Crimes of Fashion: Free Black Women in 18th Century Cape Town

Clothes Minded

Imagine looking so good that it becomes illegal. Despite the excess of wealth, glamour and spectacle available to the settler elite in 18th century Cape Town, their biggest sartorial competition came from the 118 emancipated women of colour in the Dutch Cape Colony. In 1765, sumptuary laws were introduced, prohibiting these women from coloured silks, fine laces, adorned bonnets and even fake jewellery so that they could not visually appear equal to (or, more honestly, better than) their European counterparts. Khensani delves into the fashion policing of free women of colour in 18th century Cape Town.
Follow Khensani on Instagram @okbaddiek (https://instagram.com/okbaddiek) or subscribe to her newsletter, Hanger Management (https://khensani.substack.com), for weekly updates and insights.
Ready for more? Become a Patreon member and receive behind the scenes updates, research and references, bonus content and more https://patreon.com/khensani?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Business enquiries, love letters and cat memes: [e-mail]
Host, researcher & writer: Khensani Mohlatlole
Producer: Bongani Maseko for The Hyve AV