A doek is lovely BUT…

IT’S really not for everyone. I’ve seen women who just tie a cloth on their heads and have the nerve to post pictures and hashtag #DoekOnFleek on social media. But because we’re polite, we let them thrive and hope they’ll one day realise they had it all wrong. 

This one time, I bumped into a girl who wore a black and white doek with a skirt suit.

There was no chemistry to the outfit at all. I honestly thought she was just having a bad hair day and had kept my comments to myself. Of course I had thought, “This child needs to look herself in the mirror one more time!”

She was probably feeling uncomfortable with her doek situation and highly likely could see I was perplexed by it so she was quick to disclaim, “Don’t you know wearing a doek is in fashion these days?” Well, of course I knew that head warps are trending right now but certainly not to be worn THAT way. She wore it like my grandmother, Gogo MaKhuboni, would’ve worn hers to the fields!

I didn’t want to argue with her because she was on the defensive; I knew she would’ve bit my head off had I wanted to pursue the fashion faux pas discussion! Head wraps are quite a thing for Bulawayo socialite and artist, Patience Phiri. I’ve never seen her without a head wrap and I’m not complaining because she looks so damn good with one on!

It’s actually a classy Afrocentric look, which adds a little vava voom to one’s overall appearance. I particularly like the doek for occasions and the chic touch to a smart casual look. 

I’d wear a doek with both a maxi skirt and a denim shirt or with skinny jeans and a blazer. I wouldn’t want to spill it over to the formal end of things though, but then again, that’s just me.  

If you’re going to take on the doek challenge, you’re going to have to carefully consider a few things first. Think about the design of the doek itself – the patterns, prints, motifs on it. The colour of the head warp matters a lot if you’re to get a classy look from it. You want to make sure the doek blends well with the outfit. It may not be an exact match in terms of colour but the colour palettes certainly shouldn’t clash otherwise the doek will look detached from the overall outfit.

The idea is to package everything as one unit. You can make the doek the centre of attraction, let it pop over dark or plain colours or have the doek pick colours from the outfit and tie everything together. Once you have that figured out, ask yourself whether or not the doek works with the fashion pieces you want it to blend with. Like I said earlier on, I really wouldn’t want to take my doek to the formal side of things although there are people who can pull it off effortlessly.

Of course there are a million ways of wearing a doek. You just have to find one that works for you. Because a head wrap draws a significant amount of attention to your face, you’ve got to make sure your make-up is on point. The eyebrows are usually what make or break your overall make-up so you’ve got to make sure they’re on fleek! I’m a big fan of bright red lipstick; that would be my lip colour of choice.

You probably like a different colour – just make sure it’s not smudged, take delicate care as you apply it. An important aspect of pulling off the doek look will be your choice of accessories. Because a head wrap resembles an up-do, which leaves your neck and ears bare, think about earrings and a neck piece to go with your outfit.

Remember the rules, if you’re going to go big and dangly on the earrings, don’t wear anything around your neck because you’ll look like you’re trying too hard.

But if you must wear a neck piece, make sure the earrings are complementary. Attention should remain on your face, the jewellery should simply enhance the look, allow it to do just that.

It’s difficult to say what occasion would be best suited for a doek – the line is pretty thin. It’ll depend on the rest of the outfit, I think. You should be just fine if you ensure your head wrap doesn’t clash with your outfit – whatever the occasion may be.