My own Boubou

Ever since I wore a boubou at Tabaski I have dreamed of having my own boubou. All my Senegalese friends and colleagues have likewise been pressuring me to get one to wear on Fridays, like all the other Senegalese do. A very sweet colleague of mine offered to go with me to find the right fabric and to take me to her tailor. My lovely boubou arrived today and it turned out like this:

It has been a major success at the office today, people have gone all 'Wolof' on me. Maybe this will give me the chance to gain even further access into their culture... Well, frankly the process of the making in itself gave me quite an interesting glance of the Senegalese perception of beauty. I was the one creating the design of the boubou. I drew a sketch for the tailor, he took note while I explained and he measured me thoroughly. Still, when I came to pick it up Wednesday something was different than expected. I tried it on before paying, as my colleague advised me to, and that was quite lucky. The dress was HUGE. I looked like a midget drowning in fabric. The tailor looked very content with the result. I was confused, so I asked him why he had made it ten sizes too big for me. He answered me like it was the most obvious thing in the world: "But you need space to grow".