ABSTRACT
There is no longer an indigenous dress among the Kpe, but it is said to have been a short waist-cloth for both sexes. Women who perform liengu (q.v.), however, wear skirts of iroko root-bark or of fern-fronds, which may possibly be an indication of a type of clothing worn in the past. At the present time, the gown or dress is standard wear for all ages, the waist-cloth and bodice of much of the rest of West Africa being rare. Style has, however, changed. The oldest generation still sometimes favour a voluminous, yoked, waistless gown reaching to the ankles, while shorter, shaped dresses are popular with the younger generations. The standard of dress-making among Kpe women is high. Head-ties are worn. Exposure of the breasts, even in the domestic circle, is not found, except in medical rites. The characteristic dress of Kpe men in the villages is a long waist-cloth tied with two tails, topped by a shirt and usually a hat of European type. Jackets, trousers, shorts, and footwear, including gum-boots, are common. Umbrellas are almost universally carried in the rainy season. Kpe dress reflects, on the one hand, the dampness, even coldness, of their climate, and on the other a standard of living well above the poverty line.
