Made in Dakar, Lalage Bown commissioned this ensemble from a local tailor to wear to the opening of the second International Congress of Africanists, hosted by Senegalese President Léopold Senghor, in Dakar, December 1967.

The boubou is a classic Senegalese garment worn by men and women. Traditionally custom-made, the boubou is created by folding a rectangular piece of fabric in half, creating a neck opening, and then partially sewing the sides. A woman’s boubou has a large, rounded neck-opening. The grand boubou came into fashion after World War II, and required a larger amount of fabric, hence the name. Women usually wear a boubou with a pagne, wrapped skirt, and a head-tie. Bown’s grand boubou is made of light green organza machine-embroidered with silver flowers and has a head-tie the same fabric. It is accompanied by a dark green pagne, and sleeveless peplum top in a seersucker-style synthetic material. Boubou’s are historically made from cotton, but speaking of the synthetic organza used on her ensemble Bown, ‘the under “up and down” and the organza over-dress was the complete outfit worn in the streets by almost all the women of Senegal at the time. The colours varied, but they all wore that style. I simply asked the tailor to make me an outfit in the then-current style.’