Abstract

The study has examined fashion trends and dressing in the university of Buea: the case of level 400 students of sociology department. Dress code constitutes one of the rules and regulations guiding the conducts of students in the campus. Its intention is to ensure that every student dress moderately in compliance with the teaching profession and societal values of the environment.

It is expected that every student abides by it. But despite the wide all these, most female students are now preoccupied by what to put on to seduce the opposite sex than what to read to become responsible in future. They are being influenced by music videos, the internet, personal interest, society, culture, etc. the study revealed that some of them goes extra mile just to get a particular dress to wear. Some of this dresses exposed very sensitive parts of their body.

Some of these students copy treads of dressing blindly to an extend some effects are clearly manifested in form of distraction, lack of academic focus, sexual harassment, cultism, loss of integrity and even being sacked from lecture halls by their lecturers which finally leads to poor academic performance. Nevertheless, they are some form of dressing that boast self -confidence, gain self-respect and draw the right kind of attention to students.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Fashion Trend is a popular style, especially in clothing footwear, lifestyle, accessories, make ups, hair style and body. Fashion is distinctive and often constant trend in the style in which people present themselves. Technically the term “Fashion” is regularly link to costume.

The term “trend” in psychology, features something pointing one direction but unable to reach it. It is related to possibilities, something that has some uncertainty, but can also be used as “guidance” and “movements” associated with a group of people. Raymond (2010) explains that term is old and originated in English or in German, meaning to “turn”, to “rotate”, “to “spin”. Trend researches are based both on behavior and in practice of consumption of individuals, because this is how it express the emerging values in Social dynamics and hand the desires of contemporary consumers (Santos, 2013, P.17).

Fashion designs originated in the 19th century with Charles Fredrick Worth who from 1858 was the first designer to have his label sown into the garments that he created. In the late 1980S and early 1990S it came over a range of trend research agencies elsewhere in Europe and the United States. In 1998 was found in London WGSN (Worth Global Style Net). Currently the largest trend research agency in the world, a pioneer in the commercialization of information over the internet (called Online Reports Figure 4)

At the level of Africa, the evolution of Fashion is difficult to trace because of lack of historical evidence. By 800 CE, the Ghanaian Empire began to flourish due to development of extensive trade routes in Northern Africa and the discovery of gold throughout the region. Malian became the largest and powerful in 1200 Common Era (C.E) after the fall of Ghanaian people by 11 C.E. the Maly wore had printed cloths called Bololantini or Mad Cloths. Each cloth had an arrangement or symbol revealing something secret about its intended meaning. The language of the cloth was passed down from mother to daughter with specific motives. Hence Mali being the largest empire spread out its culture through language, laws, and customs in West Africa. African‘s rich fashion culture continues in to the present, manifested in a wide array of markets and forms a small but growing literature has begun to address the work of African fashion designers, including Van Der Plas and Willemsen (1998), Revue Noire

(2007), Mendy – Ongoundou (2002), Mustafa (2002), (l‘Afrique c‘est chic), and Rovine (2004). Some recent explored some local markets for clothing and design in Africa, portraying the level to which these practices reflect creative change overtime. The manifestation of African style in global fashion market reflects diverse relationships to African culture and realities, for African appears in the global. Western – dominated realm of haute couture as well as in indigenous fashion economics. African dress is experiencing changes over time cause the western influence on African clothing has been well and said to be characterized as a “loss” of western globalization (Fisher 1984:9-10).

Coming down to Cameroon, varied climate and different religious and social customs have created diversity in traditional clothing. Women in the northern region are known in dealing with free-flowing clothing and head coverings. Traditional wears include richly pattern and embroidered fabrics, reffles and often fitted hats on the men in the rainy, forest region of the south (Nadian Nygaard 2018).

Pagnes are really handy to female Cameroonians as they used to carry their babies on their back. In urban areas of Cameroon men and women wear more traditional dresses while in cities the men favor more western style dress-blouses along with pagnes, shirts and a mixture of such called Afritude are mostly in Douala-the economic capital of Cameroon and Yaoundé the political capital (Cameroon-Today) Boubou-free flowing male garment consisting of one to four pieces are very popular in the northern region of the country and found in the most parts of the country during special occasions.

In the North Western region of Bamenda Cameroon can be found colorful embroidery which with traditional and part and parcel of their cultural outfit. This is also similar to the Toghu worn also by the Bamileke from the West of Cameroon. Moreover “Kaba Ngoudo” is worn by the women of Douala in the Littoral region while those from the capital city under the Central region namely; Ewondo, Bula, Beti, and Fangs not living out the South region make use of grass tied round their waist, hands, legs and head. The Manyu man of the South West region wears a white shirt over a nicely threaded wrapper all tied by the side with the accompanying hat with a “moninkin” wear “Cha-Chas” on her legs and beats tied all over the body.

However, Cameroon is currently at the crossroads of globalization where different cultures of the world coverage and interact under the premise of globalization.

The country cloth culture is at the threshold of technological transformation and communication pathway (Jong, 2014).

Hence fashion trends in Cameroon has undergone some significant modification which has led to acculturation of traditional attire into Western styled dress code, which is so much cherished by the youths of today and most especially the female students of the University of Buea.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

If there is one thing that is constant, it is “change”. And change is exactly the one thing that is constant when it comes to fashion. Since the beginning of human civilization, there has been a constant effort being put to make one look better. The different styles of fashion have always gone through innumerable changes. With the increase in the amount of innovations, the changes in trend and fashion styles have also been rapid like the uprising designer‘s wears, make ups, eye lashes, artificial nails, hand bags, shoes, hair types and styles, watches the different types of accessories one could think of. At this era, fashion is currently the crossroad of globalization where different cultures of the world coverage and interact under the premise of globalization and technological transformation. Hence the students of the University of Buea have been captured on the web of acculturation of traditional attire into western style dress code which has has transform their daily lives both positively and negatively especially the female students who just blindly dive into fashion with so much anxiety once they gain admission into the University of Buea without any consideration of what may follow next.

Though one of the few positive effects of new fashion trend is that it make one feel good and confident of its appearance but most at times the negative effects overshadow the positive effects there by leading the students to indecent dressing, coming late to lectures, being sent back home at the university main gate by the campus police for indecent dressing, running out of cash cause they use money meant for handouts and sometimes even fees to purchase latest designs and are even some times sexually abused by men and finally their academic performance is therefore bound to be negatively affected. Therefore the earlier something is done to remedy this situation the better for the future of our desperate and vulnerable youths.

A collective effort and attention is needed from everyone in the country to fight and restitute the dignity of our students of the University of Buea. It is in this light that the researcher seeks to determine new fashion trends and high transformation on the daily lives of UB students.

1.3 Research Questions

1.3.1 Main question

How does fashion trends, and dressing code affects the daily lives of Students of the University of Buea.?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions

1. What are the factors influencing fashion trends and dressing code among UB students?
2. How do these factors influence students?

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