling sensation that the news has been giving me lately. So I tackled one of my favorite subjects, one that simply does not get enough attention: political fashion. Coming to The East African in a couple of days:

"Word in the backrooms of the various tailor emporiums of the city is that the real jackpot for design houses is to be able to reinterpret this basic costuming for big CCM meetings, campaigns, and spouses of prominent politicians. Anyone paying attention to the visual reporting on these events and people will have picked up on it. Given the restricted palette of green, gold and black and the requirement that whatever happens a tie cannot be part of the outfit, it is amazing what designers have been able to come up with. Especially considering the color green can be quite difficult for African complexions. More impressive still is the skill of the tailors involved: the socialist suit is very unkind to pot-bellies. Yet as waistlines have expanded one administration after the other, political dandies have managed to keep looking sleek rather than sausage-like in uniform."